A cheese shop owner told me recently that he now prices his inventory by the half-pound instead of by the pound. The sticker shock was just too much for some customers and hardly anybody buys a pound of cheese anyway. I get it. At least for me cheese is a deductible expense, but I’ve been watching the climbing prices with alarm. Good cheese should be an everyday pleasure, not a pain point. Which is why I was eager to devote a session in my World Cheese Tour series to products that over-deliver for the price. The class is sold out, but pictured above is one of the amazing values I discovered as I researched the best selections for the evening. I’ll share the entire class lineup in next week’s Planet Cheese post, but this highly aromatic little guy will be on the plate. What a bargain!

Arnoldi is a respected name in northern Italy. For several generations, multiple branches of the family have made their living as producers and agers of the traditional cheeses of the Lombardy region, especially Taleggio. In 2007, they stopped competing with each other and—in everyone’s best interest—came together to create one firm. We now see more Arnoldi cheese in the U.S., from fresh rindless Stracchino to Gorgonzola.

This little stinker, new to me, is Arnoldi’s Capriolina, a half-pound of supple lusciousness. When it’s mature, believe me, you will know it’s in the fridge. It has a yeasty, earthy, ripe-laundry scent that even a lidded container can’t restrain. But as with many washed-rind cheeses, the flavor is less extreme than the fragrance. (If you’re interested in the sense of smell, especially as it relates to cheese, please read my interview with author Harold McGee.

Think of Capriolina as a petite goat’s milk Taleggio and you will have an idea of what to expect: a semisoft, squishy texture; a thin, damp, crunchy rind that you’ll want to consume (even my husband, a rind avoider, enjoyed it); and a mouthfilling, beefy finish. The salting was perfect.

Arnoldi matures Capriolina for a minimum of 10 days before exporting it. My guess is that the ones I purchased were more than a month old and nearing the end of their lifespan. They had a lot of give, some gray mold on the rind and that room-clearing aroma. Time to dive in.

Washed-rind goat cheese is an underpopulated niche, so I am especially happy to welcome this newcomer. And the price! I paid $22 a pound, or about $11 for a whole one. That’s a steal.

Serve Capriolina with an Alsatian white wine or a fruity Belgian saison. Dark bread and onion jam would be fun accompaniments.

Look for Arnoldi’s Capriolina at:
Big John’s (Seattle)
Cheese Parlor (Livermore, CA)
Davis Food Coop (Davis, CA)
Houston Dairymaids
Ideal Cheese (NYC)
Jimbo’s (Carlsbad and San Diego, CA)
Market of Choice (Bend and Corvallis, OR)
Murray’s (NYC)
Nugget Market (Sonoma and Tiburon, CA)
Oliver’s (all CA locations)
Portugalia (Fall River, MA)
Rainbow Grocery (SF)
Sigona’s (Redwood City and Palo Alto, CA)
Zingerman’s (Ann Arbor, MI)
Zabar’s (NYC)

In Case You Missed It…