You Can't Make Stilton In Stilton

If you happen to produce some stinky blue cheese in the U.K. village of Stilton, don't even think about calling it Stilton. That's what one pub in the little town learned recently, when they tried to market a blue-veined cheese they make as Stilton but ran up against official European Union legislation.

According to The Associated Press, the Bell Inn isn't allowed to call their cheese Stilton because Stilton can legally only come from the three counties, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, where it's historically been made. The town of Stilton is outside of those counties.

So why is the cheese called Stilton in the first place if it can't be produced there? Apparently, it became the most popular place to purchase the cheese back in the 1700s, but the jury is still out on whether the cheese was ever actually produced there.

As for the Bell Inn, they've dubbed their cheese Bell Blue for now, and have vowed to keep fighting.