Caprino is also inappropriately used to name that type of fresh cheese, industrially produced with cow's milk, which retains of the traditional goats' cheese only the shape and the name.

In Lombardia caprini are still made on the farm with goat's milk in many areas of the Prealps, where goat breeding has recently had a considerable relaunching as an integrating activity or as an alternative to cattle breeding in hill and mountain zoo-technical businesses.

Caprini of Valsassina are well known, as well as those d'Intelvi, delle Valli Luinesi and della Val Cuvia, and one cannot stop by the delightful Brianza village of Montevecchia without stopping by to taste its famous matured caprini.

Fresh caprini have no crust, they are white, of soft and spreadable texture, tasty flavour, slightly acidic. After a month of maturing caprini have a thin yellow-red crust with a development of white moulds. The texture is mostly compact, flavour strong, aromatic, decidedly spicy.

Fresh caprini are very versatile, they can be eaten as they are or seasoned with oil and pepper, or scented with various herbs and spices. In some areas they are seasoned in glass jars under oil with laurel leaves and so they acquire in 6/8 months a decidedly original flavour.

August.2002