| Product: |
Stilton |
| Date: |
21/03/02 (215 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Taste and Versatility
Disadvantages: For me there are none
Stilton Blue Vein Cheese is the King of Cheeses. This is MY favourite cheese. To my taste buds it is the most superior of cheeses. This cheese should be on every cheese board, preferably served at about 20 degrees centigrade. I prefer it accompanied by quality crackers or perhaps traditional plum loaf and by any wine, (just experiment).
This place Stilton, where is it? Actually it is about 80 miles north of London on the old Great North Road. In the 18th century it was the first staging point for coaches on the road north. Here horses could be changed and light refreshments taken. (A sort of motorway services!). Cooper Thornhill, an East Midlands entrepreneur, was the landlord of the famous Bell Inn, Stilton, Huntingdonshire, during the 1720s and he was responsible for introducing the travellers to a soft, creamy blue veined cheese. Daniel Defoe was one such traveller whilst writing 'Tour through England and Wales' in 1727. He made mention of travelling "through Stilton, a town famous for its cheese".
Stilton cheese has not, actually, ever been made in the town of Stilton!! Why is it so called? As travellers passed through Stilton they were offered victuals. (What a fabulous word. Do you not think that it is a much more descriptive word than 'refreshments'?) Anyway this particular landlord, Cooper Thornhill, offered his guests a soft, creamy blue veined cheese, which subsequently took its name from the town. He purchased this cheese from a local farmer's wife by the name of Frances Pawlett who lived near Melton Mowbray. Perhaps it should have been called Pawletts.
What to tell you next?
Early each morning, fresh pasteurised milk is piped into huge open vats and 'the Stilton' is begun. It takes 136 pints of milk to make one 17lb Stilton Cheese. An acid forming bacteria, rennet and 'penicillium roqueforti' (blue mould spores) are added. Once the curds have formed, the whey is removed
and the curds are then left to drain overnight.
Next day the curd is cut into blocks to allow more of the liquid to drain away. It is then milled and salted. Each cheese needs about 11kgs of salted curd, which is fed into cylindrical moulds. These moulds are placed on boards and turned daily allowing natural drainage for five or six days. The even distribution of moisture has then been encouraged throughout the cheese. The cheese has not been pressed.
By this time a flaky, open texture has been achieved leaving it ready for the important blueing stage. After about five or six days the cylindrical mould can be removed and the cheese is sealed. It is smoothed and wrapped to prevent any air from entering the inside of the cheese. A constant temperature and humidity must be maintained and each cheese regularly turned during this ripening procedure. At about six weeks the magical blue veins are created using stainless steel needles and piercing the traditional Stilton crust, and allowing air to enter the body of the cheese.
After about nine weeks the cheese should weigh about seventeen pounds and be ready for sale. Before it can be sold each cheese must be graded by using a cheese iron. A plug of cheese is extracted by this iron and by smell and visual inspection the cheese is passed as of standard for sale. Those that pass will be sold as Stilton and those that do not as just a 'blue cheese'!!
The cheese, at this time, would expect to be somewhat crumbly with a slightly acidic taste. Many customers prefer the smoother, more rounded mellow flavour of a cheese that has been matured for a further five or six weeks. Surely this very special cheese should be savoured and enjoyed. For my personal palate it now has the finest of tastes. Stilton is lighter than Gorgonzola but richer than Danish blue. It has a more rounded flavour than other British blues.
To gain the distinction of being called Stilton Historic Blue, each cheese
must: -
"1 be made only in the three counties from local milk which has been pasteurised before use
2 be made only in the traditional cylindrical shape
3 be allowed to form its own crust or coat
4 be un-pressed
5 have delicate blue veins radiating from the centre
6 have a taste profile typical of Stilton".
www.stiltoncheese.com
There are only six dairies that are licensed to make Stilton cheese, using the original recipe for this King of cheeses. The cheese is handmade exclusively in the counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, three hundred years after its humble beginning. This is the ONLY British cheese, such is its unique flavour and texture, which has been allowed its own certification trademark. This authentic flavour of a bygone age has even become very popular in America where its good solid flavour enhances hors d'oeuvres, salads, sauces and soups.
The Stilton Cheese Makers Association (SCMA) was formed in 1936 to represent the manufactures and to maintain the quality of such a fine product. Today this body is still responsible for ensuring that the high standard remains, that the trademarks are managed and not least to promote Stilton cheese worldwide. The SCMA was not only granted a certification trademark in 1966, it also achieved 'Protected Designation of origin' status from the European commission.
It is applying for certification trademarks for Stilton in many non-EU countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Some feat for a humble English cheese. Over a million cheeses are made by the allotted dairies per year. More than 10% of the cheese made is exported to some 40 countries worldwide,
Stilton adapts exceedingly well in the kitchen. You may find Stilton Chicken with wine a superior and yet easy dish to make for 6 people.
You will need: -
6 pieces of Chicken
1 large can of condensed chicken
soup
½ bottle of white wine
Up to 450 gm of Stilton. (Start with ½ the cheese and add according to taste.)
1 Preheat oven to 160C
2 Place chicken pieces in a large casserole dish (with lid) and add soup, (prepared as per the instructions on the can).
3 Add wine
4 Crumble Stilton and mix with soup and wine.
5 Place lid on casserole and cook for two hours, or until chicken is cooked. Stir during cooking.
6 Serve with fresh vegetables in season.
Stilton cheese can be used imaginatively in much cooking. It can be used to make a creamy topping on Steak, just as it is with salad or added to pizza or for use in a fondue. It has an exceptionally gentle yet definitive taste for kitchen usage. But it wears a crown as a cheese of distinctive quality.
Unlike most cheeses Blue Stilton may be frozen. It should be wrapped in several layers of Clingfilm and a layer of foil. Preserved in this way it can be frozen, quite confidently, for up to 3 months. When the cheese is required it should be left to thaw in a refrigerator overnight and then allowed to reach room temperature before serving.
The King does have a partner, white Stilton. White Stilton is also a protected name cheese and is made in a similar way. No mould spores have been added and the cheese is sold at about four weeks of age. This cheese also has a good flavour but even when produced with the addition of such pleasantries as apricots, ginger, or vine fruits, palatable as it is, it cannot truly compare with the King of cheeses the Blue Veined Stilton. It remains a pleasant dessert cheese.
I find Stilton is more than just a cheese. It is the cheese equivalent of a Vintage Port. A cheese to be savoured and appreciated, with the odd cracker to freshen the palette.
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