A blue for those who ‘don’t like blues’, the Stilton we buy from is made exclusively for Neal’s Yard Dairy by Colton Bassett Dairy. Gentler, sweeter and more balanced than a ‘typical’ blue cheese, it boasts a creamy, buttery paste pierced with the delicate blue veining characteristic of a Stilton.
Colston Bassett Dairy, which was set up as a cooperative in 1913 and is still owned by a handful of local residents and the farmers who supply the milk, is one of only five dairies in the world still producing Stilton – and the only one that continues the traditional process of ladling the curds from the vat to the cooling trays entirely by hand: an important step in achieving a smooth, rich-textured cheese. The milk is sourced from farms within 1½ miles of the dairy, and the head cheesemaker, Billy Kevan, is only the fourth person to have held the post in more than a century.
Made with pasteurised cow's milk.
