Michael Portillo discovered some of the secrets of Stilton last night on his Great British Railway Journey shown on BBC. Viewers were told that the name arose due to the place where it was first sold, not made! 
This is a disputed point – there is no doubt that ‘stilton’ acquired its name from the village of Stilton, but this creamy cheese was being made and sold in and around the village of Stilton possibly in the late 17th Century and certainly in the early 18th Century.
With the development of the coaching trade, the town soon became a trading post between London and Edinburgh for many commodities and it is known that one of the innkeepers in the town – Cooper Thornhill, landlord and then subsequently the owner of The Bell Inn – turned this to his advantage by first selling the local cheese from the Bell Inn, not only to passing travelers but also into London. Some legends have it that in 1730, Thornhill discovered a distinctive blue cheese while visiting a small farm near Melton Mowbray in rural Leicestershire – possibly in Wymondham, Leicestershire. Thus supporting the argument that the cheese was only ever sold in Stilton, not made.
It is undisputed that as demand grew, so Thornhill sought out new sources and around 1743, struck up a commercial arrangement with a renowned cheese-maker from Leicestershire – Frances Pawlett. It is said that she supplied cheese to Thornhill and through a co-operative arrangement got other cheese makers in Leicestershire to make Stilton cheese. As demand for Stilton Cheese grew, so the production witched
almost exclusively to Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and the area around the town of Stilton began to concentrate on trading cheese rather than producing it….
Stilton is one of only 17 British products have the status of a protected designation of origin by the European Commission. Officially it can only be produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire – and made according to a strict code.
Tags: Blue Cheese, British Cheese, cheese, Stilton
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