What is Stilchester?

Stilchester is a cheese, traditionally made by combining layers of Stilton with Double Gloucester. It is also associated with the name Huntsman, a layered English cheese with a creamy, mellow outer cheese and a sharper blue-cheese center.

The construction gives Stilchester its distinctive appearance when sliced: pale Double Gloucester surrounds or alternates with the blue-veined Stilton. The result combines the nutty, buttery character of Double Gloucester with Stilton’s tangy, savory flavor and blue-cheese aroma.

Stilchester is easy to confuse with Stilton because the names sound similar, but they are not the same product. Stilton is a cheese in its own right, protected by a British geographical designation and traditionally produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, or Nottinghamshire. Stilchester is a composite cheese made from more than one cheese.

The name also invites confusion with Silchester, the ancient Roman town in Hampshire, England. That archaeological site has no connection to the cheese. In food trivia, “Stilchester” therefore points to a specialty English cheese rather than a place, beverage, or savory pie.