The clear cellophane wrap on Carboncino, a new mixed-milk cheese from Northern Italy, allows you to see the silvery-gray coating on the rind. That's the carbon (powdered vegetable ash) that suggested the name for this petite pleaser, a blend of pasteurized cow's, goat's and sheep's milk made in a soft Robiola style.
Carboncino adds to the long list of compelling cheeses from the Caseificio dell'Alta Langa, a creamery in the Piedmont region of Italy. You have probably already sampled some of this producer's successes, such as La Tur, Rocchetta and Bosina.
Alta Langa specializes in traditional regional cheeses like Robiola, but makes them in a modern plant and markets them with contemporary packaging.
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