Beaufort (AOC 1968) is the greatest of the French alpine hard cheeses — a massive wheel (40-70kg, 35-75cm diameter) of raw cow's milk cheese that has been produced in the high valleys of the Savoie (Beaufortain, Tarentaise, and Maurienne) since at least the Roman era, and that Brillat-Savarin called 'le prince des gruyères.' Beaufort belongs to the Gruyère family (along with Swiss Gruyère, Comté, and Emmental) but is distinguished by its concave sides (the talons, shaped by the beechwood cercle that encircles the cheese during pressing), its smooth, brushed rind with no eyes (unlike Emmental or Swiss Gruyère), and its dense, supple, ivory-to-straw-colored paste with a complex flavor profile: butter, hazelnut, dried fruit, and a distinct floral quality that reflects the alpine pastures. Three grades: Beaufort (winter milk, November-May, when cows eat hay), Beaufort d'été (summer milk, June-October, from cows on alpine pasture), and Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage (the apex — made in a single mountain chalet from a single herd's milk during summer alpage, at 1500m+ altitude). Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage is among France's most sought-after cheeses: the alpine wildflower diet produces milk of extraordinary aromatic complexity, and the cheese is made in copper cauldrons (chaudrons) using traditional methods. The production: 500 liters of milk make one wheel. Milk is heated to 53-54°C with thermophilic cultures, rennet-set, the curd is cut to grain-sized pieces, cooked to 53°C (a cooked-pressed cheese, like Comté), pressed in the cercle for 20 hours, salted in brine, then aged in cool cellars (10-12°C) for 5-12 months, with regular turning and brushing. In the kitchen: Beaufort is the definitive fondue cheese (fondue savoyarde traditionally uses Beaufort, Comté, and Emmental in equal parts), the gratin cheese (gratin de crozets au Beaufort is the Savoyard classic), and a magnificent eating cheese — served in thick slices at room temperature, where its butterscotch-and-hazelnut character emerges fully.
AOC 1968. Massive wheels (40-70kg). Raw cow's milk, cooked-pressed, concave sides (talons). Three grades: Beaufort, d'été, Chalet d'Alpage (single herd, 1500m+, summer). Brillat-Savarin: 'le prince des gruyères.' 500L milk per wheel. Aged 5-12 months. Fondue cheese, gratin cheese, eating cheese. Butter, hazelnut, dried fruit, floral character.
For fondue savoyarde: 200g Beaufort + 200g Comté + 200g Emmental, coarsely grated, tossed with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Rub the caquelon with garlic, add 400ml dry Savoyard white wine (Apremont), heat until simmering, add cheese in handfuls, stir in figure-8s until smooth, add 1 shot of kirsch. For gratin de crozets: cook 300g crozets (tiny square Savoyard buckwheat pasta), layer with 200g grated Beaufort and 200ml crème fraîche, bake 200°C 20 minutes. For the cheese course: Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage at 10 months with a glass of Chignin-Bergeron (Roussanne from Savoie) is one of France's greatest cheese-wine pairings. Visit the cooperative in Beaufort-sur-Doron — they age 60,000 wheels in tunnels cut into the mountain.
Substituting generic Gruyère for Beaufort (Beaufort's butterscotch-floral character is distinct — Gruyère is nuttier and sharper). Not distinguishing the three grades (Chalet d'Alpage is a fundamentally different cheese from winter Beaufort). Grating too fine for fondue (Beaufort should be coarsely grated or cubed for fondue — fine grating makes it melt too fast and become stringy). Storing cut Beaufort in plastic (wrap in wax paper, then loose foil — it needs to breathe). Serving cold (like all alpine cheeses, Beaufort needs 30-60 minutes at room temperature). Aging beyond 18 months for eating (Beaufort becomes very hard and develops a piquant, almost aggressive character — 8-12 months is the sweet spot for most palates).
Fromages de France — Pierre Androuët; Les Fromages de Savoie — Joseph Favre; Physiologie du Goût — Brillat-Savarin