Made with unpasteurised cow's milk.
In 2006, cheesemaker Joe Schneider and Neal's Yard Dairy founder Randolph Hodgson set out to resurrect raw milk Stilton. Once upon a time, all Stiltons would have been made with unpasteurised milk – but by the time Randolph and Joe embarked on their project, raw milk Stilton had been extinct for 18 years. In pursuit of the sensory complexity and length of flavour that come from milk that has not been heat-treated, Joe and Randolph found a farm on the Welbeck Estate near the edge of Sherwood Forest and set to making cheese, only to find that the conditions set out in the EU protected name documentation prevented them from calling it Stilton.
Thus Stichelton was born: a Stilton-inspired recipe made only from the morning's milk, with very little starter and a long make – 24 hours – to draw out the milk's natural flora and delicate flavours. The curds are hand ladled and milled, giving a more delicate texture, and the flavours are further enhanced by the careful maturation process which takes place both at Stichelton Dairy and in our arches in Bermondsey.
