Wensleydale cheese

Wensleydaleis a style ofcheeseoriginally produced inWensleydale,North Yorkshire, England, but now mostly made in large commercialcreameriesthroughout the United Kingdom.  The term "YorkshireWensleydale" can only be used for cheese that is made in Wensleydale.The style of cheese originated from a monastery of FrenchCistercian monkswho had settled in northern England, and continued to be produced by local farmers after the monastery was dissolved in 1540. Wensleydale cheese fell to low production in the early 1990s, but its popularity was revitalized by frequent references in theWallace & Gromitseries.
Wensleydale is a medium cheese that is supple and crumbly. It has a slighthoneyaroma.
The flavour of Wensleydale is suited tocombinationwith sweeter produce, such as sweetapples. Many restaurants and delicatessens serve a version of the cheese that containscranberries.
InYorkshireandNorth East England, the cheese is often eaten with fruit cake orChristmas cake.
Wensleydale cheese was first made byFrenchCistercian monksfrom theRoquefortregion, who had settled in Wensleydale. They built a monastery atFors, but some years later the monks moved toJervaulxin Lower Wensleydale. They brought with them a recipe for making cheese fromsheep's milk.During the 14th century cows' milk began to be used instead, and the character of the cheese began to change. A little ewes' milk was still mixed in since it gave a more open texture, and allowed the development of the bluemould. At that time, Wensleydale was almost always blue with the white variety almost unknown. Nowadays, the opposite is true, with blue Wensleydale rarely seen.When the monastery was dissolved in 1540, the local farmers continued making the cheeseuntil theSecond World War, during which most milk in the country was used for the making of "GovernmentCheddar".Even after rationing ceased in 1954, cheese making did not return to pre-war levels.
The first creamery to produce Wensleydale commercially was established in 1897 in the town ofHawes. Wensleydale Dairy Products, who bought theWensleydale Creameryin 1992, sought to protect the nameYorkshire Wensleydaleunder an EU regulation;Protected Geographical Indicationstatus was awarded in 2013.
George Orwellrated Wensleydale second behindStiltonin his 1945 essay "In Defence of English Cooking".
In the 1990s, sales of Wensleydale cheese from theWensleydale Creameryhad fallen so low that production in Wensleydale itself was at risk of being suspended.The cheese experienced a boost in its popularity after being featured in theWallace & Gromitfranchise. The main character of the series, Wallace, a cheeseconnoisseur, most notably mentions Wensleydale as a particularly favourite cheese in the 1995 shortA Close Shave. Animator and creatorNick Parkchose it solely because it had a good name that would be interesting to animate the lip sync to rather than due to its origins innorthern Englandwhere the shorts were set. He was also unaware of the financial difficulties that the company was experiencing.The company contactedAardman Animationsabout a licence for a special brand of Wensleydale cheese called, "Wallace & Gromit Wensleydale", which sold well.When the 2005 full-lengthWallace & Gromitfilm,The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was released, sales of Wensleydale cheeses increased by 23%.
Wensleydale is one of the cheeses mentioned in theCheese shop sketchofMonty Python's Flying Circusthat Mr. Mousebender attempts to purchase, without success. There is a glimmer of hope the shop may have this variety of cheese, only for the proprietor to reveal that his name is Arthur Wensleydale, and he thought he was being personally addressed.