| Product: |
Stilton |
| Date: |
12/03/01 (185 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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I am sure that everyone is aware of what stilton looks like and more importantly how stilton ‘smells’! I always used to call it sock cheese when I was younger, as it really didn’t taste good to me and indeed I thought it smelt of old socks!
Not really a paragraph that inspires confidence in the greatest British cheese, but it really is, well in my opinion anyway!
For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about it is the creamy, looking cheese which smells, and has ‘veins’ of blue mould running through it and has a wrinkly brown crust, usually served at Christmas time. I am of course only talking about the ‘blue’ version of stilton, there is the white variety, but I find this very bland tasting in comparison to the blue!
Stilton can only be produced in three places in Britain, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and is the only British cheese to be trademarked. It is believed that stilton was first made 300 years ago by the sister in law of the land lord of the Bell Inn stagecoach stop, Stilton Cambridgeshire) where incidentally they have a stilton rolling contest every Mayday, waste of a good stilton I say! This pub was situated on the main route from York to London, and the cheeses reputation spread like a mouse to a trap!
The cheese was originally made from the milk of shorthorn cows, as some is still. The cheeses are still made in the traditional way, by hand using a 17 gallons of milk. It is formed in 16lb cylinders to give it its cylindrical shape, the blue ‘veins’ are created by piercing holes into the cheeses crusty outer rind, with stainless steel needles to allow air in to form Penicillin glaucum, yes its mould! Each cheese is matured for 3 months in which time it gains its rich intense and distinctive flavour.
Stilton is traditionally served with Port after meals, but can be used in a variety of ways, from being served on its
own with biscuits, to combined into a recipe.
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