The Facts on Stilton Cheese

There are hundreds of different kinds of cheese, each with its own characteristics, from taste to texture to the place it was produced. The way that some cheeses are named for the place that they are produced is similar to the way many wines are named. However, in a unique sort of error, while Stilton cheese may seem to be the sort that is named after the place it was made, it is actually named after a nearby town instead.

Despite this apparent glitch, Stilton cheese has a protected name and is only made in a particular location and with a particular method. The history of Stilton cheese shows how this cheese picked up its odd name.

A Matter of Marketing

The reason that Stilton cheese isn’t named after the town it was made in has to do with the fact that it was sold primarily in another town. It was in 1730 that the owner of the Bell Inn discovered Stilton cheese while visiting a farm in the county of Leicestershire. He liked the cheese so much that he proposed a business deal to sell the cheese at his inn, which was located as a stagecoach stop on a major road.

This inn became the perfect place to expose this new cheese to travelers from all over, which in turn helped spread the word of this food. But because the cheese became associated with the town where it was sold, it’s called Stilton cheese, not Leicestershire cheese.

A Controlled Name

Over 250 years later, Stilton cheese still refers to cheese that is made in a particular area. In addition to the county in which it was discovered, the cheese can also be made in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; the town of Stilton is not located in any of the three counties it is produced in. Controls over the naming of Stilton cheese are as tight as the controls on the naming of some wines, so that even if this cheese is made with the exact same methods in France, it cannot legally be called Stilton.

The Characteristics

That story describes how Stilton cheese got its name, but what is it exactly? This type of cheese is made in a cylindrical shape and is made from pasteurized milk. Rather than pressing the cheese to remove moisture, Stilton cheese is carefully drained over several days before it is ripened. This process also helps the cheese to form a crust, which is considered to be another key characteristic of Stilton.

During the process of making the cheese, traditional Stilton cheese is pierced with needles to allow blue mold to grow, giving Stilton its distinctive veins. This cheese also has to show a high quality of taste, so much so that if the dairy producing the cheese finds it to be less than satisfactory, it won’t be sold as Stilton, but merely blue cheese. It’s this careful control that keeps this distinctive cheese with the misleading name such a popular cheese.