In London, you can get a good wedge of Stilton any time of year. But at Christmastime, you find it everywhere because the Brits go bonkers for what they consider to be the king of blue cheeses. By law, a cheese can only be crowned a Stilton if it’s been made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire, all counties in the east midlands region of England. And it’s got to be made from full-fat, pasteurized cows’ milk. The curds are formed into cylindrical “truckles” that are taller than they are wide, inoculated with penicillium roqueforti mold and aged for at least nine weeks.

The parameters of the protected origin for Stilton were set by the European Union in the 1990s and still hold up in the wake of Brexit. But the cheese itself can be traced back to Frances Pawlett, a renowned cheesemaker from Wymondham, Leicestershire. She created it circa 1720 using whole milk fortified with a little cream. Businessman Cooper Thornhill started peddling this blue cheese via stagecoach into London markets, and the rest is history.

Stilton is now produced by just six dairies; five large, mostly mechanized creameries and one smaller artisan shop that makes it all by hand. Collectively, they produce over a million truckles, 60 percent of which, according to the Stilton Cheesemakers Association, get sold in November and December.

Most Maine cheese mongers from Camden to Scarborough sell imported Stilton. Closer to home, there are many Maine-made blue cheeses with a similar zingy-yet-buttery-sweet flavor, creamy-but-crumbly texture – and their own local flair.

Bradbury Blue is a raw milk cheese from Winter Hill Farm in Freeport. When I reached out to cheesemaker Sarah Wiederkehr for a comparison, she promptly picked up a wedge of Stilton made by Cropwell Bishop Creamery (a big producer from Nottingham) from Bow Street Market in Freeport where she was dropping off a delivery of her own cheese. The Stilton was a bit tangier, she said, and it had a creamier mouthfeel. She also noticed her Bradbury Blue was more yellow and the veins a darker blue.

“Ours has a more pasture/barnyard component as it’s a raw milk cheese made at the height of summer,” she said.

Esker Blue from Josh Pond Farm in Whiting was inspired by Stichelton (made in Nottinghamshire, but with raw milk so it doesn’t qualify as a Stilton), which is one of cheesemaker Sean FitzGerald’s all-time favorite cheeses. Josh Pond Farm sold out of the Esker Blue this fall, but FitzGerald is planning to release the next batch right around Christmas.

Cascadilla Bleu, a Lakin’s Gorges Cheese, is a semi-firm cheese, which is unusual for a blue, explained Allison Lakin, who makes the cheese at East Forty Farm in Waldoboro. “But it shares a nutty and salty profile that fans of Stilton would find appealing,” she said.

No cheese (made in Maine or elsewhere) compares note-for-note with an English Stilton, said Jessie Dowling, founder of Fuzzy Udder Creamery in Whitefield. Dowling has lived, worked and studied in Devonshire and London. “But I think (our) Polar Vortex can hold its own next to any blue cheese,” she said. Polar Vortex was selected as the top blue in the 2023 Maine Cheese Awards. Dowling suggested pairing it with port, especially during the holiday season, as is often done with Stilton.

Cheesemonger Will Sissel of The Cheese Shop in Portland says Spring Day Blues made by Sarah Spring in Durham, is another great local blue to serve with port this holiday season. “A key factor is it being a natural-rinded blue, which helps round out the flavors – nothing too intense or powerful – and its smoother taste is perfect with longer-aged port, which tends to be a bit concentrated and viscous,” he said.

It’s likely Stilton has become key to Christmastime celebrations in England because of seasonal milk production in England. Paxton and Whitfield, a London-based cheesemonger that has sold Stilton for over 200 years, explains on its website that Stilton must be made with very rich milk. Historically in the UK, there are two rainy periods, one in spring and the second in late summer; these produce what are commonly called the first and second flush of good grass. When the dairy cows graze on the good grass, the resulting milk can be made into great cheese. It takes approximately 78 liters of rich, creamy milk to make a single Stilton truckle.

In the age before temperature-controlled cheese aging rooms, Stilton was primarily made from the glut of good milk in the spring. Because it took up to eight months to age properly, the timing seemingly sets the stage for a Christmastime Stilton tradition. In modern times, with the widespread use of temperature-controlled aging rooms, Stilton is ready after nine to twelve weeks. Today, it’s the second flush of good grass that usually enables Christmastime Stilton consumption.

Long ago, those who could afford it generally bought a whole truckle of Stilton for the holidays, which amounted to about 100 healthy portions. People preserved leftovers by mashing the cheese with port (tawny, not ruby, so the cheese doesn’t turn purple), packing it into a ceramic pots and sealing the surface with clarified butter.

Fast forward to 2023, you can buy just a slice for a cheeseboard or a half truckle to be placed in the middle of a table, where eaters can scoop out the creamy center to slather on crackers. But in a nod to tradition, Stilton is also sold in ceramic pots by cheese makers, cheese mongers, and department stores in England from high-end Fortnam & Mason to more basic Marks & Spencer, whose food halls are jam-packed with shoppers looking for gifts to bring to Christmas dinner.

These pots, according to Ellie Moreton, a spokesperson for artisan Stilton maker Hartington Creamery in Matlock, Derbyshire, are manually filled with crumbled cheese and capped with a layer of wax or butter. Some of the pots are classic (Paxton & Whitfield’s are black with gold lettering), some are pretty (Marks & Spencer’s depict pastoral scenes in blue and white), others are festive (Fortnam & Mason’s offers a spiced-port version in a bright red vessel). But the potting also serves a practical purpose.

“Stilton only has a cut life of 28 days whereas potting the cheese allows it to last for 3 months,” Moreton said.

The Internet can certainly help you buy potted Stilton to bring to your Christmas table. But if you’re more inclined to buy local, I suggest buying an extra slice of whatever blue you prefer, potting it yourself, and pulling the treat out to serve with port when unexpected guests pop in for a bit of holiday cheer.

Potted Blue Cheese with Port and Walnuts

Makes three (6-ounce) ramekins of potted cheese

6 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup walnuts halves
8 ounces blue cheese
2 tablespoons tawny port or other light-colored fortified wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole fresh bay leaves, to garnish

Place the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat to melt slowly so that the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and the clarified butter floats on top.

Pick out 3 of the prettiest walnut halves and set aside. Finely chop the remaining nuts and place them in a medium bowl. Crumble the blue cheese with your fingers into the bowl. Add the port and 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to gently combine the ingredients.

Divide the mixture among 3 (6-ounce) ramekins. Use a spoon to press the mixture evenly into each ramekin and to smooth the top. Pour 1 tablespoon of clarified butter over each pot of cheese. Set a walnut half in the center of each and garnish each pot with a bay leaf.

Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Let the ramekin sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving it with hearty crackers and more fortified wine.

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