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Andrew and Sally Hattan’s Low Riggs farm is located the Yorkshire Dales, where for hundreds of years the production of Wensleydale-style cheese played a vital role in the rural economy. When the Hattan family embarked on their quest to make a farmhouse Wensleydale cheese of their own, they did so with the express intent of reviving this British Territorial cheese in a sustainable way. The milk for the cheese comes from a herd of just 15 Northern Dairy Shorthorn cows – a breed native to the Dales – which are grazed on the farm’s diverse pastures, and milked just once a day. The cheese is truly handmade: the curds cut and hung up in cloth bags to allow the whey to drain away, after which they are milled by a hand-turned peg mill ready for moulding and pressing in a traditional cast iron press. The next day the cheese is bound with locally made, unbleached calico and hand-sewn with a long stitch before being pressed for a final time before maturation. Over the course of the ensuing weeks, the rind will develop and the characteristically buttery flavour will intensify. The Hattans are eventually hoping to encourage the natural blueing reminiscent of the pre-war Wensleydale that inspired their recipe, though this aspect of maturation is still in being trialled.

our work with this cheese

Andrew and Sally Hattan came to visit Neal’s Yard Dairy when they were just beginning their cheesemaking journey, and we have worked with them every step of the way: from helping to develop the recipe for their cheese, to the decision to call it a Wensleydale – a name they were reluctant to use at first, but which we convinced them to adopt on account of the cheese’s geography and style.