The Wensleydale Cheese Project

“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 Farm and Low Riggs Farm all approaching the same cheese and recipe with unique takes.
This Wensleydale Project  was designed in July 2024, to have two main aims:

• To document the current production methods of farmhouse Wensleydale so they could be recorded for future generations
• To explore how each maker deals with the challenges of making Wensleydale cheese and to further understand how small changes within drainage and acidification affects the outcome of the cheese

The Methodology
In order to do this in a completely unique experiment in the cheese world, the three Wensleydale cheesemakers made their recipe on the same week at The Courtyard Dairy using the exact same equipment, milk source and maturation method. This eliminated any differences caused by the nuances of their farming methods and equipment. A modern-factory Wensleydale recipe was also made as a control (albeit with raw milk, cloth bound and traditional cultures).
The three cheesemakers then made the same recipes on their farm (as normal), so we could see the extent that their milk influences the flavour of the cheese by sampling these alongside their recipe made here at The Courtyard Dairy.

Comparing these Wensleydale Recipes
When you make cheese, you manage how the whey is drained off, versus how much the curd ferments (acidifies).  This can help give you different styles of cheese.
As part of the project, 14 experienced cheesemakers came together to form the first ever Northern Dairy Cheese School to discuss the outcomes and how the relationship between moisture, acidity and texture in the cheesemaking process affects the end cheese.
As well as try to answer the eternal question, “What truly is a Wensleydale cheese?”
These more technical insights and a full report on the whole project is available as a small limited edition journal (contact The Courtyard Dairy for a copy)
You can see from the graph below just how fast industrial Wensleydale is made and fermented – compared to how the farm cheesemakers try to control this curve to give them their moister texture, and richer more complex mouthfeel.

The current farmhouse makers and their recipes

• Fellstone (Whin Yeats Farm).
  Tom and Clare were the first cheesemakers to restart farm Wensleydale making. Taking influence from an old Ministry of Agriculture recipe on how to make farm Wensleydale; their recipe involves a much gentler, gradual fermentation with more use of heat but faster drainage, so that Clare can get the job done in time to get the children from school and milk again! This gives it a supple, bouncey texture.
  They farm fairly conventional farming in Hutton Roof, Lunesdale with 70 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows that predominately grazing outdoors in Spring-early Autumn with additional buffer feed.
• Stonebeck (Low Riggs Farm).
  Based up in Nidderdale, Andrew and Sally Hattan. They farm 20 very old-fashioned native Northern Dairy Shorthorns on diverse hay meadows. Their recipe is a lower temperature, very stop/start, and uses bags to control how fast the cheese develops. This allows them to get other jobs done on their farm in the gaps in the middle of the day, as a small upland farm. It gives them a soft texture and showcases the richness of their milk.
• Yoredale (Curlew Dairy).
  This is a ‘slowed down’ version of the industrial recipe. Ben and Sam had great help from David Hartley, who ran Wensleydale creamery for many years. But in order to achieve a softer textured cheese and delicate but rich flavour, they evolved the recipe using influence from traditional techniques (shovelling the curd) to slow down rate at which the curd ferments. Elongating cheesemaking to 4.5 hours, long enough to get their desired texture and flavour, but short enough to get it done before the kids come home from school.
  They make in Wensley, Wensleydale and use milk from 70 pedigree Holstein and Ayrshire cows, that predominately graze outdoors in Spring-early Autumn.
• Modern Industrial.
  Made in ½ of the time of the other recipes, using more fermentation, heat, and a longer time under the whey; this recipe for cheesemaking raced on. This made the whole recipe much faster and easier to achieve – cleaner with lots of control over the process. It held more solids into the final cheese and was easier to handle throughout. We were in the pub for almost midday when we made this one 😉.

If you want to learn more about Wensleydale Cheese, this fascinating book explores it in depth >

Tasting the Wensleydale cheeses
Look at the differences in:

• texture – from dry and crumbly, to supple and bouncy, to moist and rich
• initial flavour – sharp, rounded, complex, milky, yogurty, buttery?
• Complexity and length of flavour – one-dimensional or more rich and rounded.

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