Latest news with #foodhistory
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why can't Stilton make Stilton?
The famous blue cheese it gave its name to is known throughout the world, but despite years of local protests, the Cambridgeshire village of Stilton is still not allowed to produce it. The history of Stilton is more controversial you might think. A battle over what the name can and can't be applied to has been rumbling for years. So, as a former MP raises the subject again, what's in a name and what could the future hold for this fought-over foodstuff? It was thought that the famous cheese was named after the village of Stilton, just south of Peterborough, not because it was made there, but because it was sold at The Bell Inn there. However, some historians have claimed the cheese did, in fact, originate in the village in the 18th Century. In 2011, Stilton resident and local historian Richard Landy claimed to have documents that could potentially prove the cheese was first produced there. Mr Landy told the BBC at the time: "I stumbled across a reference to a recipe on the internet that had been sent to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at Cambridge University. "This recipe was not only earlier than any previous recipe that had been published, but it also says that the cheese was produced in the village of Stilton." The conversation continues to this day, with residents and a former MP calling for a change in the law to allow the cheese to be made in the village. A row about the origins of Stilton and who can make it has been rumbling for years. The Stilton Cheesemakers' Association achieved Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission in 1996. This meant that only cheese produced in three counties - Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire - could be called Stilton. Despite Brexit, the legal protection continues. Stilton is one of just a few products that enjoy this status. Many English regional cheeses, such as Lancashire, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, are not protected. While Stilton continues to have special protection, it is not the only British food or drink product to enjoy this. Scotch Whisky, for example, can only be produced, unsurprisingly, in Scotland, and even within that there are tightly controlled regions. For instance, Campbeltown whiskies can only come from a specific part of the Kintyre peninsula, while Islay whiskies must be from the island of the same name. And although you can find a pastry-encrusted snack of meat, potato and vegetables almost anywhere these days, a true Cornish Pasty must originate from Cornwall. The same applies to another famous meat and pastry product. If your pork pie is not from the Leicestershire town, it cannot be called a Melton Mowbray. Similarly, if your oyster does not come from Pembrokeshire, then it does not qualify as a Pembrokeshire Rock Oyster. The annual cheese-rolling event in the Cambridgeshire village dates back to the 1950s. The tradition was started by four publicans who were thinking of ways to generate income after Stilton was bypassed by the A1 in 1959, Adam Leon, one of its organisers previously told the BBC. The event was paused for seven years because organisers said it was no longer seen as "cool", but it returned in 2024. You would be forgiven for thinking a cheese-rolling festival would involve the dairy product itself. However, 12in (30cm) sections of an old telegraph pole are painted to look like a cheese. To participate, all teams must consist of four members, and the "cheeses" must be rolled by hand. Each team member has to roll the cheese at least once during the race, which takes place on on a course of about 30m (100ft) in length. Typically, people have taken part wearing fancy dress, and in the past teams of nuns, Smurfs and even a tribute to rock band Kiss have participated. Former Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Shailesh Vara, is one of the people who have been voicing their opinions on the cheese's origins. Mr Vara, who lost his seat to Labour's Sam Carling in July 2024, said: "Stilton cheese was historically made in the village, and I know there has been a bit of dispute about that. "But the historical evidence that I have seen in the case that the cheese was made here." He added that Mr Leon, described by Mr Vara as a "local entrepreneur", had started "making efforts to make sure that we start making cheese locally again". He said: "I am in conversation with Adam and the villagers have my support, and whatever conversations they want to have with me, I am always available." According to Mr Vara, now the UK has left the European Union there is less protection on where Stilton can be produced. "That protection is no more, so we can now start making cheese. I am looking for it to be made again," he added. The UK Protected Food Names Association, however, maintains that English law protects Stilton, and that any change would undermine the cheese-making industry. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Village hosts historical cheese rolling festival Cheese rolling returns to Stilton after seven years Cheese rolling cancelled as 'no longer cool' Stilton Cheese
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why can't Stilton make Stilton?
The famous blue cheese it gave its name to is known throughout the world, but despite years of local protests, the Cambridgeshire village of Stilton is still not allowed to produce it. The history of Stilton is more controversial you might think. A battle over what the name can and can't be applied to has been rumbling for years. So, as a former MP raises the subject again, what's in a name and what could the future hold for this fought-over foodstuff? It was thought that the famous cheese was named after the village of Stilton, just south of Peterborough, not because it was made there, but because it was sold at The Bell Inn there. However, some historians have claimed the cheese did, in fact, originate in the village in the 18th Century. In 2011, Stilton resident and local historian Richard Landy claimed to have documents that could potentially prove the cheese was first produced there. Mr Landy told the BBC at the time: "I stumbled across a reference to a recipe on the internet that had been sent to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at Cambridge University. "This recipe was not only earlier than any previous recipe that had been published, but it also says that the cheese was produced in the village of Stilton." The conversation continues to this day, with residents and a former MP calling for a change in the law to allow the cheese to be made in the village. A row about the origins of Stilton and who can make it has been rumbling for years. The Stilton Cheesemakers' Association achieved Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission in 1996. This meant that only cheese produced in three counties - Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire - could be called Stilton. Despite Brexit, the legal protection continues. Stilton is one of just a few products that enjoy this status. Many English regional cheeses, such as Lancashire, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, are not protected. While Stilton continues to have special protection, it is not the only British food or drink product to enjoy this. Scotch Whisky, for example, can only be produced, unsurprisingly, in Scotland, and even within that there are tightly controlled regions. For instance, Campbeltown whiskies can only come from a specific part of the Kintyre peninsula, while Islay whiskies must be from the island of the same name. And although you can find a pastry-encrusted snack of meat, potato and vegetables almost anywhere these days, a true Cornish Pasty must originate from Cornwall. The same applies to another famous meat and pastry product. If your pork pie is not from the Leicestershire town, it cannot be called a Melton Mowbray. Similarly, if your oyster does not come from Pembrokeshire, then it does not qualify as a Pembrokeshire Rock Oyster. The annual cheese-rolling event in the Cambridgeshire village dates back to the 1950s. The tradition was started by four publicans who were thinking of ways to generate income after Stilton was bypassed by the A1 in 1959, Adam Leon, one of its organisers previously told the BBC. The event was paused for seven years because organisers said it was no longer seen as "cool", but it returned in 2024. You would be forgiven for thinking a cheese-rolling festival would involve the dairy product itself. However, 12in (30cm) sections of an old telegraph pole are painted to look like a cheese. To participate, all teams must consist of four members, and the "cheeses" must be rolled by hand. Each team member has to roll the cheese at least once during the race, which takes place on on a course of about 30m (100ft) in length. Typically, people have taken part wearing fancy dress, and in the past teams of nuns, Smurfs and even a tribute to rock band Kiss have participated. Former Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Shailesh Vara, is one of the people who have been voicing their opinions on the cheese's origins. Mr Vara, who lost his seat to Labour's Sam Carling in July 2024, said: "Stilton cheese was historically made in the village, and I know there has been a bit of dispute about that. "But the historical evidence that I have seen in the case that the cheese was made here." He added that Mr Leon, described by Mr Vara as a "local entrepreneur", had started "making efforts to make sure that we start making cheese locally again". He said: "I am in conversation with Adam and the villagers have my support, and whatever conversations they want to have with me, I am always available." According to Mr Vara, now the UK has left the European Union there is less protection on where Stilton can be produced. "That protection is no more, so we can now start making cheese. I am looking for it to be made again," he added. The UK Protected Food Names Association, however, maintains that English law protects Stilton, and that any change would undermine the cheese-making industry. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Village hosts historical cheese rolling festival Cheese rolling returns to Stilton after seven years Cheese rolling cancelled as 'no longer cool' Stilton Cheese
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Why can't Stilton make Stilton cheese?
The famous blue cheese it gave its name to is known throughout the world, but despite years of local protests, the Cambridgeshire village of Stilton is still not allowed to produce history of Stilton is more controversial you might think. A battle over what the name can and can't be applied to has been rumbling for as a former MP raises the subject again, what's in a name and what could the future hold for this fought-over foodstuff? How did Stilton cheese get its name? It was thought that the famous cheese was named after the village of Stilton, just south of Peterborough, not because it was made there, but because it was sold at The Bell Inn some historians have claimed the cheese did, in fact, originate in the village in the 18th 2011, Stilton resident and local historian Richard Landy claimed to have documents that could potentially prove the cheese was first produced Landy told the BBC at the time: "I stumbled across a reference to a recipe on the internet that had been sent to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at Cambridge University."This recipe was not only earlier than any previous recipe that had been published, but it also says that the cheese was produced in the village of Stilton."The conversation continues to this day, with residents and a former MP calling for a change in the law to allow the cheese to be made in the village. What rules prevent it from being made in Stilton? A row about the origins of Stilton and who can make it has been rumbling for Stilton Cheesemakers' Association achieved Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission in meant that only cheese produced in three counties - Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire - could be called Brexit, the legal protection continues. Stilton is one of just a few products that enjoy this status. Many English regional cheeses, such as Lancashire, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, are not protected. What other foods have protected status? While Stilton continues to have special protection, it is not the only British food or drink product to enjoy Whisky, for example, can only be produced, unsurprisingly, in Scotland, and even within that there are tightly controlled regions. For instance, Campbeltown whiskies can only come from a specific part of the Kintyre peninsula, while Islay whiskies must be from the island of the same name. And although you can find a pastry-encrusted snack of meat, potato and vegetables almost anywhere these days, a true Cornish Pasty must originate from same applies to another famous meat and pastry product. If your pork pie is not from the Leicestershire town, it cannot be called a Melton Mowbray. Similarly, if your oyster does not come from Pembrokeshire, then it does not qualify as a Pembrokeshire Rock Oyster. What is the Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival? The annual cheese-rolling event in the Cambridgeshire village dates back to the tradition was started by four publicans who were thinking of ways to generate income after Stilton was bypassed by the A1 in 1959, Adam Leon, one of its organisers previously told the BBC. The event was paused for seven years because organisers said it was no longer seen as "cool", but it returned in 2024. You would be forgiven for thinking a cheese-rolling festival would involve the dairy product 12in (30cm) sections of an old telegraph pole are painted to look like a participate, all teams must consist of four members, and the "cheeses" must be rolled by team member has to roll the cheese at least once during the race, which takes place on on a course of about 30m (100ft) in length. Typically, people have taken part wearing fancy dress, and in the past teams of nuns, Smurfs and even a tribute to rock band Kiss have participated. Could Stilton ever make Stilton once again? Former Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Shailesh Vara, is one of the people who have been voicing their opinions on the cheese's Vara, who lost his seat to Labour's Sam Carling in July 2024, said: "Stilton cheese was historically made in the village, and I know there has been a bit of dispute about that."But the historical evidence that I have seen in the case that the cheese was made here."He added that Mr Leon, described by Mr Vara as a "local entrepreneur", had started "making efforts to make sure that we start making cheese locally again". He said: "I am in conversation with Adam and the villagers have my support, and whatever conversations they want to have with me, I am always available." According to Mr Vara, now the UK has left the European Union there is less protection on where Stilton can be produced. "That protection is no more, so we can now start making cheese. I am looking for it to be made again," he UK Protected Food Names Association, however, maintains that English law protects Stilton, and that any change would undermine the cheese-making industry. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
ABC News
06-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
How the potato became popular thanks to Marie-Antoinette, an ex-prisoner of war and French fries
It's hard to imagine a time when the humble potato wasn't one of the most famous vegetables on the planet. From gnocchi to cepelinai, tudou si to French fries, the potato is the original global citizen, the " They can be roasted, baked, braised, boiled, smashed, scalloped, stewed, sauteed or simply fried. Spuds can be added to salads, soups or stews, served as a side dish or planted back in the ground to repopulate. It's this versatility that makes them a household staple. But hundreds of years ago, most Europeans had never heard of the vegetable. "[Back then] if you were encountering a potato, you might think that it was a very, very strange food indeed. It was unlike anything that you'd probably ever seen before," Lauren Samuelsson, food historian and associate lecturer at the University of Wollongong, tells Photo shows Global Roaming podcast Join Walkley award-winner Marc Fennell as he uncovers the incredible moments that changed the course of history. And those who were familiar with the plant were wary of eating it. "Some clergymen were preaching that because the potato hadn't appeared in the Bible, it was not designed for human consumption by God," says Dr Samuelsson. Then came Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a prisoner-of-war turned unofficial PR agent for the potato. The young man was introduced to spuds while imprisoned behind enemy lines in Prussia, and he lived on little else for several years. Having developed a taste for this prison food, he made it his mission, once released, to revamp the image of the South American vegetable in broader Europe. With the help of Parmentier's "lavish 'potato parties", the vegetable underwent a makeover to become the staple food we know today. Europe's distaste for potatoes The Spanish first observed potatoes when they arrived in South America in 1532 to conquer the Incan Empire. Spuds were domesticated around 8,000 to 12,000 years ago in the Andes region of Peru and north-west Bolivia. The ancestors of today's cultivated potato can still be found growing wild there. There are now thousands of varieties of native potatoes in South America. ( ABC: Caddie Brain ) The Spanish invaders eventually introduced the tubers to Europe, along with other crops including tomatoes and corn. The pursuit of empire brought potatoes into contact with other parts of the world, and they ended up being the fuel that kept those empires going. "[It] was the food of the [Spanish Empire's] enslaved workforce. And that, of course, then allowed the Spanish to build up untold riches and really fuel their imperial ambitions around the world," says Dr Samuelsson. But the arrival of potatoes from the New World to the Old World was initially greeted with scepticism. The foreign vegetable, with its knobbly, misshapen design and textured skin, reminded folks of leprosy-infected limbs and stoked fears that the potato was a physical manifestation of the contagious disease. Dr Samuelsson explains this was because the prevailing medical opinion at the time posited that whatever caused or cured a disease "often looked like the disease that it was causing [or curing]". Photo shows Image of Dr Karl on a pink background and Listen app logo Dr Karl knows the best app for free podcasts, radio, music, news and audiobooks … and you don't need to be a scientist to find it! People also thought potatoes might be poisonous due to its links to the nightshade family, to the extent that the French parliament even banned the tuber in 1748. Another problem was that the wildly different climate conditions between Europe and South America did not suit It took decades for the potato to adapt to the shorter European growing season, though it had better luck growing in Ireland. "At the very beginning, it would have only been the very poorest of people who were eating potatoes," says Dr Samuelsson. Bread remained the staple food across Europe in the 18th century, but that soon changed thanks to rising prices, a revolution and a potato 'influencer'. French royalty at a potato party Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was a pharmacist in the French army when he was captured by Prussians and held as a prisoner of war in the mid-1700s. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was a French pharmacist and agronomist. ( Supplied: Wikicommons/François Dumont ) His diet consisted largely of potato mash for the three years he was detained. At the time, Prussians were encouraged to plant and eat potatoes in the belief that if they were ever invaded, they could live off a vegetable buried underground. After his release, Parmentier became the potato's biggest advocate. A large part of his obsession with the vegetable seemed to be rooted in his own good health after years of eating only one food. Parmentier's hypothesis was that the potato must hold nutritional value. In 1770, he wrote a prize-winning essay, titled Inquiry into Nourishing Vegetables That in Times of Necessity Could Be Substituted for Ordinary Food, which argued in favour of using potatoes as an alternative to bread. Its release coincided with rising prices and food shortages in France, which had in turn fuelled unrest and anger in towns and villages up and down the country. "France and lots of European countries [were] one bad year away from famine because they [were] so reliant on wheat as their staple crop," says Dr Samuelsson. But in order for the potato to be fully embraced by society, Parmentier needed to get the elite on board. And the best way to do that was by throwing extravagant dinners. "On the advice of Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman who was over in France as an ambassador, [Parmentier] started to throw these potato parties where he would invite all of his mates," says Dr Samuelsson. Parmentier was well-connected to the French elite and used the gatherings to introduce the arbiters of cultural taste to various potato delicacies, from soup to dessert and "even potato vodka". Yet the ultimate tick of approval lay with the French king and queen, Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. Queen Marie Antoinette reportedly attended a potato party in the 18th century. ( Supplied: National Gallery of Australia ) "The story goes that Parmentier, in one of his amazing potato parties, somehow swings it that the king and queen [came] to one of these events," says Dr Samuelsson. " When they got there, he presented them with a bouquet of potato flowers, and apparently they were so enchanted, they loved it so much that [King] Louis put potato flowers in his lapel. And Marie Antoinette decorated her hair with potato flowers. " From banned vegetable to a viable substitute for bread, the potato's evolution continued until it made its way into some the world's most famous dishes. Fried potatoes arrive in America When one of America's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, arrived in Paris to serve as ambassador to the French court, the potato frenzy was in full swing. "While he was over there, he was obviously hobnobbing with the great and the good. And he almost certainly could have been at one of Parmentier's parties," says Dr Samuelsson. Thomas Jefferson was a Francophile. ( Supplied: Wikicommons/Rembrandt Peale ) Jefferson developed a taste for the local cuisine, encouraging his enslaved chef James Hemings to learn to cook French food. Hemings reportedly One of those recipes was on how to make "pommes de terre frites a cru en petites tranches" or deep-fried potatoes in small cuttings. "Deep frying was becoming a real art in France … and so you can connect the dots here that someone's decided to find out what happens if you put potatoes in boiling hot oil," says Dr Samuelsson. While it's debated whether Jefferson was the first to introduce French fries to the US, his notes contain perhaps the It took more than a century for French fries to be fully embraced in America, and debate still rages over the origins of the fried potato: In Ireland, however, the tuber has a very different reputation. Too much of a good thing Potatoes are perhaps best remembered now for bringing about one of the worst famines in history. The Irish were dependent on potatoes as their primary food source until they were destroyed by a blight. ( Getty: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group ) Centuries ago, Irish peasants became reliant on the tuber after a wave of British imperial expansion deprived them of valuable land needed to farm grains and livestock and forced them into areas where fewer foods could be cultivated. Potatoes, peasants discovered, were one of the few plants that flourished in those less arable areas. "The Irish started to really rely on potatoes and it became the main part of their diet. Irish workers … would eat anywhere between 10 to 12 pounds of potatoes a day, which is four to six kilos," says Dr Samuelsson. But that all changed in 1845, when a fungus-like pathogen, Phytophtora infestans, also known as a blight, infected potato crops and made them inedible. Without their primary source of food, the Irish starved. In decades, the population halved. "When you become too reliant on one thing, it's a recipe for disaster," says Dr Samuelsson. Potato blight and famine are still a risk in many corners of the globe to this day. But it hasn't stopped the potato's dizzying rise in the culinary space. Today, it is the world's "There's not really a cuisine around the world that doesn't use potatoes and hasn't incorporated it into their food cultures, which I think just shows how wonderfully versatile it is," says Dr Samuelsson. "But it definitely still has a colonial legacy to it." 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