BBC Radio 4: Food Programme. "Is our cheese heritage ancient history?"

A brief history of Wensleydale cheese

16th July 2025

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…

Using goats’ milk to make cheese – its history, science and challenges

26th April 2022

Firstly lets debunk three broadly-held myths: Keeping the Billy Goat with your female goats is NOT the reason some goats’ cheeses taste ‘goatier’ than others, Goats are historic to the UK and have been here for over 5,000 years, Goats’ milk has pretty much the same amount of lactose in it as sheep’s and cows’ milk and is definitely not lactose free. Goats are pretty much the first animal that was ever domesticated (about 9,000 years ago in what is now Iran), and the first cheeses to be made were from their milk (cheese from goats’ milk has been found in Egypt from as far back as 5,000 years ago) – in fact there was even some in Tutankhamun’s tomb. To this day goats are often the primary source of milk and cheese in rural communities throughout the world. India is the biggest goats’ cheese making country by volume in the world, and pretty much all domesticated breeds of goat originate from the Middle East. Goats are useful as they can survive in all types of conditions with minimal food (think of them of grazing on arid mountain sides in the Middle East – indeed some goat breeds can survive…

The history of fruitcake paired with cheese

7th March 2017

If you’ve heard that Northerners are apparently keen on a wedge of fruitcake to complement their cheese, you might be asking is it just a rumour, or is it a modern fad? Well it’s certainly not a rumour. The Courtyard Dairy sells vast amounts of cheese to people who want to enjoy it with their fruitcake. In fact at Christmas the shop actually sells more cheese to go with the Christmas fruitcake than it sells of Stilton. Customers come in, make their cheese selection, and then say, “Now we need a cheese to go with the Christmas cake…” It’s so popular that the shop even sells a fruitcake specially made to go with cheese! How did this come about? What we do know is that matching fruitcake with cheese is not a recent phenomenon. The eminent Yorkshire Food Historian Peter Brears has traced it back to definitely at least a Victorian tradition and the first written reference we’ve found is from Joseph Lucas’s book 1871 ‘Studies in Nidderdale [Yorkshire]’ “On Christmas Eve one Yule Cake is given to each member of the family, along with a piece of Christmas cheese. As a rule, part of it is left for Christmas morning,…

A History of British Cheese – The modern-day British Cheese Revival.

21st January 2017

With British artisan cheese all but disappearing in post-war Britain, things were indeed dire for farmhouse cheese makers. A few continued to make cheese, encouraged by the remaining great cheesemongers in the land epitomised by the renowned Patrick Rance. But with barely one farmhouse cheese maker in each county, artisan cheese-making had all the hallmarks of an art that was dying out. Thankfully, changes were on their way. The 1980s saw a turning point for food in Britain. Britain was starting to recover from its economic woes and, thanks to rising disposable income and increasing foreign travel, the British people began to take more of an interest in food. This was evidenced and influenced within the restaurant industry by guides such as the Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide, chefs such as Keith Floyd cooking on TV, the rise of farmers’ markets and consumer groups such as Campaign for Real Ale and The Campaign for Real Bread. The demand for artisan products such as traditional farm-made cheese began once again to increase. Against this backdrop Patrick Rance continued to campaign and to encourage farmers to return British cheeses to their rightful glory, before they disappeared for good. “Clamorous protests…

British Territorial Cheeses – traditional British cheeses and their characteristics

2nd May 2015

Ever wondered what makes a Caerphilly, Cheshire and Cheddar different?

Click below to see what characteristics a cheese grader would expect Britain’s key territorial’s to exhibit: examining their body and texture, flavour and aroma, colour, and finish.