Hartington and Stilton Cheese
Hartington is famous for its cheese
The creamery in Hartington was first established by the Duke of Devonshire in the 1870's, and produced the white crumbly Derbyshire cheese until it was partially destroyed by fire in 1894. After standing empty for six years it was taken over and reinstated in 1900 by Thomas Nuttall, a prize-winning Stilton cheese-maker from Melton Mowbray, who began producing Blue Stilton at Hartington, a business which was later carried on and expanded by his son, John M. Nuttall. It was John Nuttall who held a warrant to supply Stilton to King George V, and also during the 1920’s a far-sighted regulation – a Certification Trade Mark – confined the legal production of Blue Stilton to the three neighbouring counties of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
Today’s Recipe for Blue Stilton:
Cooled milk is piped into huge horizontal vats, where it is warmed and salt and rennet are added. Temperature control is vital and the vats are continuously inspected by hand for coagulation and stirred by hand with paddles until the right balance of lumpy curd and liquid whey is reached. The mixture is then transferred to other vats where the whey is drained off and a streptococcus bacteria is added to change the lactose in the milk into lactic acid. The white fluffy curds are then packed lightly by machine into perforated plastic cylinders called hoops, stacked on boards and turned regularly so that the whey is discharged through the perforations.
The cylindrical cheese is then tipped out and bound by hand, the surface is skimmed with a knife and this process forms a crust which seals the whole cheese.
The finished cheeses are stored in high racks in cool, humid conditions and left to mature. They are turned regularly by hand, and then pierced by stainless steel wires on a machine to ensure the aeration of the cheese which is conducive to the growth of Penicillium glaucum – the fungus develops in the veins thus created, and spreads throughout the cheese. The vital fungal ingredient is cultured elsewhere and supplied to the creamery later, and how this is then inoculated into the cheese remains a trade secret which the producer prefers to keep to himself!
Because of the mould Stilton matures more quickly than other white cheeses, taking 3 – 4 months to reach its prime, as opposed to 9 months – 2 years in the case of Cheddar, for example.
The three basic preservation processes used in making cheese are;
- The removal of moisture
- The addition of salt
- Acidification