Cheese Database

Caciotta vs Casciotta d'Urbino

Caciotta

Facts

Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Central and Southern Italy

Caciotta is a small cheese from central and southern Italy, and the name points to size more than to one fixed recipe. The word is a diminutive and means a little cheese. Wheels are modest rounds with a thin rind and a paste that is usually semi-soft. Dairies in those regions make it for the daily table, not as one famous mountain trophy. Milk and flavor change with the maker, so two wheels that share the name can still taste different.

Casciotta d'Urbino

Facts

Milk
Mixed milk
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Marche
Status
PDO

Casciotta d'Urbino is a young semi-soft cheese from Italy, and the name is protected. Makers blend whole sheep's milk with a smaller share of cow's milk, so the milk is mixed rather than from one animal alone. The wheels are low and round, with a thin straw-colored rind and a soft, crumbly paste. The taste is sweet, milky, and lightly tangy, with a nutty hint. It is a table cheese, not a hard grating cheese.