Stichelton

In producing Stichelton, Joe has revitalised a British classic.
It stands out as one of only a few unpasteurised blue cheeses made in the UK.
A rare find.

Joe’s mission was to recreate part of British cheese history.  A classic British cheese which had died out being made in artisan way and had, by its very nature, changed as a result.
So in 2006 Joe Schneider set-up on Collingthwaite Farm (on the Wellbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire) to re-establish this farmhouse, raw milk version, of Britain’s most famous and recognised blue cheese.  Using a classic recipe and being in the Midlands, he decided to model his cheese as it would have traditionally been made, pre-industrialisation of cheese recipes.  This involves doing much more of the processes by hand and using raw milk from one farm (the milk comes fresh from the cows every morning and only travels about 10 meters!).
Stichelton is then matured slower, longer and gentler to allow for complexity of flavour.  This makes it distinctly different from it’s standardised factory made counterparts.  To avoid confusion he decided to name it Stichelton; and in the process recreated an outstanding British cheese – made here in its true historic form.

Stichelton is made slowly, with a gentle acidification of the milk and traditional hand-ladling to drain the curd (most is done by machine which treats the curd in a rougher fashion).  It is then rubbed up and allowed to form its classic glossy, ruby-red coat.  This stops it from going blue too early allowing the cheese to mature and produce complex flavours slower.  Stichleton is then pierced later than other blue cheeses (about 10-12 weeks) and aged slower producing an immensely complex cheese that is not aggressively blue.  Stichelton is toasty, nutty and sweet with a creamy light texture and gentle blue note.

Find out more about ‘How Stichelton is Made’ and ‘The History of British Blue Cheese’ by clicking here for more details on The Courtyard Dairy’s recent visit.

This product will have two weeks’ shelf life from the date of delivery.  Conveniently, at checkout you can choose a delivery date even well in the future if you would like your cheese delivering for a specific event.