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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from England

Stilton

Pasteurised cow milk from three English counties is set with a starter and rennet, and the curd is left until the next day, then milled to walnut-size pieces, salted and tipped into tall moulds with no pressing. The cheese drains for up to a week, its surface is smoothed into a coat, and at about six weeks it is pierced so the blue mould can grow. Made in 7 steps over 49 days – 3 months. The longest step, ripen as the blue veins grow, takes 42 days – 2.8 months (Defra 2013). Lactococcus lactis (starter), about 70 % of colonies seen in the core and Penicillium roqueforti do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step42 days – 2.8 monthsSet[defra-spec]Ripen as the blue veins grow
AciditypH 6Reported[mugampoza2020]Ripen as the blue veins grow

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes the ingredients and steps but gives no amounts.
Pasteurised cow milk · From the three counties; in a shortage, from listed neighbouring counties. It may be standardised by season[defra-spec]
Starter culture · Lactococcus lactis in studies of Stilton[defra-spec][ercolini2003]
Rennet · Animal or non-animal coagulant[defra-spec]
Penicillium roqueforti · Added to the milk or sprayed on the curd; not used for White Stilton[defra-spec]
Salt · Mixed into the milled curd before moulding[defra-spec]
Starter: mesophilic lactic starter (Lactococcus lactis) plus Penicillium roqueforti

Total time across the recorded steps: 49 days – 3 months

Start
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shapes, not to countMoulds

What changes: Starter, rennet and blue mould spores go into pasteurised milk and it sets

Step 1 of 7
Pasteurise the milk and add starter, rennet and blue mould
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Penicillium roqueforti
Lactobacilli
Yeasts

The specification sets no temperature or time for this step. Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
milk sets to a gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

the starter begins souring the milk; mould spores go in with it

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Stilton is made with no applied pressure, and its curd waits until the next day before it is milled and salted. Only pasteurised milk from three counties is allowed. Roquefort, by contrast, uses raw ewe milk, is not milled, and ripens in natural caves.

Milk
Pasteurised cow milk from Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Curd
The next day the curd is cut into blocks, milled to walnut-size pieces, salted and tipped into moulds; no pressure is applied
Draining
Up to 7 days in a controlled room, turned regularly; then the surface is smoothed to form the coat
Piercing
Pierced with stainless needles at about 6 weeks
Ripening
Blue Stilton 6–12 weeks; Mature Blue 10–15 weeks; Vintage Blue over 15 weeks
Size
Fat in dry matter at least 48%

Related ferments

Variants

  • White StiltonNo blue mould; wrapped and sold after about 7 days.
  • Mature Blue and Vintage Blue StiltonKept longer, 10–15 weeks and over 15 weeks.

Safety

The specification allows only pasteurised milk.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The specification cites Daniel Defoe in 1727 passing through Stilton, "a town famous for cheese", and a cooperative of farmers formed at Long Clawson in 1911.

  1. [defra-spec] Defra, Stilton cheese PDO product specification (2013 document)spec
  2. [ercolini2003] Ercolini D., Hill P.J., Dodd C.E.R. 2003, Bacterial community structure and location in Stilton cheese, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 69(6):3540–3548, doi:10.1128/AEM.69.6.3540-3548.2003paper
  3. [mugampoza2020] Mugampoza D., Gkatzionis K., Swift B.M.C., Rees C.E.D., Dodd C.E.R. 2020, Diversity of Lactobacillus species of Stilton cheese relates to site of isolation, Frontiers in Microbiology 11:904, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.00904paper