Profile

Beaufort is a semi hard cheese derived from milk of extremely high quality from the ancient breed of Beaufort Cows. The herds originate high in the remote Rhone Alps. The cheese has a smooth beige rind and paste, a firm creamy texture with occasional horizontal fissures, and a mild, fruity, sweet flavour. It is most sought after in its d’alpage version (Beaufort d’Alpage) which is made from milk given by cattle that have been grazing on summer grasses, herbs and flowers at elevations over 6000 feet. The milk from the height of summer and August is much richer. The sweetness and the lush aroma of the pasture become predominant, as does a distinct nuttiness not apparent in other season Beaufort. The pate of a winter cheese is white, that of a summer cheese, pale yellow, it is said that the chlorophyll from the grass and carotene from the alpine flowers give the summer cheeses both colour and flavour.