Beaufort - cheese born in the Alpine lands

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Today, in hypermarkets, buyers meet with a huge variety of types of cheeses. At the same time, cheeses differ not only in their appearance and smell, but also in price. People tend to be wary of the most expensive cheeses, as they often don't know what they are buying.

One of the elite popular cheeses is Beaufort cheese. It was named after the village of the same name in the French Alps where it was first produced.

Beaufort characteristics

This cheese belongs to the category of semi-hard, made by boiling and pressing. The cost is fully justified, given the fact that the cheese is born from the milk of cows specially grown for this purpose, which breathe clean air and eat the fresh grass of the Alpine mountains. The cheese is characterized by a homogeneous surface, absence of voids, light yellow color and dark yellow hard shell. The weight of the cheese circle varies from 20 to 70 kg. The taste of the product is creamy, slightly s alty, with hints of herbs and nuts. Has a fat content of 48%. On the shelves of shops it can be recognized by the depressedgreen stamp (highest grade) or blue (lowest grade).

Production

Beaufort is over 150 years old. New technologies have appeared, but the requirements for its preparation have remained almost the same, only slightly tightened. It takes 45 cows to produce one cheese disc. The resulting fresh milk is heated to 33 ° C, then the starter is introduced. The curd mass, broken into lumps, is heated again to 53-54 ° C, after which a wooden circle is put on and placed under the press. Under pressure, the cheese spends about twenty hours with breaks for turning. Aging cheese takes an average of 6 to 36 months in the cold, damp cellars of the Alps.

Cheese on the table

Beaufort is very popular with the French. However, gourmets and good chefs from all over the world especially appreciate it for its compatibility with almost any dish. Beaufort cheese is in perfect harmony with hot dishes in melted form. It is added to soups, pizzas, casseroles, warm and cold vegetable salads, as well as to smoked red fish. It can also be found on a fruit plate or traditionally on a cheese plate with honey and walnuts.

Cheese is chosen as an appetizer for dry red, white and rosé wines, as well as champagne.

It must be remembered that this kind of cheese is intended for cutting into thin slices, not for grater. It is taken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Benefits of cheese

Despite its high fat content, this cheese is considered one of the most useful among its “brothers”. Doctors recommend this product for people with calcium deficiency or protein deficiency, especially those with musculoskeletal disorders, weak immunity and nursing mothers.

Where can you find cheese in Russia?

Elite Beaufort cheese is available for sale on the shelves of Russian hypermarkets. However, the prices for the product scare away the average buyer - about 3 thousand rubles per kilogram. That is why some manufacturers reduce the cost of production for the sake of availability, while not compromising its taste. One of these producers is the Belarusian dairy company Babushkina Krynka. Beaufort cheese of this manufacturer, of course, is not made from Alpine cow's milk and has artificially created holes. It differs both in color and in the absence of a hard shell. However, the price of this product is much lower. A kilogram of cheese can be purchased for a symbolic price (from 400-550 rubles).

Recipe

Beaufort cheese can be made at home without sacrificing quality. Freshly milked fresh cow's milk (8 l) is filtered, heated to 32-34 ° C, stirring constantly. Then add 1/8 tsp. milk sourdough, mix well again. Cover the pot with a lid and leave for 45 minutes.

1/2 tsp liquid rennet (calf) is dissolved in 50 ml of water at a temperature of 30-35 ºС, and the resulting whey is poured into warm milk,slowly stirring. Leave again for 45 minutes. The curd mass is broken into small lumps, heated and cooked at this temperature for 40 minutes until reaching 54 ºС. Then turn off the heat and continue stirring for 15 minutes. After that, leave the cheese mass alone for 20 minutes.

After the time has elapsed, the mass is passed through a colander to drain excess whey. Then the cheese grain is transferred into a mold, covered with a cloth, a lid, a load of 2.5 kg is placed on top of the lid for 30 minutes. After that, they take out the cheese, turn it over, replace the fabric and put it under the load again for half an hour. The process of turning the cheese is repeated several times (2-3 times), then the press is increased to 5 kg and left for 12-15 hours. After the time has elapsed, the cheese is placed in a damp room with a temperature of 11-13 ° C and a humidity of 85% for maturation. Turn the cheese daily, and also rub it with s alt water once a week. The ripening time of Beaufort cheese is from 6 months to 2 years.