Beaufort, a cooked pressed cheese, has been recognized as an Appellation Origine Contrôlée (origin-guaranteed label) since 1968.

Appearance
   • Wheel weighting 20 to 70 Kg
   • Diameter from 35 to 75cm, 11 to 16 cm concave heel
   • 11 to 16 cm concave heel o Smooth texture with an ivory to pale
     yellow colour
   • Dry extract amounts to 61 % and fat content 48 % minimum.

Origin
The zone of manufacture covers the Beaufortain, Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys as well as a part of the Val d'Arly, some 450 000 hectares out of 630 000 in Savoie. This zone is characterized by vast areas of mountain pastures, comparable to those found in Isère and Haute-Savoie combined.

Recognizable signs
Beaufort can be recognized by its concave heel and its reddish brown rind.

Organo-leptic quality
Beaufort is a cheese appreciated for its fruity flavour and smoothness, without being excessively strong. These qualities were rewared with a gold medal in the "gruyères" category during the "Käsiade" festival in Austria in 1992, competing with Swiss, German and Austrian cheeses...

- The Union of Beaufort Producers brings together cooperatives from the Beaufort zone, which produce 75 % of the tonnage. The U.P.B. has established a technical department open to all (cooperatives and others), financed by a subscription by kilo of milk transformed.

- Le Syndicat de Défense du Beaufort, created in 1975, aims to bring together dairies and milk producers. It is particularly interested in collective promotion and in the management of the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée ; within this context it is the organism recommended by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine.

Rearing is the main form of agricultural production in such a harsh environment. In the Alps, it is mainly used in the production of milk which is transformed into cheese.

In the Middle Ages, it was the monks and the village communities who worked the high mountain pastures and introduced the first dairy herds. They manufactured a cheese called "vachelin".

A century after the appearance of the name, its very existence was to become threatened

This agricultural system and its production ensured relative affluence until the sixties. But because of the manpower involved and the massive rural exodus during this time, production collapsed to less than 500 tons.


The Beaufort revival

Several farmers began to consider that it was time for a new type of organisation. The quality of Beaufort should justify a higher price that supported the extra costs of agriculture in the high mountain regions. Cooperation, by establishing production and maturing dairies including a marketing element, was to be the key structure for a revival of the operation.

The Union of Beaufort Producers started by establishing an operational policy :
    - better quality through the creation of a technical department working with different research organisms (INRA, ITFF) ;
    - steps to recognize cheese under the AOC label which was completed by 1968 ;
    - necessary steps to be taken in order to reduce the problems associated with milk production. This was to be achieved through the development of high mountain machine milking and the partial mechanization of the haymaking process.

This policy, associated with the national agricultural policy related to mountain regions, has enabled agriculture to survive. Nearly 4150 tons of Beaufort was produced in 2005.

LThe large areas of high mountain pastures have been used for other purposes since the 1960s. Holiday-makers are now welcomed who make use of the remarkable ski slopes which have become famous throughout the world.