Andy Montoya
Blue Stilton is a variety of the British cheese Stilton, which is known as the king of English cheeses. It is a creamy cow's milk cheese with a salty, pungent, and earthy flavour, and blue veins of mould created by piercing the cheese with needles and allowing air to enter and foster bacteria growth. Blue Stilton is a versatile cheese that can be served in many ways, such as with port wine, drizzled with honey, or with dried fruit and nuts. It can also be used as an ingredient in dishes like pizza, quiche, and salads.
How to Serve Blue Stilton Cheese
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Flavour | Salty, earthy |
| Texture | Creamy, similar to Brie but less runny |
| Accompaniments | Port wine, honey, dried fruit and nuts, crusty bread or crackers |
| Storage | Always keep wrapped in the refrigerator, preferably in an airtight container |
| Recipes | Jacket potatoes, beans on toast, mash, quiche, pizza, salads, pasta |
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What You'll Learn
- Pairing with wine: Blue Stilton's salty, pungent flavours are balanced by the sweetness of port wine
- Drizzled with honey: For a sweet and savoury dish, serve with crusty bread or crackers and honey
- With dried fruit and nuts: Apricots, cranberries, pears, or walnuts complement the cheese's salty notes
- Storage: Always keep Blue Stilton well-wrapped and preferably in an airtight container in the refrigerator
- In cooking: Blue Stilton can be used in cooking as an ingredient in dishes such as pizza, quiche, and salads
Pairing with wine: Blue Stilton's salty, pungent flavours are balanced by the sweetness of port wine
Blue Stilton is a variety of the famous English cheese, Stilton, which is known to be one of the world's best-known cheeses. It is characterised by its salty, pungent, and earthy flavours, and its distinctive blue veins. The cheese is traditionally paired with port wine, a combination that is considered a classic and a "match made in heaven".
The sweetness of port wine beautifully balances the salty and pungent flavours of Blue Stilton. The pairing of the two is believed to have originated in England, where the village tradition of cheesemaking, which predates the Saxons, combined with imported Portuguese port wine. The pairing is best enjoyed after a large meal, during which several other drinks have been appreciated.
When choosing a port wine to pair with Blue Stilton, you can opt for a vintage Port from highly-rated years such as 1994 or 2011. A good, serviceable Ruby Port, such as one from Quinta do Infantado, is also a great choice. For a more premium option, consider the Taylor Fladgate 20-Year Tawny, which is priced at around $50. If you're feeling indulgent, you could even try a port wine from your birth year—a unique way to celebrate a special occasion.
If you're looking for something a little different, Blue Stilton also pairs well with other dessert wines, such as Sauternes, a white dessert wine produced in Bordeaux. For a more exotic option, try a Cannonau wine from Sardinia or a classic Rhone expression like Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
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Drizzled with honey: For a sweet and savoury dish, serve with crusty bread or crackers and honey
Blue Stilton cheese is a British cheese with a salty, earthy flavour and blue mould veins. It is a popular cheese board option and pairs well with sweet flavours, making it a popular dessert cheese.
One way to serve Blue Stilton cheese is to drizzle it with honey. This combination makes for a sweet and savoury dish, which can be served as an appetiser or dessert. To make this dish, start by bringing the cheese to room temperature. Next, crumble the cheese and place it on a slice of crusty bread or a cracker. You can use any type of bread, but a good-quality, warm baguette or artisan bread is recommended. Then, drizzle honey over the cheese. Depending on your taste, you can use more or less honey. Finally, serve the dish with sliced apples or other seasonal fruits, celery sticks, or sliced bell peppers on the side.
If you want to elevate this dish, you can try baking it. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Celsius. Cut a chunk of blue cheese and crumble it into small bits in an oven-proof dish. Add a tablespoon of walnuts to the blue cheese. Drizzle a teaspoon of honey over the walnuts and cheese. Place the dish in the oven until the contents have melted together, which should take about five minutes. You can dip slices of apple and pear into this ooey-gooey mess.
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With dried fruit and nuts: Apricots, cranberries, pears, or walnuts complement the cheese's salty notes
Blue Stilton is a variety of the famous English Stilton cheese, often referred to as the "King of English Cheeses". It is a bold and spicy blue cheese with signature blue veins from the Penicillium roqueforti fungus. It is smooth, creamy, and delicious, and it pairs beautifully with dried fruit and nuts.
Apricots, in particular, are a classic pairing with Stilton. The sweet, tangy essence of apricots blends beautifully with the creamy, salty Stilton, creating a delightful combination of flavours and textures. This unique cheese is known as Apricot Stilton, and it can be purchased or made at home by mixing in dried apricots during the cheese production process.
Other dried fruits that complement Blue Stilton include cranberries, pears, and walnuts. Combining these ingredients with the cheese creates a sweet and savoury appetizer or dessert. For instance, a Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Glazed Honey Walnuts is an elegant side dish loaded with a sweet and savoury fruit-nut-cheese combination. To make this salad, simply toast walnuts in a dry pan with honey, salt, and pepper, then assemble the greens, blue cheese, pomegranate seeds, and sliced pears on a platter. Top it off with the walnuts and a dressing of your choice.
When serving Blue Stilton with dried fruit and nuts, it is essential to bring the cheese to room temperature to fully appreciate its complex flavours and creamy texture. Additionally, consider adding some crusty bread or crackers on the side to complete the dish.
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Storage: Always keep Blue Stilton well-wrapped and preferably in an airtight container in the refrigerator
Blue Stilton is a finicky cheese to store. Its delicate pierced blue veining makes it more susceptible to oxidation and moisture loss. To prevent this, always keep Blue Stilton well-wrapped and preferably in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Wrapping the cheese too tightly in plastic or cheese paper can cause unwanted bacteria to grow, so wax paper or parchment paper is recommended. This allows the cheese to breathe, preventing moisture from becoming trapped on the surface, which can cause the cheese to degrade and inedible pinkish bacteria to grow.
If you want to keep your Blue Stilton for as long as possible, it should be stored in the fridge. However, if you plan to eat it within a week, storing it on the counter will keep the flavour and texture ready to eat at any moment, without needing to be taken out of the fridge an hour before serving.
To keep your Blue Stilton fresh, store it in a high-humidity environment.
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In cooking: Blue Stilton can be used in cooking as an ingredient in dishes such as pizza, quiche, and salads
Blue Stilton is a versatile ingredient in the kitchen, adding a unique flavour to dishes such as pizza, quiche, and salads. Its pungent, salty, and tangy flavour and strong smell make it a distinctive ingredient that can transform a dish.
When using Blue Stilton in cooking, a little goes a long way due to its strong flavour. It is also a healthy option, with high calcium content and a compound called spermidine, which helps protect against heart disease.
For a pizza topping, Blue Stilton can be crumbled over a variety of other toppings, adding a unique flavour. It pairs well with ingredients such as caramelised onions, mushrooms, steak, artichokes, bacon, buffalo chicken, pears, and walnuts. To make a simple blue cheese sauce for pizza, combine blue cheese crumbles with heavy whipping cream and add this to your pizza base before topping with your chosen ingredients.
In a quiche, Blue Stilton can be scattered over the base of the pastry, along with other ingredients, and then topped with more cheese. A recipe for a Blue Stilton, bacon, and caramelised onion quiche includes combining the cheese with eggs, double or heavy cream, and milk, with salt and pepper, and baking in the oven.
Blue Stilton is also commonly used in salads, where it can be crumbled over other ingredients to add flavour. It works well with salty and sweet combinations, such as bacon and pecans, and can be combined with other types of leaves and vegetables, such as lettuce, radish, celery, and apple, and cucumber, tomatoes, roasted peppers, and avocado.
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Frequently asked questions
Always keep Blue Stilton cheese well-wrapped in the refrigerator, preferably in an airtight container. This will help to maintain its flavour and texture.
Blue Stilton is a versatile cheese that can be used in a variety of dishes. It pairs well with sweet flavours like honey, dried fruit, and nuts, making it a great option for appetizers or desserts. It can also be melted on top of beans on toast, mashed potatoes, or used as a topping for pizza and quiche.
Blue Stilton is a strong-flavoured cheese, so a little goes a long way. Experiment with different pairings to find what suits your palate. When serving with biscuits and wine, port wine is a good option to balance the salty, pungent flavours of the cheese.
Blue Stilton is a great addition to salads, pasta, and baked dishes. It can also be used as a vegetarian alternative to beef Wellington, or as a filling for jacket potatoes.
Blue Stilton is a variety of Stilton cheese, which is a British blue cheese made from cow's milk. It gets its name from the blue mold veins that develop during the cheesemaking process.
