Station 06
The secrets of making Beaufort
Step 1 : Collecting
Milk collection happens every morning, carefully separating the evening (which was cooled) and the morning milk (still warm).
Upon arrival at the dairy, it is immediately filtered and weighed.
Both warm and cold milk are combined when they are poured into copper tanks (3,200 litres of milk/ tank).
The milk at this stage is raw and whole.
Step 2 : Milk coagulation
In the tank milk is heated up to 33°C.
Once it has reached this temperature rennet is added. The rennet transforms milk from liquid to solid over the course of 25-30 minutes.
At this stage the milk is curdled-still white in colour but the texture of custard.
Guess what?
Beaufort PDO process requires the use of home-made rennet which is prepared daily on site by the cheese-makers from “natural” rennet.
Rennet is a concentrate of enzymes obtained over the course of 6 to 8 hours. It’s like a magic potion which enables milk to coagulate, in other words, to change it from liquid to solid.
Step 3 : Cutting the curds
“Décaillage” is the process of cutting the curds. The cheesemaker uses a curd-cutter to slice this very fresh cheese into tiny, rice sized grains and separates it from the whey. Curd grains will make cheese.
The remaining yellowish liquid (whey) will be processed later on.
Step 4 : Heating & stirring
The small curds and whey are then heated and stirred continuously. It takes 40 minutes to reach 54°C. Then, the curd is “cooked” for another 40 min. The exact time is decided by the cheesemaker.
At this stage they will judge if it’s time to mould the cheese based on the curd’s texture. How? By pressing curds in their hands-this skill can only be learned on site and is called the “test du pâton”.
Step 5 : Moulding
Each tank is carefully distributed among the 8 racking bells (GSV). Vacuum suction is used to protect the curds from impact .
After a short resting period the curds slowly settle into the mould, made of linen cloth and a ring of beech wood, which is installed beneath each bell.
Once moulded, the wheels of cheese leave the GSV and a blue casein label is attached along with the date and tank number. This guarantees the authenticity of the cheese and ensures its traceability.
Step 6 : Pressing
Cheeses are pressed for 20 hours and subjected to a force of 1,000 kg/m2. While the curds bind together the remaining whey slowly drains away. The curved mould gives the Beaufort its concave shape.
Cheesemakers are responsible for the ‘retourne’, a tedious but essential task for success. The linen cloths that enclose each cheese are changed 3 times, which means flipping each wheel a total of 6 times during this process.
Step 7 : Brine
Cheeses are then immersed in brine (a huge salted bath) for 24 hours. Salt helps form the cheese rind, hardening its surface, enhancing the flavours and, of course, it is an excellent preservative!
After brining the wheels are transported to maturing cellars.
Tools
Curd cutter
Poche, it looks like a dustpan, but it’s what cheesemaker use to test milk coagulation when the gel is strong enough
Thermometer
Beech wood ring
Linen cloth