Italy's Carboncino by Caseficio dell'Alta Langa a Finalist at Fancy Food

Normally you wouldn’t think of mixing Hibiscus Vinegar, Chai Concentrate and Carboncino by Caseificio dell’Alta Langa together, but that’s just three of the ten products that have been identified by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) as finalists for Outstanding New Product of 2010.

The entire list will follow after the jump, but first let’s get to this Carboncino by Caseificio dell’Alta Langa…

What we know of this cheese is that it comes from the surrounding area best known as Alta Langa Piedmontese. A place that has a rich history of unspoiled lands that give birth to outstanding wine and cheese products. The philosophy of the Caseificio dell’Alta Langa range of cheese has always been to follow ancient recipes under the guidance of trained artisans whose most prevalent task is to maintain pristine nature of the product - ensuring that no preservatives or additives of any sort are used. This Carboncino is identified as a new creation from Alta Langa, a further interpretation of the Tre Latti Robiola. Covered with vegetable charcoal, it possess a delicate and harmonious flavor profile with a pronounced but smooth flavor goat cheese flavor.

This pasteurized Carboncino is what is classified as a “tre latti” or three milks, benefiting from a blend of cow, goat and sheeps milk. This cheese has a pale yellow colour with white tones in the rind. It has a firm creaminess to the area surrounding the rind. As it ages, the center will get subtle and soft. It has a pronounced goats cheese tang that is nicely balanced by the blend of the sheep and cows milk.

Finalists for Outstanding New Product 2010 are as follows:

• Les Produits Fins Fabrice Lafon: Apple Ice Wine Vinegar
• Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats: Nueske’s Wild Cherrywood Smoked Uncured Bacon
• Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co.: Salt & Pepper Chocolate Bar
• PreGel AMERICA: Salted Caramel Super Sprint
• Rishi Tea: Masala Chai Concentrate
• South African Consulate General: Rozendal Hibiscus Vinegar
• Spread Health Food: NUTMERIC Ultra
• Stonehouse 27: Cashews & Cream Indian Cooking Sauce
• Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods: Tandoori Chicken Naanwich
• The Cheeseworks, Ltd.: Carboncino by Caseificio dell’Alta Langa

This year’s sofi Awards competition was the most competitive yet, with 2,257 entries across all 33 categories, up 19 percent from 2009 and 3 percent above the former record of 2,191 in 2008. This year, NASFT members submitted 492 entries for Outstanding New Product and 195 for Outstanding Product Line. A national panel of specialty food experts spent five full days tasting and evaluating the 2,257 entries.