Stilton

The village of Stilton, in Cambridgeshire, was a coaching stop on the road north from London. Cheese from the Midlands was sold there to travelers, and the village name stuck to the cheese. The making stayed in the three counties that still hold the protection. The village that supplied the name is outside that zone, so it cannot make the protected cheese.

Blue Stilton became a Christmas and port cheese in Britain, a wheel brought out for a celebration rather than a daily cooking cheese. The modern rules have a feature that surprises people who know other great blues. Protected Stilton is made from pasteurized milk, not raw milk. White Stilton is a younger, milder cheese from the same world, without the blue veins. It is a different product.

Cow's milk is pasteurized, set, and worked into tall cylinders. The blue mold is part of the make, and the wheels are pierced so veins can develop. They are aged until the paste is dry enough to crumble and the blue is spread through the interior. A natural rind forms. The cheese is not a soft, spoonable blue.

Pasteurization is required for the protected blue. That single rule separates the method from Roquefort, which is raw sheep's milk ripened in caves. Stilton's character comes from the cow's milk, the crumbly make, and the ripening in the three counties. A raw-milk blue made elsewhere may be wonderful. It is not allowed to use this name.

Blue Stilton tastes savory, salty, and rich, with a crumbly paste and pockets of blue that are sharper than the cream around them. People often find it less harshly salty than Roquefort, and less sweet than Gorgonzola dolce. A good wheel has a cellar smell that is clean, sometimes a little like wet stone or mushrooms.

The texture should crumble, not smear like a soft dolce and not grate like a hard cheese. A dry, brown edge can be trimmed if the heart still smells sweet and savory. An ammoniated, dark, or bitter wheel is over the hill. White Stilton tastes milder and fresher, without the blue. Do not buy it by accident when the recipe wants veins.

Put blue Stilton on a board, in thick pieces, with bread, celery, a firm pear, or walnuts. In Britain a glass of port is the classic partner. A small amount crumbled into a soup, such as a broccoli or celery soup, or stirred into warm butter, is the usual way to cook with it. Heat gently.

Do not expect it to melt into a glossy pizza cheese. It crumbles and softens. Do not use it where a recipe depends on the moisture of Gorgonzola dolce. Add a little cream if you need a sauce. For a salad, it works when you want savory crumbs rather than a salty sheep's-milk punch. White Stilton can be a mild table cheese. It will not do the work of the blue.

Protected Stilton is an English cheese of those three Midland counties, sold across Britain and exported for holiday boards. The village of Stilton lives with the name and without the right to make the cheese. That odd split is part of the history, and it is still in force.

Outside Britain, Stilton is the blue people buy for a Christmas board more often than for a weeknight. Other countries make crumbly cow's-milk blues in its image. They need their own names. When a British recipe says Stilton, it means this pasteurized, crumbly, savory blue, not Roquefort and not a mild Danish blue.