I had often wondered how there could be so many types of cheese. Over 700 varieties in Britain alone, and hundreds more across the world – what makes them all unique? So I decided to visit the Wensleydale Creamery, at Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales, to find out more about my favourite food.
There are hundreds of types of cheese in the world – even Wensleydale comes in several varieties
Wensleydale Cheese Museum
We were at the Wensleydale Cheese Museum, which explores the history of local cheesemaking. Here we learnt that Wensleydale cheese was first produced in the 12th century and that, like so much in the Yorkshire Dales, it originated with the Cistercian monks. After the dissolution of the monasteries cheese was made in local farmhouses, and eventually it moved to large scale commercial manufacture.
For many centuries cheese was made in farmhouse kitchens
We walked through the museum looking at an old fashioned farmhouse kitchen and at the tools used in traditional cheesemaking. But for me the most interesting thing was learning about how cheese is made today and why there are so many varieties. Unfortunately we couldn’t take the tour of the factory as the Creamery wasn’t making cheese that day, but we were able to watch a film showing the manufacturing process from start to finish. This explained what makes each cheese unique: apparently there are three variables – the kind and quality of milk used, the type of starter culture, and the method of production – and these enable the creation of hundreds of different sorts of cheese across the world.
Some of the tools that would have been used in traditional cheesemaking
Wensleydale Cheese Today
Today Wensleydale cheese is made from cows’ milk (although in the Middle Ages sheep’s milk was used), and it has a distinctive crumbly texture and creamy flavour. In 1995 the comic inventor Wallace (of Wallace and Gromit fame) revealed that Wensleydale was his favourite cheese, and there has been a close association between the Creamery and the comedy duo ever since.
Wallace and Gromit are closely associated with Wensleydale cheese
We walked through the shop and sampled the different types of Wensleydale, including the “blended” varieties, which may incorporate fruit, garlic or ginger. And then it was time to try the restaurant, where we had a predictably cheesy meal, including a cheesecake full of crumbly cheese – delicious! (Eating cheese with sweet dishes is traditional here in Yorkshire, where it can accompany fruit cake or even apple pie.)
There was lots of cheese on the restaurant menu!
As we ate we looked out over the rolling countryside of the Yorkshire Dales. With such lush green grass it was no surprise that the cows produced creamy milk!
Looking across to the hills of Wensleydale
It's amazing how much there is to learn about cheese. A great topic for a museum!
I love the mix of an educational and culinary adventure all wrapped in one. Your meal looks delicious.
I love tours like this, looks like it was a fun and cheesy filled experience
Yes, I hadn't realised how much there is to it – a fascinating tour.
I agree – and yes the meal was delicious!
It was a great day out for a cheese lover.
We've been hoping to get to Yorkshire forever, and this is just another reason. I really like specialty tours with a distinct focus such as this one. Yum!
I've really missed good cheeses and a varied selection during our travels in Central and South America. In fact, especially after seeing your lunch photo, it may be one of the many reasons that we're looking forward to beginning our travels in Europe next year!
Yum! I loved the varieties of cheeses and chutneys on the Ploughman's Lunches i sampled when in Wales and near Wedgwood and it sounds as though Wensleydale has some delicious cheeses too.
Hope you manage to get to Yorkshire soon – there's loads to see!
I always miss cheese if I travel somewhere it isn't much eaten. But there's never any shortage of it in Europe!
Ploughman's lunches are always a good choice because you get several varieties on one plate. And those Welsh cheeses are good too…