05/12/2026
For the months of May and June, we're thrilled to partner with to offer Stichelton on promotion. This evolution of this cheese is just another example of the commitment Neal's Yard has to supporting traditional British cheesemaking and keeping those centuries-old practices alive.
Stichelton is essentially a raw milk version of Stilton. By the time Stilton got its Protected Designation of Origin
status in 1996, all the Stilton in England was already being pasteurized. As a result, pasteurization was written
into the PDO as a requirement for making the classic English blue. So when American cheesemaker Joe
Schneider and Neal’s Yard Dairy founder Randolph Hodgson decided they wanted to make a more
traditional raw milk version of the cheese, they knew from the start it would have to be called something else.
Stichelton is made in Nottinghamshire, from raw morning milk, with very little starter. The make itself takes a full
24 hours. The curds are hand ladled and milled, then the wheels are rubbed up and pierced. The result is an
exceptionally unique and complex cheese that shows a great deal of variation from batch to batch.
Cutting into a wheel of Stichelton, the first thing you’ll notice is the beautiful open texture. The paste is soft and
creamy, and the aroma gives graham cracker and brownie notes. It has excellent salinity and no bitterness to
speak of. The paste is buttery, and the blue flavor is round, balanced, and warm. In the fudgy paste just under
the rind, we get notes of peanut butter and honey sandwich. It is an exceptional example of the style.
