Stilton (cheese)

Infobox Cheese
name = Stilton


othernames =
country = England
regiontown = Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire

region =
town =
source = Cows
pasteurised = Yes
texture = semi-soft, crumbly,creamier with increasing age

fat =
protein =
dimensions =
weight =
aging = 9 weeks minimum
certification = PDO

Stilton is a cheese of England. It is produced in two varieties: the well-known "blue" and the lesser-known "white". Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of origin by the European Commission. Only cheese produced in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire – and made according to a strict code – may be called "Stilton".

History

The pioneer of blue Stilton was Cooper Thornhill, owner of the "Bell Inn" on the Great North Road, in the village of Stilton. In 1730, Thornhill discovered a distinctive blue cheese while visiting a small farm near Melton Mowbray in rural Leicestershire - possibly Quenby Hall in Hungarton. [cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml?xml=/wine/2006/06/20/hstilton20.xml|title=The cheese that broke the mould|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=June 20, 2006] He fell in love with the cheese and made a business arrangement that granted the Bell Inn exclusive marketing rights to blue Stilton. Soon thereafter, wagon loads of cheese were being delivered to the inn. Since the main stagecoach routes from London to Northern England passed through the village of Stilton he was able to promote the sale of this cheese and the legend of Stilton rapidly spread.

In 1936 the Stilton Cheesemakers' Association (SCMA) was formed to lobby for regulation to protect the quality and origin of the cheese, and in 1966 Stilton was granted legal protection via a certification trademark, the only British cheese to have received this status. [cite web|url=http://www.stiltoncheese.com/UK/pr/uk.cfm|title=Stilton Cheese: The Story of Stilton|publisher=stiltoncheese.com]

Manufacture and PDO status

Oddly, Stilton cheese "cannot" legally be made in the village that gave the cheese its name. Stilton cheese was never made in the village of Stilton. Stilton village is in the administrative county of Cambridgeshire, and in the historic county of Huntingdonshire.

There are currently just eight dairies licensed to make Stilton, each being subject to regular audit by an independent inspection agency accredited to European Standard EN 45011. At present, all but two of the licensed dairies are based in the Vale of Belvoir, which straddles the Nottinghamshire-Leicestershire border. This area is commonly regarded as the heartland of Stilton production, with dairies located in the town of Melton Mowbray and the villages of Colston Bassett, Cropwell Bishop (two producers), Long Clawson and Saxelbye.

The other Leicestershire dairy is at Quenby Hall in Hungarton, which is outside the generally-accepted boundaries of the Vale of Belvoir. The only dairy currently producing Stilton elsewhere (at Hartington in Derbyshire) owes this fact to a native of the Vale who bought the dairy over a century ago.

To be called blue Stilton, a cheese must:
*Be made only in the three counties from local milk, which is pasteurised before use.
*Be made only in a traditional cylindrical shape.
*Be allowed to form its own crust or coat.
*Be unpressed.
*Have delicate blue veins radiating from the centre.
*Have a "taste profile typical of Stilton".

Stilton has a typical fat content of ~35%, and protein content of ~23%.

imilar cheeses

A number of blue cheeses are made in a similar way to Stilton. All these cheeses get their blue veins from the saprotrophic fungus Penicillium roqueforti.
Danish Blue is made in a similar way to Stilton but has a stronger flavour. Stichelton is another similar cheese but is made with unpasteurised milk, while Roquefort is made with ewes milk.

tilton consumption

Blue Stilton is often eaten with celery or pears. It is also commonly added as a flavouring to vegetable soup, most notably to cream of celery or broccoli. [cite web|url=http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/articles/recipes/broccolistiltonsoup/|title=Broccoli & Stilton Soup recipe|publisher=The Accidental Smallholder] Alternatively it is eaten with various crackers, biscuits and bread. Traditionally, port is drunk with blue Stilton. The cheese is traditionally eaten at Christmas. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/christmas/essentials_stilton.shtml|title=Food - Christmas|publisher=BBC] The rind of the cheese is rarely eaten due to its bitter flavour, and the fact that it may contain anti-molding agents or have been handled without gloves during its manufacture. [cite web|url=http://www.uncorked-va.com/cheese.php|title=Uncorked Cheese - Cheese First?|publisher=Uncorked]

White Stilton has not had the "Penicillium roqueforti" mold introduced into it which would otherwise lead to the blue veining normally associated with Stilton. It is often blended with other materials such as dried fruit, and has even been used as the flavouring for chocolate. [cite web|url=http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/food_and_drink/reports/taste_tests/food/chocolate_cheese_news_article_557_112219.jsp| title=Chocolate cheese hits the shelves|publisher=Which? magazine|date=April 5, 2007]

Huntsman cheese is made with both blue Stilton and Double Gloucester.

Bizarre dreams

A 2005 study carried out by the British Cheese Board claimed that when it came to dream types, Stilton cheese seemed to cause odd dreams, with 75% of men and 85% of women experiencing bizarre and vivid dreams after eating a 20 gram serving of the cheese half an hour before going to sleep. [cite web|url=http://www.britishcheese.com/news.cfm?page_id=240|title=Sweet Dreams Are Made of Cheese|accessdate=2007-07-20|date=2005-09-25]

Cultural references

British author G. K. Chesterton wrote a couple of essays on cheese, specifically on the absence of cheese in art. In one of his essays he recalls a time when he, by chance, visited a small town in the fenlands of England, which turned out to be Stilton. His experience in Stilton left a deep impression on him, which he expressed through poetry in his "Sonnet to a Stilton Cheese":

"Stilton, thou shouldst be living at this hourAnd so thou art. Nor losest grace thereby;England has need of thee, and so have I--She is a Fen. Far as the eye can scour,League after grassy league from Lincoln towerTo Stilton in the fields, she is a Fen.Yet this high cheese, by choice of fenland men,Like a tall green volcano rose in power.Plain living and long drinking are no more,And pure religion reading "Household Words",And sturdy manhood sitting still all dayShrink, like this cheese that crumbles to its core;While my digestion, like the House of Lords,The heaviest burdens on herself doth lay."

- G.K. Chesterton

This is in part a parody of Wordsworth's sonnet London, 1802, opening line: Milton! "thou shouldst be living at this hour".

Stilton is also mentioned in the stop-motion animated short, A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit.

References

External links

* [http://www.stiltoncheese.com Stilton Cheesemakers' Association]
* [http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1923962005 "Nightmare is over as study says cheese doesn't cause bad dreams"]