Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe penned one of the earliest references to Stilton cheese in 1724, when he wrote that he has "pass'd Stilton, a town famous for cheese, which is call'd our English Parmesan, and is brought to table with the mites, or maggots round it, so thick, that they bring a spoon with them for you to eat the mites with, as you do the cheese." The cheese's distinctive blue veins are created by piercing the cheese with needles, allowing air to enter and mould to grow. Picture: Martin Pope

Credit : Martin Pope