Raw Stiltonesca... The Magical Cheese

You can't really make Stilton Cheese because so much of the flavor comes from the land, what they grow for feed, and the type of cows the use. Stilton cheese can only be produced in the three counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Also they own the name. Being an artist who has had her intellectual property and trademark stolen, I understand how they feel.  

What you can do is make a cheese using the same process. I did and then I began to play with the recipe...

After the curd has drained overnight, you crumble it, salt it, and put it in the molds for two days of draining and mold flipping. One morning my daughter was complaining about how long it would take before she could eat it. As she helped herself  to the crumbles left in the mixing bowl, I thought why not serve it 'raw'? Anyone who has made it knows it needs daily tending. Many daily tendings. Which gives you a brilliant 5 star cheese. But what if you only went half way through the process? Back to the dairy for five more gallons of organic Jersey milk... when it was finished draining I crumbled and salted it and stored it in the fridge. It went quickly. Next batch I crumbled part of it and stored a chunk for slicing. It's a dandy sandwich cheese hot or cold. Quite lovely sliced with fresh Genovese tomatoes dusted with chopped purple basil and drizzled with extra virgin. Or hold the salt and add a few drops of almond extract and some raw honey to a bowl of crumbles, it's heavenly. Then came the big discovery...

I'd been in the gardens and with the beasties since 6:00am. It was 9:00pm and I was beat. It was a major effort just to get all the soil out from under my nails. One day I may learn to work in gloves but I wouldn't count on it. Foraging in the fridge I found a bowl of Rotini that didn't make it into a pasta salad I'd made for a potluck earlier in the week. I added a half cup of the Stiltonesca crumbles to the top and shoved it in the microwaved. What I discovered was the easiest, most delish, creamy smooth, white mac and cheese on the planet! No grating, no rue, now stirring, no having to clean the cheese out of the pot... just a minute in the microwave. And that is the tale of how Raw Stiltonesca came to be.

FYI - If you hang it longer it's dryer and is a grand substitute for Feta with less salt. Less hang time it's wetter and slices better. I use glass containers to store my cheeses in, I find it keeps better. I also added a shelf over my kitchen sink with antique scrolled wrought iron brackets. Less mess! I hang the cheese from the scroll. It drips right into the sink.

White stilton is pretty common in the UK which sounds like what you have made. Really funnily stilton cheese cannot be made in the village of Stilton where it took it's name from.

Skandi Rogers wrote:White stilton is pretty common in the UK which sounds like what you have made. Really funnily stilton cheese cannot be made in the village of Stilton where it took it's name from.

Strange how they do things like that. Humans can be very weird. Yes that is a white. Though I did add a bit of blue mold to a bowl of the crumbles one time. It wasn't bad but it didn't have the full bloom of the blue when it's aged inside the cheese.

I would love to know the recipe for this cheese. Would you post it, or point me to a website where I can find a good one?

Thank you!

Liv Smith wrote:I would love to know the recipe for this cheese. Would you post it, or point me to a website where I can find a good one?

Thank you!

Liv I'll get it up here tomorrow. It's really easy.

Here is the recipe for the Raw Stiltonesca as requested. If you've made cheese before you know all the steps I didn't spell out. If you haven't let me know and I'll post a more detailed recipe.

15 qts whole milk
4 cups whipping cream
1/2 tsp mesophilic culture
1/2 tsp calcium chloride
1/2 tsp liquid rennet
4 tbsp salt

1. Heat milk to 86' add culture. Cover let ripen 1 hour

2. Dilute & add calcium chloride.

3. Dilute & add rennet. Cover let set 1 1/2 hours.

4. When you have a clean break use skimmer to slice off thin layers of curd and transfer to a cheesecloth lined colander. You'll need a large catch bowl for the whey. Cover with pot lid, maintain temp and let drain for 1 1/2 hours. Lift and turn curd during draining.

5. Tie corners of cheese cloth to form a bag. Hang and let drain overnight or 6 to 10 hours.

6. Remove from cloth crumble and/or slice as you wish. Add salt to crumbles and toss to mix. Or sprinkle salt on the slices. Store in glass contained for the best shelf life in the fridge.

*Another option is when you are layering the curd in the colander you can add dried fruit like cranberries or cherries between the layers. I omit the salt in the end. You can slice and drizzle with honey after hang time or store the whole ball of cheese and slice it as you need it.