A lifelong dream, a real adventure born from a great passion in 2015
Meet Carlo, Tiziana, and their son Alessandro, the owners of the Malfa Pof Farm, which is located in the upper Valle Sabbia, above the village of Avevone, in a rural location in Pertica Bassa called POF.
In 2015, the couple, decided to leave their jobs to go and live in this pristine place, raising Alpine chamois goats in a semi-wild state, immersed in the woods and in direct contact with nature, the dream of the kind of life they always had in mind was being realized.
The tasty balance between planning and dreaming
Of course, they left nothing to chance; before embarking on the business and finding themselves unprepared for the first difficulties, they researched, toured stables, consulted, attended breeder fairs, attended goat-breeding courses, took the cheesemaking course and the ONAF course.
They started with passion and awareness that making cheese in the high mountains is not easy, in addition to passion it also takes good work planning and the right “recklessness” that it is not a walk in the park.
A 100% natural goat farm nestled in the nature of the Vallesabbia Valley
Carlo and Tiziana, later also helped by their son Alessandro (the creator of the Single Malt cheese we will talk about in a moment) are two tenacious and resilient people. They follow the philosophy of natural farming, which takes hold for them right from the start.
After some tidying up and renovation of the farm, meadows and forest, they dedicate an area for grazing, build the barn and a small dairy to be devoted to processing the milk of its small animals into cheese.
The breeding started with only three baby goats and to date they have grown to over 40 chamois goats from the Alps producing 100 liters of milk per day, in warmer periods 80.
During the work, Carlo and Tiziana recover two old stone cisterns for water storage, an incredible historical artifact made of stone and truly fascinating to see.
For their goats, a healthy and natural diet, only with local grass and hay from adjacent forests and pastures without the goats undergoing seasonal deseasonalization
The goat is a very selective animal when it comes to choosing plants or their parts for food. Those on the POF alpine pasture happily feed in the adjacent forests and pastures.
Their baby goats are not deseasoned to have milk all the time and observe the winter dry period in a totally natural way by stopping production until the next calving.
Everything is left to the natural course of their lives. Due to its natural breeding philosophy, the Malga Pof farm decides not to use the so-called “male effect” (associated with a feeding plan such as feeding oats or other) or even progestin hormone treatment.
From the first analysis, the milk was found to be rich in vitamins, fat minerals and proteins, and the cheeses were immediately appreciated, receiving a prestigious award at an ONAF National Cheese Tasting Competition in the mountain product category.
He is then invited to numerous events organized by the Slow Food Presidium to raise awareness of what have become true products of excellence.
Would you like to adopt a baby goat from Malga Pof?
Now you can! With our new goat adoption initiative.
Receive its good and wholesome products, paper certificate and photo with your name at your home. For yourself or for an ethical, sustainable and unique gift.
From the collaboration of bbuono together with Malga Pof, between lockdowns in 2020, this fantastic initiative was born: the adoption of a chamois goat from the alps..
The idea is to allow anyone to adopt a baby goat from a distance for a short or long time and then receive its fresh, superior quality, wholesome products.
An initiative that is committed, in addition to offering real support to the Malga Pof farm, wants to keep alive an area rich in tradition but requiring continuous sacrifice and utmost dedication.
And now let’s get to know the products of Malga Pof: natural, healthy and genuine goat cheeses that you will find for sale on bbuono.it
Goat Blue
Blue is a blue-veined cheese made from raw goat’s milk; it has a white paste delicately veined with blue/green and a mild, slightly tangy flavor.
The intensity of flavor increases as the maturation period is prolonged, which usually varies between 45 and 60 days.
It can be paired with a good red but also with a passito of good structure.
Discover it in our shop
Fresh Robiola
Robiola di capra when consumed fresh offers a very simple organoleptic picture, on the nose there are good sensations of yogurt and green grass, in the mouth it presents an extraordinary persuasiveness and savoriness.
With aging, the taste is enriched with spicy and musky undertones and becomes long and enveloping in the mouth finish.
The ideal pairing involves a savory white wine that is not too young.
Goat mozzarella cheese
Goat’s mozzarella is an unusual dairy product in the goat’s cheese scene, but it is no match for cow’s or buffalo milk mozzarella; in fact, it is a fresh stringy cheese with a soft and elastic texture.
It has a delicate flavor, and is simply preserved in its governing liquid(water and salt), thus maintaining all its freshness.
Enjoy it raw with a a drop of extra virgin olive oil or as an ingredient in your dishes, try it on pizza.
Single Malt
This product was researched and made by Alessandro, an enterprising son with the spirit of initiative of the couple.
Single Malt is a semi-matured goat’s milk cheese, has a very firm and elastic texture but soft to the bite, a straw color and no eyes. After an initial maturation of 60 days, it is aged in wooden crates containing fine malt.
Staying for 30 days in this environment gives the cheese unique flavor and aroma. In the mouth you can feel the balance between aroma and sweetness, it is a very elegant cheese that requires a wine of equal blazon, soft and full-bodied red, as a pairing.
Other products that the cheesemaker makes with his goat’s milk and in demand by restaurateurs and gourmet food stores are:
- Ricotta cheese with fresh delicately sweet flavor, fragrant smell of milk and cream;
- Crescenza, a fresh cheese, made from raw processed milk, soft delicate but flavorful taste;
- Fresh Robiola delle Pertiche, a cheese obtained by the slow and natural coagulation of milk, high creaminess, absent rind, mild, milky and fresh aroma, sweet and characteristic milk flavor with slightly sour veins;
- Medium-aged Formaggella(40/45 days) an elastic paste with a ripe but at the same time delicate flavor.
- Tronchetto dell’arca, a sweet and delicate taste that acquires more pronounced aromatic notes as it continues to mature, an important cheese and ideal for after-dinner drinks.
- Blaccaoro, washed rind cheese, aged 80-90 days, creamy texture in the under rind, soft in the middle with the characteristic flavor of aged goat cheese, slightly aromatic and persistent.
Video of the POF malga farm in Puntoverde
Malga POF also offers the possibility of guided tours and days at the malga in close contact with the animals and the surrounding nature
The skill in processing and the goodness of Carlo’s products means that more and more people are requesting the opportunity to spend a day at his farm, in that unspoiled paradise where the Malga POF farm is located surrounded by the Tigaldine and Corna Blacca mountains.
Carlo and his wife Tiziana then devote specific days to groups of people or families who want to spend time immersed in the woods, in contact with the animals and participating in the processing of cheese in all its phases, starting right from the goats, feeding them, walking with them, milking them and then transforming their milk into fresh cheese with subsequent on-site tasting of the products.
If you would like to stay with your tent on their farm while you are passing through, you can do so completely free of charge. Carlo and his family will welcome you with courtesy and kindness, contact us and we will give you useful information for your overnight stay in your tent, surrounded by the sweet and wild nature, isolated enough to enjoy peace and silence.
Immerse yourself in mountain authenticity by visiting Malga Pof, a corner of paradise where a passion for tradition translates into unforgettable flavors.
Let yourself be won over by their artisanal cheeses, born from the fresh milk of pristine pastures, and other delicacies that tell the story of the richness of this area. An experience that nourishes the soul and the palate, an invitation to discover the true essence of mountain products.
Why we chose Malga POF Farm.
Even before tasting his products, we met Carlo. From the very first moment, his passion, his philosophy of natural farming, and his determination to pursue and maintain it—something not easy in the high mountains—are evident.
The skill of the cheesemaker is then fully revealed when tasting his products. His Goat Blue is immense and remarkable, and his goat mozzarella sublime (very few in Italy produce it from goat’s milk).
Particularly noteworthy and continuously gaining success is his aged Single Malt and many other high-quality aged products.
We thank Carlo, Tiziana, and their son Alessandro for their collaboration with bbuono.
