Why It's Worth Getting to Know Caciotta

Many of Italy’s staple culinary cheeses are well-known among Americans. Mozzarella is the most consumed cheese in the U.S. thanks to our never-ending love of pizza. A flurry of Parmigiano Reggiano is always called for when pasta is on the menu. And we’ve all been collectively hooked on pecorino since the first time we witnessed a slurry of noodles being dredged around a hollowed-out wheel for cacio e pepe. Not to mention any number of Italy’s complex, artisanal contributions to the cheese canon. (Gorgonzola cremificato is my go-to selection to convert the blue-averse.)

Italy’s myriad cheeses are as numerous and varied as its pasta shapes, however, and not all of them have yet crossed our paths. Allora, for your next Italian snacking or culinary occasion—which really should be about right now, shouldn’t it—consider caciotta, whose presence isn’t yet widely known outside Italy, despite being one of the country’s most widely-produced, approachable, and versatile cheeses.

What is Caciotta?

“The term caciotta comes from dialect, meaning ‘small cheese,’” says Maria Vittoria Finco, Marketing Manager for Italy’s Monti Trentini, and fourth generation cheesemaker. “Its texture is soft, with a delicate taste reminiscent of milk, while its shape is rounded and its color varies from white to straw-like yellow. It can also present some small to irregular holes, but its characteristics can vary among producers and regions of Italy.”

Monti Trentini is one of only a few Italian producers of caciotta whose products are available stateside. Referring to a small format cheese that only ages for a few days and includes a unique step in the ripening process, caciotta has rural origins in central Italy, but is made throughout the country. While it is available commercially, simple caciotta is a traditional cheese that was typically produced by farming families for use at home, either as a table cheese or cooking cheese, rather than for market, which accounts for it having flown under the radar for so long compared to Italy’s more famous dairy exports.

Caciotta’s Characteristics

“Caciotta is unique among Italian cheeses because it can be produced with different types of milk,” says Finco. “It can be cow, goat, sheep, or even water buffalo milk. It can also be made with a mixture of milk.” Like several Italian cheeses, the basic term caciotta unto itself isn’t governed by a PDO, though specific regional expressions may be, such as Casciotta d’Urbino PDO, which mandates the specific ratios of different animal milks used in its production. In its ungoverned expressions, the basic hallmark of caciotta is its short supply chain. As a small format cheese, by nature, it can be made frequently with small batches of milk and as locally as possible. It’s a relatively no-fuss cheese, an adolescent option that is a few days older than fresh, but that doesn’t require complicated techniques or attention to transform it from milk to cheese.

How is Caciotta Made?

Utilizing pasteurized milk of one or more animal types, “the production process hasn’t changed much through the years and has remained close to the cheesemaking tradition,” says Finco. After coagulation via traditional rennet, the curds are cut into small grains. Sizes of the grains may vary depending on what the outcome of the particular batch may be, whether soft, semi-hard, or hard, according to Finco.

The ripening process for caciotta is brief, but intriguing. Caciotta could also be considered a “twice-cooked” (or “biscotto,” to keep it Italian) cheese, as it undergoes two periods of heating during its formation. First, the curds are heated after they are cut and before they are placed into molds, and second, undergoing “stufatura” or a process of steaming.

“The ‘Stufatura’ is a stage in which the cheese is placed in a hot room so that the pH of the cheese lowers rapidly,” says Finco. “This stage completes the fermentation process and causes the bacteria present to produce enzymes that promote the ripening of the cheese,” she says, giving it a slight depth of flavor beyond its few days, and a gentle spring in its texture. After steaming it is brined for a few brief hours, and then ready to be savored.

Caciotta Tasting Notes and Uses

Flavored Caciotta trio photo credit Pamela Vachon

As a young cheese, caciotta’s flavor is primarily milky, but its unique, steamed structure makes it an excellent host for a variety of additions such as herbs, Calabrian chilies, or truffles, which are the most common varieties of caciotta to be found in the U.S. “Caciotta is a good base mainly because of its delicate flavor which pairs well with almost everything,” says Finco. “Because caciotta is cooked at low temperatures this also prevents the loss of organoleptic properties of the added ingredients,” she says, allowing them to really sing alongside the easygoing, blank slate of the cheese. The Mozzarella Company makes domestic versions of caciotta, flavored with herbs and chiles and refers to it as a Texan version of Monterey Jack.

Caciotta, especially in its flavored versions, is a go-to snacking cheese for sure, but Finco also recommends it as a delightful addition to salads, or as a dessert course with figs or pear marmalade. Because of its twice-cooked nature, however, it’s also an excellent melter, and worthy of complex culinary preparations. “Caciotta is great when added to gourmet burgers, bruschetta, or to different variations of lasagna,” says Finco. (This, it must be said, is definitely your easiest path to a decadent, truffle lasagna.)