Wensleydale cheese facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wensleydale |
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| Country of origin | England |
| Region | Wensleydale, North Yorkshire |
| Source of milk | Cows (formerly ewes) |
| Texture | Medium, crumbly |
| Aging time | 3–6 months |
| Certification | PGI 2013 (Yorkshire Wensleydale) |
| Named after | Lua error in Module:Wikidata at line 70: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Wensleydale is a yummy type of cheese that first came from a place called Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England. Today, most Wensleydale cheese is made in big factories called creameries all over the United Kingdom. However, only cheese made right there in Wensleydale can be called "Yorkshire Wensleydale."
Contents
What Wensleydale Cheese Tastes Like
Wensleydale is a medium-soft cheese. It feels soft but also breaks apart easily, which we call "crumbly." If you smell it closely, you might notice a light scent of honey.
Great Food Pairings with Wensleydale
Wensleydale cheese tastes great with sweeter foods. It goes really well with fruit, especially sweet apples. A very popular kind of Wensleydale has sweet cranberries mixed right into the cheese! You can find this in many shops and restaurants.
In Yorkshire, people often eat white Wensleydale cheese with apple pie. There's even a saying: 'an apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.' This means they think the cheese makes the apple pie much better! People in Yorkshire and North East England also enjoy eating Wensleydale with fruit cake or Christmas cake.
The History of Wensleydale Cheese
Wensleydale cheese was first made a long, long time ago by French monks. These monks came from a region in France famous for Roquefort cheese. They settled in Wensleydale and brought their cheese-making skills with them.
They first built a monastery at a place called Fors. Later, they moved to Jervaulx Abbey in Lower Wensleydale. The monks used a special recipe to make cheese from sheep's milk.
Changes Over Time
During the 1300s, people started using cow's milk more often to make Wensleydale. This changed how the cheese tasted and felt. A little bit of sheep's milk was still mixed in. This helped the cheese have a more open texture, which allowed a blue mould to grow inside.
Back then, most Wensleydale cheese was blue. The white kind was very rare. Today, it's the opposite! You will mostly find white Wensleydale, and blue Wensleydale is not seen very often.
When the monasteries were closed down in 1540, local farmers kept making the cheese. They continued until the Second World War. During the war, most milk in the country was used to make a type of "Government Cheddar" cheese. Even after the war ended in 1954, cheese making did not go back to how it was before.
Modern Wensleydale Production
The first factory to make Wensleydale cheese for sale was opened in 1897. It was in the town of Hawes. Later, a company called Wensleydale Dairy Products bought the Wensleydale Creamery in 1992.
This company wanted to protect the name Yorkshire Wensleydale. They applied for a special rule from the European Union called PGI status. This means that only cheese made in Wensleydale can use the name "Yorkshire Wensleydale." They received this special status in 2013.
See also
In Spanish: Wensleydale (queso) para niños
