stilton cheese

Milk, milk and yet more milk is pasteurised and then added to huge cheese vats, blue mould culture with the fancy name of Penicillium roqueforti is then added to the vats along with a vegetarian rennet to set the milk. Once a curd has formed then it is cut which allows the curd to settle to the bottom and the whey to the top. The next day the curd is cut into blocks and allowed to drain before salt is added along with a cylindrical hoop, with more drainage-taking place over the next 5 days, this allows for moisture to distribute evenly. The hoop is removed and the cheese is sealed and allowed to ripen until around 5 weeks when it begins to crust, at this stage it can be pierced with stainless steel needles which allows air to enter and thus creates the traditional blue veining the cheese is famous for.