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- Stilton - The King of English Cheeses
Prepared by The Food Club’s Technical Department
Overview
Long appreciated by connoisseurs, Stilton is one of England’s great food exports. It depends for its distinction on a delicate balance of flavour and aroma which develops as it matures naturally for four to six months. The cheese has been made for well over three hundred years but true Stilton can only be made by a small number of authorised creameries operating in the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Over a million cheeses are made a year and so esteemed is Stilton’s unique flavour and texture that it is the only British cheese to have its own trademark.
Characteristics of Stilton
Stilton is a creamy semisoft, moist cheese with an ivory yellow colour which is streaked with bluish-green veins of penicillium mould evenly distributed and radiating from the centre. It has a velvety texture and a rich flavour which is lighter than Gorgonzola, richer than Danish Blue and less salty than Roquefort.
The cheese is cut, not scooped, taking thin slices from the top and cutting the slices into wedges. It can be frozen or kept in a fridge but it should be slowly brought to room temperature before serving.
Eaten after dinner, with fresh crusty bread and butter, and accompanied by a glass of port the enjoyment of Stilton is a gourmet's delight. There is no doubting its claim to be the "King of English Cheeses".
History of Stilton
The background of the cheese is a little cloudy. However, a blue-veined cream cheese from cow's milk was produced by farmers at Wymondham as soon as pastures were enclosed in the 17th Century. The first written reference to Stilton cheese appears in October 1722 but other references indicate that large volumes of Stilton were sold before then.
Stilton takes its name from the village of Stilton (though no Stilton was ever made there) located about 70 miles north of London on the Great North Road (now the A1). It is here that the coaches travelling from London to Scotland and other northern cities made their first stop for fresh horses and overnight stays. Stilton was convenient to Melton Mowbray and the surrounding area, so the village became the market place for the cheese with thousands being sold every week.
- Mrs. Orton, a housekeeper in the time of Queen Anne at Little Dalby Hall about 4 miles south of Melton Mowbray, is reputed to have "perfected" it but Mrs Frances Pawlett, a skilled cheese maker from Wymondham, is credited as the person who gave Stilton its first quality and shape standards. Her skill and her husband’s business acumen led to the first marketing co-operative in the area for the cheese. Frances set the standards other cheese makers needed to meet for the "blued cream cheese" to be marketed as Stilton. Along with the help of Cooper Thornhill, who may have been her brother-in-law and was the owner of the Bell Inn at Stilton, the Pawletts helped to build the trade to record levels.
Today Stilton is made very much in the same way as it was in the 1700’s. In 1936 The Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association was formed to maintain the quality standards and protect the trademark. Stilton is a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese.
For More Information
| www.stiltoncheese.com |
| http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/encyclopedia/termdetail/0,7770,2101,00.html |
Stilton - The King of English Cheeses.Nov2001