National Express - 36

CHEESE, PORK PIES
AND OYSTERS
- YOU CAN EAT
LIKE A KING!

Cropwell Bishop
Stilton

- Nottinghamshire

MIDLANDS
AND SOUTH
EAST
ENGLAND

Ironically, the pungent-smelling,
blue-veined cheese which took
its name from the village of Stilton
in Cambridgeshire, cannot actually
be made there. Protection laws passed in
1996 decree all Stilton must be made in the
counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and
Leicestershire. In the 18th century, the village
of Stilton and its coaching inns were apparently
where the cheese was sold but no recipe has
been found linking the village to the cheese.
Cropwell Bishop in Nottinghamshire, however,
has been churning out Stilton cheeses for
decades, which win countless awards and are
revered by many. With a slim crust, evenly
distributed blue veins and around 78 litres of
fresh local cow's milk in each cheese, its blue
Stiltons are handmade using methods that
haven't changed much since the 17th century!

Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
- Leicestershire

The Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray is so
protective of its pies (and rightly so) that the nine
manufacturers of the pork pie in the area formed
the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association,

to protect the name, reputation and
authenticity of their product. Only pies
made within a designated area around
Melton Mowbray are allowed to carry the
name on the packaging. Baked free-standing
and not in a mould, exactly as it was at the
end of the 18th century, the meat is always
uncured, chopped pork - not minced - and is
slightly grey in colour. Beware of imitators.

Whitstable Oysters - Kent

Dating back to Roman times, Whitstable Oysters,
or the 'pearls of Kent', did not always hold such
'gourmet' status in the food chain. In fact, paupers
of the 19th century hailed the pale bivalves as a
diet staple. A snapshot of Whitstable Bay in 1860
showed three oyster companies, more than 100
ﬁshing boats and over 500 employers - a hotbed
of shellﬁsh activity. Yet a combination of cold
winters, two world wars, the great ﬂood of 1953
- not to mention the introduction of the popular
prawn cocktail - saw a decline in the morsels.
Whitstable doesn't let poor ﬁshing seasons
deter it from showing visitors a good time at the
annual Whitstable Oyster Festival, though. Locals
celebrate the Protected Geographical Indication
(PGI) status of the once abundant aphrodisiac
with live music, artisan craft markets and
Champagne masterclasses.

36

MALDON
SEA SALT

A staple ingredient
in all great foods!
The salt industry along
the Essex coast has such
a long history that the salt
pans are even mentioned
in the Domesday survey
of 1086 and place names
such as Gore Saltings and
Salcotte are reminders
of how proliﬁc it was in
the area. These days,
it's made from seawater
drawn from the middle
of the river Blackwater,
the salt is hand-harvested
in a traditional manner.
Unreﬁned, containing no
chemicals, it's
produced
as small,
ﬂavourful
crystalline
ﬂakes
rather than
hard grains.
National Express

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