Beaufort
Name of Group of Producers
15, rue A. Aubry
73270 Albertville
CERTIPAQ
44 rue de la Quintinie 75
015 PARIS
Tel: (33 1) 45 30 92 92
Fax: (33 1)45 30 93 00
Cooked pressed cheese made from raw whole cow's milk, produced as a 20-to 70-kg loaf with a convex heel and ripened for at least 5 months.
Geographical area: The mountain valleys of Savoie, with their harsh climate, steep slopes and vast high mountain pastures: Beaufortin, Tarentaise, Maurienne and part of Val d'Arly.
The name 'Beaufort' was first used in 1865, but Pliny the Younger mentioned the existence of a similar cheese at Emperor Trajan's court. The cheese's production was developed by the monastic and village communities of the Middle Ages and its fame is attested in 18th-century writings.
Rennet prepared from calf rennet stomachs using time-honoured methods is added to the raw milk of Tarine or Abondance cows very quickly after milking. After being cut into into small particles the curd is scalded and stirred, then placed in a linen cloth, moulded, and pressed in a wooden hoop, 'the Beaufort hoop', which gives the cheese its characteristic concave heel. The cheese that is formed after 20 hours' pressing is immersed in brine, then matured in ripening cellars for at least 5 and up to 12 months.
