Franco (Frank) Talarico has five children - three girls, a boy and Alberta Cheese. He still wakes up in the middle of the night to check on one of them; you can guess which one.

Opened in Calgary in 1976, Alberta Cheese is a family-run affair with everyone lending a hand where needed. And all those hands make some darn fine cheese, like ricotta that keeps a small army of regulars coming by every Thursday when the cheese is fresh off the line, or pizza-perfect mozzarella used by many of your favourite restaurants from Victoria to Winnipeg.

But one of our favourite Alberta Cheese offerings is Franco's deliciously milky fior di latte. Translated as milk's flower, this fresh artisan cheese has a light flavour and semi-soft texture. Unless you pull a curd or two at home on the weekends, you won't find fresher cheese than this. It will keep up to four weeks in brine but trust us; it'll be long gone before that time. Enjoy it on its own with olive oil and balsamic vinegar or add it to your favourite pizzas and paninis.

Try fior di latte on sale this month for $4.29/270g.