burrata; to aged Gouda, Cheddar, Manchego, and
Brie; to creamy rindless chèvres and hard, grateable
pecorinos. They have layered it in the middle, sliced
it on the top and rubbed truffle oil on the rind.
How to narrow down this surfeit of choices
for your own cheese counter? Stocking a variety
of styles, at a range of price points, will guarantee
you have options for the customer who wants that
affordable experience as well as for the shopper
determined to splurge. Here are a dozen to consider:
Goat's Milk
Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor (California): From
the creator of Humboldt Fog, this popular bloomy-
rind wheel was one of the first U.S. entries in the
truffle category. Available in a 3 ¼-pound wheel
and a 1-pound mini wheel, Truffle Tremor has
name recognition that should make it an easy sell
despite the high price.
Caprino Cremoso al Tartufo
(Italy): This chalk-white 100-
gram disk from La Bottera in
the Piemonte region is made
with goat's milk enriched
with cow's cream, so it is
especially luscious for this
style. Local black truffles are
shaved or minced on top, but
the interior is also perfumed.
Try warming it in an oiled
ramekin until it quivers.
The WBC product line currently includes at least 30
truffle wheels, domestic and international, so the
category has quickly become robust.
"This is a trend with legs," says Ciano. In
the realm of flavored cheeses, truffle dominates,
reports the distributor. Sometimes a truffle version
of a cheese outsells the original. "It's an affordable
way to have a truffle experience," says Andy Lax
of Fresca Italia, a San Francisco Bay area importer
and distributor.
How these cheeses are scented is rarely
information the producer will fully reveal. Truffle,
yes, but truffle paste, truffle aroma, truffle essence,
truffle oil? Fresh truffle may make a minor
appearance—like the minced or sliced truffle on
top of La Bottera's Caprino Cremoso—but it's not
likely the sole source of the pungent aroma that
characterizes many of these cheeses. "You have to
do something to black truffles to coax that flavor
out," says Lax. "Truffle trimmings aren't going to
do that much for you."
Fresca Italia's top truffle seller, Black Truffle
Pecorino Moliterno, is made at the importer's
own cheese plant in Italy's Basilicata region by
injecting a young sheep cheese with La Rustichella
black truffle paste. But what's in the truffle paste?
"Something called 'truffle aroma,'" reports Lax,
"and I've never gotten a good answer as to what
that is."
In the rush to populate this category,
cheesemakers have let few cheese styles escape.
They have added truffle to fromage frais and
Cypress Grove True Tremor
PHOTO CYPRESS GROVE
Caprino Cremoso al Tartufo
PHOTO GUFFANTI FORMAGGI
FALL
