The Fascinating Story of Britain's Most Traditional Blue Cheese (and Why It Can't Be Called Stilton)

Blessed are the cheesemakers...

I love the genuine curiosity and interest that comes accross in these videos. She is not just making just another video, its exploring with the cheesemakers and helping us appreciate their important craft. The pace is perfect, no rushing. Just like the cheese process. Not talking loud and fast - respecting the environment of the cheese house. Thanks for your channel!

I have been a lover of blue cheese for most of my 74 years of life. While, in the British Officers Mess in Rheindahlen I was introduced to Stilton Blue Cheese. Wow, I was hooked. I am fortunate to live in an area near Cincinnati where I can buy the cheese. It is simply the best.

Hey JOE GOOD TO SEE YOU AFTER 20 years the best cheese maker I ever worked with !! Philippe

The skills of this cheesemaking team and the camaraderie heard in the background tell me this cheese is as perfect as the children of happy, “salt-of the earth” parents living in an idyllic English village could be. So now off I search the internet for a place to buy it. Thank you Claudia for your ongoing, laid back forays into the world of European food.

Claudia I am a cheese maker in Australia and I’ve been watching your programs for several years now. I love your simple approach and understated passion for all things food. You are a true global ambassador- thank you.

I love these videos, the cheese making process of companies like these is truly an art

about 20 seconds into Joe talking I immediately had to figure out what the deal was with his accent, glad you covered it at the end! I can confidently say I've watched, and enjoyed, more cheese making videos from you than any other person or outlet. Great video!

I watched this sitting in my car outside a supermarket in Australia. I was only going in for toilet paper, but my mouth was watering so hard that I had to stop by the cheese counter. I could obviously only get Stilton, but it did the trick. 👍

I would like to taste Stichelton some day. It's nice to see new local producers of good food. We need that. The manufacturers of Stilton cheese in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire applied for and received Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in 1996. At that time they used pasteurised milk. Stilton cheese cannot be made in Stilton village, which gave the cheese its name, because it is not in any of the three permitted counties. The Parish of Stilton applied for an amendment to the Stilton PDO but was unsuccessful. All of this was not decided by the EU but by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Today Stilton cheese is exported to USA but not to the EU because of lacking Export Health Certificates.

If you're lucky enough to taste Stichelton once in your life, that's already an achievement! Joe's cheese are delicate and that was one of my last discovery in terms of cheese.

She didn't say what here favorite blue cheese is :) It would probably be a race between the French and Italian ones. But I have to say, I have a soft spot for English cheeses. There is something precious about the crumblier texture and the deeper flavors. As a teenager I'd often sit with my parents after coming home from visiting friends, joining them for some cheese and wine before bed. My father loved the raw-milk cheeses, but my mother cursed him for their stinkiness. It was nice, we got to talk more than during the busy day. People should see eating as communication again, not just slinging down their meal.

Man i love how you vibe with the gentleman. You are so natural and interested, really opens up the artisans

I can't express enough just how much I loved watching this process and how it made me respect Blue Cheese more overall.

Claudia could be showing us a video of how to make the perfect dirt and mud pie and I would watch it.

A lot of hard work, patience and dedication, along with a perfected exact science to make this beautiful cheese. I immediately went on their web site to see how easy it is to order on line and was pleased to see how this is very possible. Lovely video presentation from this young lady. Thank you for introducing me to this almost lost cheese.

Claudia, you are the best technical cheese making reporter on the planet! Thank you again for a great video. The cheeky shot of the white board at 1:44 is brilliant 😀

I recently got to try some Stilton and wow was it an experience; I like bleu cheese, boy did this pack a wallop, I was not expecting how bold it was and how strong the aftertaste was and how creamy the cheese itself would be, it was really good and I hope I can have more eventually.

Say cheese. 👍 Amazing, the workmanship and dedication to make this product. I'll try to get this traditional blue cheese since I love different kinds of cheeses.

This is the only English blue cheese that I eat. So glad somebody revived this type of cheese made from raw milk even though I wince a little when I see the price! A story: sometime in the mid eighties I acquired the late Major Patrick Rance’s book on English cheeses, and was driven to visit his cheese emporium in Streetly on Thames; it was then that first tasted the fabled Stilton made by Colston Bassett, which was a completely different world from creamery Stilton I had previously eaten. It was in those days still made from raw milk, and what a difference. As my visit was shortly before Xmas, and I was so moved by the experience of the tasting, I bought a whole cheese! It lasted until February the following year and was, by that time a little ‘bitey’. I feel privileged to have experienced a very great British cheese; I don’t buy Colston Bassett Stilton any more..