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04/08/10 - Hold the front page for a Stilton scoop

In a long and varied journalistic career I can’t recall ever getting a Scoop!! You know the kind of thing... bursting into a newsroom full of clattering typewriters to yell “Hold the front page”. 

My entrances were usually along the lines of “Great news, a new wine bar’s opened in town” or “Do you think Berni Inns would do a recipe column with us?”

So when I came across a different kind of scoop online the other day, it reminded me of those innocent prehistoric, pre-blogging times. 

For just £9.95 Middlesex-based Teddington Cheesemongers (www.teddingtoncheese.co.uk) were offering a choice of elegant Stilton cheese scoops in TWO versions – twist neck polished and knot-handled.

How could I resist and what would I actually do with either? Was scooping, I wondered, connected with the mostly discredited habit (at least in my circles) of pouring Port into a whole Stilton? In the Swigging Sixties it was all the rage, but then so was Fondu laced with Kirsch. I rest my case.

 

Where better to consult than Vivienne Marquis and Patricia Heskell’s The Cheese Book, published in 1966?

 

The cheese gals suggested that because of Stilton’s height – nine inches compared with Roquefort’s five – it cannot be cut easily  in one straightforward motion. Hence  lot of folk preferred to scoop out the luscious blue-veined stuff, eventually tunnelling into the heart of the cheese, leaving a wide rim to dry and harden...

 

“The more dedicated scoopers pour Port into these unsightly craters to restore the moisture – a practice all connoisseurs deplore, and with reason. Port goes superbly with Stilton, but when it’s mixed with the cheese itself it adulterates Stilton’s unique flavour and turns its creamy texture into a sodden mess.”

More vivid is the revulsion shown by early 20th century food writer Ambrose Heath: “After much summoning by waiter and head waiter, there was borne to me half a Stilton encased in a kind of blood-stained cloth, as well it might be: for inside the rind was a strange lurid pulp, which the waiter stirred vigorously with a spoon.”

 

Of course, Heath and others were neglecting some traditional reasons why the Port pouring might have been useful. Before the days of refrigeration and pre-packed cheeses many households were obliged to buy whole or half Stilton cheeses which would have been wrapped in damp cloth to keep them from drying out and kept either in the larder or on the sideboard in the dining room. 

Eventually, after several weeks, they would dry out and the Port was added to rejuvenate the cheese - hence the need for a scooping spoon. 

 

Nowadays, with refrigeration the cheese can be kept cool and smaller pieces frozen for up to 3 months. Simply defrost in the fridge overnight and your Stilton comes out better than when it went in, an experienced Stilton hand tells me. He also tells me there’s absolutely no waste if you let the family dog eat the Stilton crust. They love it.

 

Final word from Marquis and Heskell: “The scooping practice is indeed wasteful. A Stilton weighting 14lb will yield, if scooped, probably no more than 7lb of really good cheese – whereas, if it is cut properly (ie halved first) there is very little waste.”

 

Don’t let that put you off buying a scoop, though. A stylish kitchen addition. Just been back to Teddington online to double check the offer and found, for £18.95, in addition to the scoop of your choice you also get a hand-made stainless steel traditional cheese knife accompanying it in a presentation box. My truckle runneth over.

 

Are there any inveterate scoopers left out there? Let me know if you believe it is still a major pleasure in eating Stilton, one denied to those who only buy a small pre-pack portion.