Below follows an abridged history of Wensleydale cheese, for full detailed history of Wensleydale cheese you’ll want to get your hands on the limited edition book: “Some notes on Wensleydale Cheese (1000AD – 2024)” Ancient times. Cheesemaking has been in the Dales for 1000s of years, often associated with the establishment of monasteries after William the Conquerors invasion. However there was cheesemaking in the region prior to that, with Roman cheesemaking moulds and evidence found in archaeological digs throughout the Dales (notably at Bainbridge Roman Fort). Monastic Influence. There is no doubt that the monasteries in the Yorkshire Dales framed the landscape we see today, taking control of land management and agricultural techniques – many of the dry stonewalls still in use will have been established by monks. With lay brothers to make cheese, and cheesemaking expertise from visiting French abbots; there is many historical ledger records of cheese sales from the famous abbey of Jervaulx, Fountains and Bolton. Although the cheese was probably quite unlike anything we would taste today. Some cows’ milk was used; but sheep’s milk would dominate (primarily led by the wool trade), until the 17th century – when cow dairying began to take over. With…

“The real Wensleydale died during the War, murdered by a pinstripe power … … what a cheese it was, creamy and moist and white with a totally unique flavour”. [Famous Dalesman and iconic Yorkshire cheesemaker Kit Calvert] Introduction The renowned British territorial cheese, Wensleydale, has changed monumentally over the last century. Dying out as a farmhouse cheese in the 1950s the recipe evolved to be more efficient, stable, fast maturing and economic to produce. It became quite a different beast: the crumbly, tart, dry cheese you would associate with the modern-day Wensleydale cheese, that you will find in supermarkets today. In the late 2010s, as part of a general trend for revival of artisan produce and farm cheesemaking, The Courtyard Dairy, and several local farmers in the Yorkshire Dales looked to reverse that trend. Taking influence from old pre-war recipes and notes, scraps of paper and faded photos, they looked to recreate this iconic cheese and construct a new chapter for farmhouse Wensleydale cheese. Trying to piece together knowledge, recipes, and thoughts to establish how Wensleydale used to be made was a challenge. From these same influences three producers eventually developed their own example of Wensleydale: Curlew Dairy, Whin Yeats…

Seminar 2: Starter Culture.  8-10 Sept 2025. 2.5 Days An in depth look at how the starter culture you add affects the end results. The objective is to discuss a bit more the role of starters within the make and final flavour/texture and how different starters can affect that so you can improve your cheesemaking. The exact same recipe will be made with four different starter strains and their differences observed: how they grow and acidify (bench top), how this affected the cheesemaking, and how they affected the flavour in the final product.  With input from Barbers Maryland Cultures and Standa Cultures we will discuss how better to manage starter and what affect it is having on our end cheese.  Using this knowledge, day 2 features a cheesemaking day where you will make cheese (recipe to your choice) altering the starter (varying potentially type, quantity, low/high activity or using a wild starter) to see if you can manage the process and get your desired results. Cost to attend: £250*. Only 10 places available. (Attendees must have previous cheesemaking experience – please get in touch if you want to discuss this). Detail: The seminar is designed for cheesemakers to discuss starter usage and how…

Today (Whitsun) used to be the day of the year to eat Yorkshire Curd Tarts. Historically, Yorkshire Curd Tarts were a seasonal product and were eaten at Whitsun (49 days after Easter), especially during the local feasts and fairs that were held on this day. And there is a reason why they were made just for this time of year at the end of Spring… Traditionally in the Yorkshire Dales, cows were farmed seasonally and would only be calved in the spring so as to produce milk over the spring summer and early autumn (people didn’t enjoy year-round milk in those days). Calving late spring was ideal because the days were getting warmer and the grass needed to feed the cows and calves was starting to grow again. Traditional ‘turnout day’ in the upper dales, when the cows were released out to grass, is around 15th May. But at this time of year these newly-calved cows wouldn’t produce the best quality milk needed for making cheese or butter. Historically the cows’ feed at this time would often have been supplemented by the poor quality tail-end of last year’s hay – leading to inferior milk.  The milk would also have lots…

A great day out for The Courtyard Dairy team visiting the fabulous makers of Doddington Cheese up in Wooler, Northumberland; here is cheesemonger Gail’s blog: “I came to help out at the farm for a couple of weeks. That was ten years ago” James Maxwell tells us. Back then James decided he liked making cheese a lot more than milking cows – which is great news for us, because he’s really good at it. Reassuringly few things have changed since our last cheesemonger team visit to North Doddington Farm in 2018. Most notably, renowned cheesemaker Margaret Maxwell has handed the reins to her nephew James, after a thorough apprenticeship. James has also taken on a young local cheesemaker to help out, and their range of cheeses has expanded from six to eight. The four of us were here to see Doddington cheese being made. Like many British greats, Doddington came from a mix of influences and evolved into something quite unique; a Red Leicester recipe (without the ‘Red’ colouring), strongly influenced by visits to lots of different cheesemakers in France and the Netherlands. Cheesemaking starts in the morning with the first and freshest 2000 litres of unprocessed milk, brought across…

Brad and Beth Cunningham make Yr Afr (which translates as ‘The Goat’ in Welsh) in Bethesda, North Wales. Andy interviewed them to find out what makes these fantastic cheese-makers tick. Give a brief synopsis of your business and career. We originally lived in Rossendale with Brad working as a Mechanical Engineer and Beth training as a solicitor. After some time tinkering in our family kitchen trying to make goats cheese (with varying success), Beth was given a job opportunity in North Wales so we both made the decision to move and get a small herd of 5 goats and rented a small section of a local farm. We then were put in touch with Carrie Rimes of Cosyn Cymru who makes some exceptional sheep’s cheese and from there we were given the option by Carrie to take our love of cheesemaking to the next level and rent a section of her dairy to follow our passion. And here we are! What made you get into doing what you do? Quite simply our love of cheese! We used to go to our local cheesemongers quite regularly in Manchester and it was just a couple of YouTube video’s later that we started making some…

Farmer and cheese-makers, Sam & Ben spence make Yoredale cheese in Wensley, North Yorkshire. Andy interviewed them to find out what makes these fantastic cheese-makers tick. Give a brief synopsis of your business and career. We weren’t always cheese makers, Samantha and I met whilst working for the accountancy firm PwC in Manchester, after deciding we wanted a family and a quieter life we headed back to where I grew up to start our own business. After returning to the family farm, we diversified to make cheese. Three years ago we moved off farm, locally to the village of Wensley in Wensleydale. We make an unpasteurised Wensleydale cheese called Yoredale, right next door to our house. What made you get into doing what you do? Having grown up on a dairy farm, I knew how undervalued milk was, and so have always been keen to process milk into something that reflects the farm from where it was made. It was actually a suggestion from the late David Hartley who ran Wensleydale Creamery at the time, that no one makes an unpasteurised Wensleydale in Wensleydale that really got us interested. What is your philosophy for your food/business? To make the best…

Ever wondered about the pale grey dusting of ash on the outside of a goats cheese?  Or the thin wavy layer of black ash round running through the heart of Morbier, Humboldt Fog and Ashcombe cheeses?  Why is it there? What does it do?  Where is it from?…. Well, up until the 1990s in France the ash used in cheeses literally was wood ash taken from the fire grate. But today things are different, and the ash on the outside and inside of cheeses is fully edible. What is the ash used in cheese? Since the early 2000s cheese-makers have bought in ‘food grade ash’ or ‘vegetable ash/charcoal’, the proper technical name of which is ‘activated charcoal’. ‘Activated charcoal’ is made by heating a ‘combustible natural product’ to a very high temperature without oxygen (so it does not burn), then grinding it into a powder. Common ‘combustible natural products’ include coconut husks, bamboo, grapevines and any food safe, non-poisonous wood such as sycamore, hazel, maple, ash and beech. Dense wood tends to be the best, apparently. But even vegetables would work if they were dry enough to burn. Activated charcoal is different from regular charcoal because it goes through a…

Many people have been put off for life by tasting a really-ripe goats’ cheese – saying it is ‘like licking a goat’! But contrary to popular opinion, goats’ milk doesn’t necessarily have the pungent smell often associated with it and the cheese doesn’t have to either. It’s time to debunk the urban myth that Billy Goats kept with the females causes the strong goat taint in goats’ cheese. Many people have stated that “keeping the Billy Goat with your female dairy herd is the reason some goats’ cheeses taste stronger than others”. And although this is trotted out time after time, it doesn’t appear to be true. It’s more likely to be a classic case of association rather than causation. Billy Goats, the male of the species, smell very pungent (it’s because they like to urinate on their beard and forelegs to attract females!) but that taint actually doesn’t seem to transfer into the milk. It seems the fact that the male of the species smells strongly of goat leads people to assume this leads to the cheese tasting really goaty too! Whereas in fact, goats’ cheeses from farms where they house their Billy Goats with the females can show…