It is a traditional farmhouse Wensleydale. Made by Ben and Sam Spence at their micro-dairy in Wensley, Yorkshire, it is a raw-milk clothbound farmhouse Wensleydale produced in small batches to a slow handmade recipe, giving a cheese that is smooth and buttery with fresh, yoghurty notes and a touch of earthiness.
THINGS THAT WE SELL THAT COMPLEMENT YOREDALE WENSLEYDALE
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Frequently asked questions about Yoredale Wensleydale
What is Yoredale?
Where does the name come from?
Yoredale is the ancient name for Wensleydale.
What makes it different from supermarket Wensleydale?
Almost everything. The renowned territorial cheese changed enormously over the last century. After dying out as a farmhouse cheese in the 1950s, the recipe evolved into something more efficient and fast-maturing: the crumbly, tart, dry cheese most people now associate with Wensleydale. Yoredale reaches back past that. The Spences aim for a texture closer to how farmhouse cheeses used to be, softer and more buttery than the mealy texture many people associate with Wensleydale today.
Is it really the only one of its kind?
In its own dale, effectively yes. Curlew Dairy is the only maker of unpasteurised cheese in Wensleydale. The Spences were the first to make a farm-produced Wensleydale since 1957. There are sister cheeses nearby (Stonebeck and Whin Yeats/Fellstone) but Yoredale is the Wensleydale actually made in Wensleydale.
What does it taste like, and how does it develop?
There is a clear flavour map across the cheese. They look for the lemon acidity and freshness of a Wensleydale towards the centre, with more earthy character towards the rind. That earthiness is rind-driven. A garden of moulds grows through the cheeses as they age, and these eventually form the tight rind that gives the cheese its mushroomy, earthy flavours.
How is the rind managed?
By hand, week by week. A soft cat's-hair mould presents first, the cheeses are patted down every week, and eventually that mould gives way and allows other moulds to grow, forming the tight rind. From an affinage point of view that is the interesting bit: it is a managed natural rind, not a wash or a bloomy inoculation, and the weekly patting is what steers succession from the early fluffy growth to the finishing flora.
How long is it aged?
It is clothbound and aged for around 3 to 4 months. That window suits the style. You want enough time for the rind flora to establish and the paste to settle into that buttery texture, without pushing it so far that the fresh, lactic centre is lost.
How should it be kept and served?
Treat it as a living farmhouse cheese. Most hard cheeses will be fine between 8 and 15 degrees, and at warmer temperatures they continue to mature; nearly all cheeses like a moist atmosphere, with around 80% relative humidity ideal. For a serving idea straight from the maker, Ben's favourites are fresh sourdough topped with Yoredale dipped in balsamic, or the classic of Yoredale with a slice of fruitcake.
How long will it last once opened?
Around 5–7 days if stored well in breathable paper.