Blacksticks Blue is a soft, blue-veined cheese made by Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses in Lancashire. Blacksticks is the name of the local farm where the cheese was first made in the 1950s. The name is from a line of chestnut trees that in the winter, without their leaves, looked like stark black sticks on the horizon.
The naming story also has a cheesy visual coincidence! During the production process, when the cheese is pierced with needles to encourage the famous blue veins, the rods leave marks that look like little black sticks.
Made from pasteurised cow's milk, it is aged for about eight weeks, during which it develops a distinctive amber colour and a smooth but tangy flavour. Soft enough to spread on bread or crackers, it is also versatile for cooking and suitable for vegetarians. The orange colour is obtained by the use of annatto.
The farm itself was named for a line of chestnut trees that, in the winter, dropped their leaves and looked like stark black sticks on the horizon. [1, 2, 3]
The naming story also has a cheesy visual coincidence! During the production process, when the cheese is pierced with needles to encourage the famous blue veins, the rods leave marks that look like—you guessed it—little black stick