Wensleydale is a cheese produced in the town of Hawes in Wensleydale, a valley in Yorkshire in the north of England. There are two kinds:
white wensleydale is usually formed into a flat disc and has a honey flavor. blue wensleydale is a blue cheese and is produced in large barrels.
Flavors and textures
Wensleydale has a soft, crumbly texture. Its flavor suggests wild honey with a slight acidity.
History
The wensleydale was first made by Cistercian monks. They built a monastery at Fors, but a few years later the monks moved to Ripon in lower Wensleydale. They took with them a recipe for making cheese from sheep's milk. Around 1300, cow's milk began to be used instead of sheep's milk, and the character of cheese began to change. At that time, the wensleydale was almost always blue. These days, the blue wensleydale is rarely seen. When the monastery was dissolved around 1540, local farmers continued to make cheese until World War II. Even after rationing ended in 1954, cheese production did not return to pre-war levels.
Wallace and Gromit
By the 1990s, sales had fallen so low that production almost ceased. Thankfully, the mainstream movie starring Wallace and Gromit, in Shaved Up Close, shows Wallace declaring wensleydale his favorite cheese, which is boosting sales.
