Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese
Wensleydale Dairy Products Ltd
Gayle Lane Hawes - North Yorkshire DL8 3RN
Tel: 01969 667664 - Fax: 01969 667638
Email: creamery@wensleydale.co.uk
North Yorkshire Trading Standards
Unit 4/5 - Thornfield Business Park
Standard Way Northallerton DL6 2XQ
Tel: 01609 768642 - Fax: 01609 768647
Email: trading.standards@northyorks.gov.uk
Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese is made from milk produced on farms within the defined geographical area. It has a creamy-white colour and a slightly crumbly, flaky, textured appearance. It is moulded in cylinders or block shaped, and is available in varying shapes and sizes up to 25kg. The cheese is a creamy-white colour and is often more yellow in colour on the outside, this inconsistency is the hallmark of a truly handmade product (particularly in the clothbound cheeses), and which is not found in mass-produced versions of Wensleydale cheese. It is firm and slightly crumbly, with an open texture, which is as a result of the starter cultures, manual processes and the milk used. The cheese has a crumblier and less denser, solid texture than other similar products. It has a mild, clean, slightly sweet flavour, with a honeyed aftertaste. The cheese develops a fuller, deeper flavour as it matures. The average moisture content is 38 – 46 % and average butter fat content is 29 –33%. Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese is available in a wide range of varieties, formats, sizes and packaging.
Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese, meeting the same description, may also be produced as an organic variety. In this case the milk used is produced in accordance with the required organic standards on farms within the defined geographical area.
Geographical area:
Wensleydale, Yorkshire, with the market town of Hawes at it’s centre. This area is defined by (and inclusive of) Sedbergh to the west and Bedale to the east. To the south the dale is bordered by Wharfedale, Nidderdale and Ribblesdale and Ripon, to the north we have Swaledale.
Method of production:
Local cows are milked with the majority of milk brought the short distance to the creamery within a few hours. As a result, the milk used has travelled only a very short distance. The milk is pasteurised at the cheesemakers premises (this process would be omitted in the case of producing an unpasteurised cheese), transferred into cheese vats, and bulk starter culture is added. The milk is stirred throughout this ‘ripening’ period. Blue mould spores (penicillium roqueforti) used for Blue Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese are added during this stage. Rennet is added and the milk is allowed to coagulate. The coagulum is cut to separate the curds from the whey. The curds and whey are ‘scalded’ (with heat from the sides of the vat), and stirred until the point at which the curds can be settled and the whey drained: ‘pitching’. The curds are then ‘blocked (cut into large pieces), turned, cut again and stirred. This is a very important stage that relies upon the skill of the cheesemaker to ensure the texture is correct. Salting of the curd is done by hand, which is a very skilled process that requires even distribution. The salted curds are milled to a finer size and the cheese moulds are then filled. Once taken from the moulds, some cheeses are bound in muslin and placed on shelves in a drying room, where they acquire additional flavours from the creamery itself. These cheeses are manually turned, before being placed in a store to mature. Some may be packed directly from press before being placed in the store and some cheese
is also selected for maturing for approximately 6 to 12 months. Blue Yorkshire Wensleydale is taken to a room where temperature and humidity are precisely controlled. The cheese is pierced to create air holes that will allow its characteristic blue veining and creamy texture to develop, along with its delicate blue flavour. Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese may also be naturally cold smoked, using hard wood dust for up to 48 hours. Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese may also be blended with other high quality ingredients such as fruits / herbs. The organic variety of Yorkshire Wensleydale is produced in exactly the same way but using organic ingredients and in compliance with the Soil Association Organic Standards (Organic Certification UK5).
Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese may be cut and packed in a variety of formats; waxed flow wrapped and/or vacuum packed prior to dispatch.
