Did you know?
Stilton: the most famous cheese in Britain,
The King of English Cheeses.
Stilton is a PDO Cheese
produced exclusively in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Curiously, Stilton cannot be produced in the village of Stilton, which gave the cheese its name, because it is located in Cambridgeshire and, therefore, outside the PDO area. The story goes that in 1743 Cooper Thornhill, was the owner of the luxurious Bell Inn in Stilton, Huntingdonshire.
The Bell Inn, Stilton (1743).
He bought the cheese from a lady named Frances Pawlett, who was a cheese maker from the county of Leicestershire. Cooper Thornhill fell in love with the flavour of the cheese and began to promote it to travellers and local residents from his inn. This is why it adopted the name of the village of Stilton, where the Bell Inn was located.
The main characteristics
of Stilton are its
cylindrical shape, approximate weight of
8 kg, thick mouldy natural rind
and creamy paste.
Frances Pawlett supplied the cheese to Thornhill and, through a cooperation agreement,arranged for other cheese makers in Leicestershire to make Stilton cheese according to the original recipe. Demand for Stilton grew so great that more cheese makers in the area needed to be found.
Today,The Bell Inn still exists and continues to serve wonderful food to passing travellers, including Stilton, Britain's most famous cheese, 'the King of English Cheeses.'.
Today,The Bell Inn still exists and continues to serve wonderful food to passing travellers, including Stilton, Britain's most famous cheese, 'the King of English Cheeses.'.
It has a crumbly texture, ivory colour and is interspersed with blue veins.
Stilton is traditionally served at Christmas. A hole is made in the centre of the cheese and a spoonful of port is poured in every day for a week.
This website has been made possible thanks to the contribution of a team of professionals who love cheese, its origins and the pleasure of eating it.