COLSTON BASSETT STILTON
Why does Relish we recommend this particular Stilton?
Colston Bassett Dairy remain as one of the last six Stilton-producing dairies. Only Colston Bassett Stilton (and a small proportion of Cropwell Bishop Stilton) still has the curds ladled entirely by hand. This means transferring the gently-set curds by hand to a cooling table where they can drain overnight. This delicate process produces a smoother, richer cheese.
Aged slowly, this cheese is ‘rubbed up’ to stop blue mould developing, before being pierced at around ten weeks to allow the blue mould in. The slow ageing, late piercing, and hand lading gives a balanced, rounded Stilton that is neither too bitter nor too sharp, often considered by connoisseurs to be the best Stilton.
Colston Bassett Dairy is a cooperative, originally set-up by a local doctor in 1912: he asked all the local residents to buy a share. The cheese dairy is still owned by the farmers who supply it (now only four, as the original 18 have consolidated) and local residents. Billy Kevan is the current head cheese-maker and is only the fourth man to hold the post.
Complex, buttery Stilton that’s flawlessly balanced. Aged until it’s perfectly ripe by The Courtyard Dairy, this Colston Bassett Stilton dissipates gently on the mouth and gives a rich, lingering flavour.
Colston Bassett Dairy have triumphed once again, with multiple star success at the 2017 Great Taste Awards. Both Shropshire Blue and Stilton took home two stars. 2017 is the fifth consecutive year that they have collected star.
Adding to the success, Colston Bassett Stilton was awarded a Silver medal at the 2017 International Cheese Awards, where Shropshire Blue also took Bronze. At the UK’s largest dedicated artisan cheese fair in Melton Mowbray, Colston Bassett brought home the Best Stilton Cheese Award and at the 2017 Newark & Nottinghamshire Christmas Primestock Show, Blue Stilton was crowned Best Cheese in Show.
2018 started positively when, for the fourth time in five years, Colston Bassett Stilton was named as one of the top three Best British Cheese Brands in the Guild of Fine Food’s prestigious ‘Best Brands’ survey.
These latest accolades follow on from a hugely successful 2014 – Colston Bassett Stilton was crowned Supreme Champion at both the International Cheese Awards and the Great Yorkshire Show.
Jason Hinds, Sales Director at Neal’s Yard Dairy, London; “With only four cheesemakers in the last one hundred years, Colston Bassett has maintained a tradition and quality of cheesemaking that is unparalleled in the Stilton world. It is the only Stilton that Neal’s Yard Dairy has carried for the last thirty three years, and is a favourite amongst our customers around the world, particularly in the USA and France.”