Author Topic: Wensleydale...?  (Read 3729 times)

stuartjc

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Wensleydale...?
« on: February 14, 2009, 05:57:25 PM »
Has anyone had any luck making Wensleydale type cheese...?

Tea

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2009, 08:38:38 PM »
Hi Stuart, I haven't tried this cheese yet, although I have looked at the recipe enough times.
My book says that it is traditionally a blue?  What one were you looking at doing?  Or have you tried it and not had success?

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2009, 08:43:01 PM »
Tea, remind me what book are you using again? Thanks.

Tea

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2009, 08:48:29 PM »
"Home Cheesemaking" by Neil and Carole Willman of Cheeselinks here in Aussieland.

Why?

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2009, 08:56:10 PM »
Because it seems as though you have some very good recipes and ones we don't have recipes for here.

Tea

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2009, 09:01:03 PM »
If you ever what any recipes, I am more than happy to give them to you.

stuartjc

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2009, 09:09:15 PM »
Hi Stuart, I haven't tried this cheese yet, although I have looked at the recipe enough times.
My book says that it is traditionally a blue?  What one were you looking at doing?  Or have you tried it and not had success?


that would be  "Blue Wensleydale" ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wensleydale_(cheese)

I can only get Wensleydale in Whole Foods, or in Costco in the winter. Would like to make some myself to avoid these supply issues ;)

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2009, 09:16:13 PM »
Thanks Tea good to know.

Tea

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2009, 10:40:48 PM »
Well the recipe that I have is actually for a white wensleydale, so I probably would have a go at that first, before trying a blue.

Carter having said that, there are a number of recipes that you have that I don't too, so it works both ways.

Offline Cartierusm

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #9 on: February 14, 2009, 11:02:39 PM »
I'll start a new topic. I'll list the recipes I have, most that I haven't done are scanned so I'll have to type them out, so I'll stipulate if someone wanted a recipe they would have to be seriously considering making it. Right now I'll do a list.

Bella

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2009, 12:12:49 AM »
This is from the Courmet Cheese Club newsletter about Wensleydale....

From the northern county of Wensleydale, England, a few miles northwest of York, comes our second featured cheese. This region is also known as The Dales, and the name is practically synonymous with quality cheese-making. Cheeses originating from The Dales have their beginnings in Roman times. There may be justification in saying that William the Conqueror and other infamous figures of history enjoyed cheese made from the very same recipe as the cheese you are about to sample.

All cheeses bearing the name Wensleydale were originally produced from sheep's milk and briefly aged into a soft, moist, blue cheese. This changed by the middle of the 17th century when cows replaced sheep as the main source of milk for Wensleydale cheeses. Further changes ensued with the Industrial Revolution. Concomitant standardization and large scale factory-based production ushered in a major change to the character and style of Wensleydale. Its texture became harder, with no bluing and was sold quite young. By the end of World War II, there were less than a dozen farms left making Wensleydale.

To compound these less than enhancive alterations, in the 1950's the Milk Marketing Board began to lay out strict guidelines for cheese-making. These guidelines didn't take flavor or tradition into consideration but were based on percentages, yields and standardization. None of these are satisfactory criteria for producing full-flavored cheese. Unfortunately, the last few farmhouse Wensleydale cheese-makers threw up their hands in duress, with the exception of a lone creamery that continued to make the "real" Wensleydale. The Wensleydale Creamery holds the distinction as the only company in the world that still makes Wensleydale the way it was made for hundreds of years.

If you are ever in England, keep an eye out for the rare and delicious Blue Wensleydale cheese. The celebrated blue-veined Wensleydale requires six months to mature. It has a smooth creamy texture similar to Stilton but with a more mellowed flavor. Until the 1920's, Wensleydale cheese was almost entirely recognized as the blue veined cheese we now know as Blue Wensleydale. This original variation may be a bit tougher to come by. If you ever do find it, snatch it up and savor this historical treasure of a cheese!
Hand crafted, wrapped in muslin cheesecloth or wax, this delicious, creamy-white, flaky cheese is pure, natural and wholesome. The fresh milk drawn from cattle grazing in the sweet limestone Wensleydale meadows, and of course, eating the wild herbs growing in this area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, gives this cheese its distinctive and extraordinary flavor. Designated an environmentally sensitive area, the use of artificial chemicals and fertilizers is expressly restricted in this region, ensuring an honest, completely natural composition of ingredients in each batch that leaves the Wensleydale Creamery.

Tasting Notes:
Descriptions of White Wensleydale are somewhat paradoxical. It is firm but not dry or hard; creamy with a surface that is crumbly; slightly sweet but also tart in flavor. As a reward for cutting real Wensleydale, you always get some crumbs. It is sometimes described as having a nutty, buttermilk flavor complemented with a honey aftertaste, and the gentle aroma of cut grass. It has a fine curd, minimal texturing, and high moisture content. Wensleydale is usually eaten young, at about a month old. This cheese goes well with crisp apple and is traditionally eaten with fruitcake. It is said that eating apple pie without Wensleydale cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!


Tea

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Re: Wensleydale...?
« Reply #11 on: February 15, 2009, 09:03:08 PM »
Quote
and the gentle aroma of cut grass.

You know, I have read similar statement before when people are describing the flavours and smell of a cheese, and it never ceases to amaze me why people would be drawn in by the lure of grass   ???