Stilton with Blackberries - nothing beats the taste !I’m not much of a “cheese person” (if there is such a thing !) …. I can take it or leave it. Until it comes to Stilton, that is ….
I first tasted Stilton in the early ‘90’s at a lunch party held on a raspberry farm in the Magaliesburg, South Africa (in those days I was dating a strawberry farmer, seems like I always had a thing for the farm life ?!). It was a lovely al fresco lunch served on the verandah of the old farm house, and after dessert the hostess came out with a platter containing a huge wheel of Stilton topped with a hard, caramelized sugar topping – much to the awe of everyone seated around the table.
At that time, you could not get Stilton in Africa but an overseas guest had brought this into the country from the UK as a special “treat”. It was love at first bite for me ! There was just something about the delicious creaminess of the Stilton contrasted against the crisp, hardness of the sugar topping that really appealed to me. (Although I must admit that Stilton tastes just as delicious on it’s own.)
Several years later, I was in the UK with my husband and we were staying with my Uncle Gerald in Chester, when after dinner he brought out some Stilton with apricots mixed into it. Once again, the delicious combination of sweet/sour/creaminess had me hooked. Since then I have tried it mixed with both Cranberries and Blueberries, too – and all are equally delicious.
I was delighted to discover a few years ago that there are certain places in South Africa where you can now buy Stilton (the genuine stuff) – so needless to say, a trip to South Africa is never complete without a little Stilton !
Stilton is made from local cow’s milk in the UK counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and the ‘art’ of making it is over 300 years old – and only 7 dairies in the world are licenced to produce it. You get both blue and white Stilton (I prefer the latter). If you’ve never tried it, I urge you to because even if you aren’t a “cheese person” – I’m sure that you’ll love it !
I first tasted Stilton in the early ‘90’s at a lunch party held on a raspberry farm in the Magaliesburg, South Africa (in those days I was dating a strawberry farmer, seems like I always had a thing for the farm life ?!). It was a lovely al fresco lunch served on the verandah of the old farm house, and after dessert the hostess came out with a platter containing a huge wheel of Stilton topped with a hard, caramelized sugar topping – much to the awe of everyone seated around the table.
At that time, you could not get Stilton in Africa but an overseas guest had brought this into the country from the UK as a special “treat”. It was love at first bite for me ! There was just something about the delicious creaminess of the Stilton contrasted against the crisp, hardness of the sugar topping that really appealed to me. (Although I must admit that Stilton tastes just as delicious on it’s own.)
Several years later, I was in the UK with my husband and we were staying with my Uncle Gerald in Chester, when after dinner he brought out some Stilton with apricots mixed into it. Once again, the delicious combination of sweet/sour/creaminess had me hooked. Since then I have tried it mixed with both Cranberries and Blueberries, too – and all are equally delicious.
I was delighted to discover a few years ago that there are certain places in South Africa where you can now buy Stilton (the genuine stuff) – so needless to say, a trip to South Africa is never complete without a little Stilton !
Stilton is made from local cow’s milk in the UK counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and the ‘art’ of making it is over 300 years old – and only 7 dairies in the world are licenced to produce it. You get both blue and white Stilton (I prefer the latter). If you’ve never tried it, I urge you to because even if you aren’t a “cheese person” – I’m sure that you’ll love it !
