Festival: White Stilton with Mango and Ginger

The Basics

Make

Crumbly

Sub Make

Curd from a single day

Post-Make

Flavoured or Smoked, Wrapped, Rolled or Processed

Sub Post-Make

Re-milled or other breakage of the curd

Typical age profile

4 weeks

Approximate weight(s)

1.1kg

Dimensions

Diameter
Height	7.5cm (H) x 9.6cm (W) x, 20.8cm (L)

Geographical origin

Leicestershire, England

Protected status

PDO

Species of milking animal

Cow

Breed of cow

Various breeds

Raw/pasteurised milk

Pasteurised

Vegetarian/animal rennet

Vegetarian

Commonly encountered variations

: Sunburst (White Stilton with Apricots); Scarlet (White Stilton with Cranberries); Blueberry Fayre (White Stilton with Blueberries)

The Story

White Stilton is made in a similar way to its more famous blue sister cheese, but without the use of Penicillium roqueforti. Matured for around 4 weeks in vacuum packs, the cheese has no rind and a light, crumbly texture. Like Blue Stilton, White Stilton is protected by a PDO, which specifies it must be made with pasteurised cows’ milk from Leicestershire, Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire. The PDO allows for other ingredients to be added to create flavoured cheeses. Leicestershire-based Long Clawson Dairy makes White Stiltons with added cranberries, blueberries or apricots, but one of its most popular blends is Festival, made with mango and ginger. Pieces of dried mango and crystallised ginger are added to milled White Stilton, before it is reformed into wheel shapes, which are portioned into 1.1kg half wheels and vacuum packed for retail.

Clawson began making cheese in 1912 when 12 local farmers came together to form a co-operative. The business remains a co-operative today, owned by around 30 local dairy farms within 30 miles of the dairy in the village of Long Clawson. Their milk is used to make Stilton, Shropshire Blue and a range of hard and flavoured cheeses.

The Character

Clawson’s White Stilton has a light, crumbly texture, plus a yoghurty tang and milky freshness. It’s a good base for the sweetness of the dried mango and the heat of the ginger, which balance each other.

Perfect Partners

A snutty cracker is the perfect base for the cheese, while the tropical fruit flavours and pungent acidity of Sauvignon Blanc provides a pleasing harmony with the sweet and spicy cheese.