Shropshire Blue is a cow's milkcheese made in theUnited Kingdom.
The cheese was first made in the 1970s at the Castle Stuart dairy inInverness, Scotland by Andy Williamson, a cheesemaker who had trained in the making ofStilton cheese in Nottinghamshire. The cheese was first known as 'Inverness-shire Blue' or 'Blue Stuart', but was eventually marketed as 'Shropshire Blue', a name chosen to help increase its popularity, despite it having no link to the county ofShropshire.[1]
An alternative claim to the first production of the cheese, from the Shropshire-based company Westry Roberts, suggests that the cheese originated in the county that it bears the name of in the 1970s;[2] an archived article from 1977 would appear to back up this claim.[3]
A variant, called Ludlow Blue, is now also being made in the county of Shropshire in a small artisan dairy. Ludlow Blue usescarotene as a colouring agent rather thanannatto, which makes the colour more yellow.[4]
Shropshire Blue is ablue cheese made frompasteurised cows' milk and uses vegetablerennet. The orange colour comes from the addition ofannatto, a natural food colouring.Penicillium roqueforti produces the veining.
The cheese has a deep orange-brown, natural rind and matures for a period of 10–12 weeks with a fat content of about 48 per cent. Made in a similar way to Stilton, it is a soft cheese with a sharp, strong flavour and a slightly tangy aroma. It is slightly sour but sharper than Stilton and generally creamier.
