Wensleydale cheese

Wensleydale
Country of origin	England, United Kingdom
Region, town	Wensleydale North Yorkshire
Source of milk	Cows or ewes
Pasteurised	Yes
Texture	Medium, crumbly
Aging time	3–6 months
Certification	PDO (pending)

Wensleydale cheese is a cheese produced in the town of Hawes in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England.

Varieties

There are five main types:^{[citation needed]}

• Real Yorkshire Wensleydale is usually shaped into a variety of weights moulds ranging in size from a small flat disc known as a "truckle" that is highly pressed, and preserved in wax, to several larger cheeses—it is a mild cheese with an acidic-honeyed flavour
• Mature Wensleydale is a harder, more highly-flavoured version of the Real Yorkshire Wensleydale
• Extra Mature Wensleydale the strongest Wensleydale cheese, matured for nine months
• Blue Wensleydale has blue veins and is produced in range of sizes. It is highly flavoured but less salty than the classic British blue Stilton
• Oak Smoked Wensleydale is cold smoked to produce a cheese with a special tang and texture

Flavour and texture

The Wensleydale pastures give the cheese the unique flavour for which it is renowned. Good Wensleydale has a supple, crumbly, moist texture and resembles a young Caerphilly. The flavour suggests wild honey balanced with a fresh acidity.

History

Wensleydale cheese was first made by French Cistercian monks from the Roquefort region, who had settled in Wensleydale. They built a monastery at Fors, but some years later the monks moved to Jervaulx in Lower Wensleydale. They brought with them a recipe for making cheese from sheep's milk. During the 14th century cows' milk began to be used instead, and the character of the cheese began to change. A little ewes' milk was still mixed in since it gave a more open texture, and allowed the development of the blue mould. At that time, Wensleydale was almost always blue with the white variety almost unknown. Nowadays, the opposite is true, with blue Wensleydale rarely seen. When the monastery was dissolved in 1540 the local farmers continued making the cheese right up until the Second World War, during which most milk in the country was used for the making of "Government Cheddar". Even after rationing ceased in 1954, cheese making did not return to pre-war levels.

Dairy Crest

Wensleydale Creamery has been hand crafting cheese for more than 100 years to time-honoured traditional recipes.

In May 1992, Dairy Crest, a subsidiary of the Milk Marketing Board, closed the Hawes creamery with the loss of 59 jobs. This was the last creamery in the dale. Dairy Crest transferred production of Wensleydale cheese to Yorkshire's traditional rival, Lancashire.

Six months later, in November 1992, following many offers to rescue the Creamery, a management buyout took place, led by local businessman, John Gibson, and the management team. With the help of eleven members of the former workforce, cheese making recommenced in Wensleydale. Today Wensleydale Dairy Products is a thriving business, producing award-winning cheeses. It employs 190 local people and buys from 36 farms in Wensleydale.

Monty Python

Perhaps the first time that Wensleydale cheese was thrust into the limelight was as one of the cheeses mentioned by John Cleese in the Monty Python sketch "The Cheese Shop", which originally appeared in a 1972 episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. In addition to the cheese being mentioned by name, the shop owner, played by Michael Palin, was named Henry Wensleydale.

Wallace and Gromit

In the 1990s, sales had fallen so low that production was at risk of being suspended. However, the popular Wallace and Gromit animated shorts A Grand Day Out and A Close Shave had the main character Wallace, a cheese connoisseur, mention Wensleydale as a particularly favourite cheese. Animator Nick Park chose it solely because it had a good name that would be interesting to animate, unaware of the company's financial difficulties. The company contacted Aardman Animations about a licence for a special brand of "Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale", which proved to be an enormous success. When the 2005 full-length Wallace and Gromit film, Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was released, sales of Wensleydale cheeses jumped by 23%.

Pinky and the Brain - Cheese Roll Call

Season 1, Episode 8, Aired 10/1/95 In this episode, Pinky (an anthropomorphic mouse) sings about his favorite thing, cheese. During the "Cheese Roll Call", only three of a vast army of cheeses introduce themselves. One of them is Wensleydale, who describss himself as, "Lightly pressed and smooth textured with a subtle milky flavor that is clean and refreshing."

Protected status

Wensleydale Dairy Products is seeking to protect the name Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese under a submission for Protected designation of origin.

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) aims to promote and protect food products in the European Union, and is used to describe foodstuffs which are produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised know-how. This will mean that any manufacturers outside Wensleydale will be unable to call a cheese Yorkshire Wensleydale.

The application process involves the first stage submission and approval by DEFRA after which the application is submitted to the European Union.

Common flavour combinations

Wensleydale with cranberries

The flavour of Wensleydale is suited to combination with sweeter produce, such as fruit. A popular combination available in many restaurants and delicatessens is Wensleydale containing cranberries.

In Yorkshire, apple pie may be accompanied by white Wensleydale, giving rise to the saying 'an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze'.

In Yorkshire and North East England it is often eaten with fruit cake or Christmas cake.

See also

• List of cheeses
• List of British cheeses

External links

• Wensleydale Creamery