Price range: £3.30 through £16.50
Smoked Blue Stilton takes everything we love about creamy, savoury Blue Stilton and adds a warm layer of oak smoke. Rich, salty and gently smoky, it’s a modern twist on a British classic where the Stilton still gets to be the star.
As if Blue Stilton didn’t already have enough going on, somebody decided to smoke it.
And actually, it really works.
Smoked Blue Stilton takes the creamy, salty, savoury character of one of our best-known British cheeses and adds another layer of flavour through gentle smoking. You still get everything you’d expect from the Stilton underneath, but with a warm smokiness running through it too.
It’s certainly not traditional Stilton, but it’s a very tasty way of doing something a little different with it.
This is where things get interesting.
Blue Stilton itself is protected by PDO status and has to follow strict rules about where and how it is made. It can only be produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, using pasteurised cow’s milk and following the specifications laid down for the cheese.
Once you take that Stilton and smoke it, however, you’re doing something beyond the traditional PDO production process.
That doesn’t make it any less delicious. It simply makes Smoked Blue Stilton a modern variation on one of our great British classics.
Smoked Blue Stilton is usually cold-smoked, which means the aim is to introduce smoke without actually cooking the cheese.
That’s rather important when you’ve got a beautiful creamy Stilton to begin with!
Oak is often used, giving the cheese a warm, woody smokiness that works particularly well with the savoury flavours already developing during maturation.
And because the smoke tends to be more noticeable towards the outside of the cheese, you can sometimes get slightly different flavours as you work your way through a piece.
The first thing you’ll notice is obviously the smoke.
But give the cheese a moment and the Stilton starts to come through underneath it.
There’s that familiar creamy richness, gentle saltiness and blue tang, followed by a warm, woody smokiness that lingers after you’ve swallowed. I often find the smoke brings out some of Stilton’s nuttier, more savoury flavours too.
You might find hints of toasted walnuts, mushrooms or even something slightly bacon-like. It’s rich, certainly, but when the smoking has been done well it shouldn’t completely take over.
That’s the important bit for me.
I still want to taste the Stilton.
The texture remains wonderfully creamy and slightly crumbly, and once it’s had plenty of time out of the fridge it softens beautifully.
If you already love Blue Stilton, this is a really interesting way of tasting something familiar from a completely different angle.
Jen’s note: I think there’s a danger with smoked cheese that all you end up tasting is smoke. The best Smoked Blue Stilton still tastes unmistakably of Stilton — the smoke should add something to the cheese, not hide it.
Sizes and Prices
Storage Advice
Delivery and Collection
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, starter cultures, vegetarian rennet, salt, Penicillium Roqueforti, natural smoke
Normal opening Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm until:
Sunday 22nd 9am – 4pm
Monday 23rd 9am – 4pm
Christmas Eve 9am – 12pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Friday 27th Closed
Saturday 28th 9am – 4pm
Sunday 29th Closed
Monday 30th 9am – 2pm
Tuesday 31st 9am – 2pm
New Year’s Day Closed
Thursday 2nd January Closed
Friday 3rd 9am – 4pm then open as normal
After Christmas our courier delivery slots start from 8th January.
