La Tur comes from the Alta Langa hills of Piedmont in northwest Italy, a small cylinder of three-milk cheese that has become one of the most recognizable soft-ripened cheeses coming out of Italy. Cow, sheep, and goat milk all go into the same wheel, ladled gently into molds so the curd stays loose and airy. The rind is wrinkled and pale yellow, a soft bloomy coat that ripens the paste from the outside in. Cut it and you get that centripetal effect, a runny cream line just under the rind and a slightly firmer, almost cakey center. The flavor is bright and lactic, like fresh yogurt whipped into cream, with the goat portion giving a clean tang and the sheep milk rounding everything out with a little sweetness on the back end. A whisper of mushroom comes off the rind. Eat it with a spoon straight out of the paper wrapper if you want to, or let it sit at room temperature until it slumps and pool the paste onto a piece of toasted bread. This is a cheese that shows off what Piedmont does with soft cheeses, and it eats as beautifully at the start of a meal as it does at the end.
