Stonebeck Wensleydale

Creamy, fresh and herbaceous while young, with the flavour deepening as it matures into something satisfyingly warm and buttery.

PORTION

Eighth

MINIMUM 350 g

Quarter

MINIMUM 700 g

Half

MINIMUM 1400 g

Whole

MINIMUM 2800 g

Regular price £22.70 Sale

Quantity

- +

Spend over £29.50 to receive free delivery (England, Wales & Central Scotland)

Delivery Information

Standard delivery is free to most postcodes in the UK for orders over £29.50. Click here for a list of postcodes where additional delivery charges apply.

For orders under £29.50, standard delivery is £6.00.

Collection from our London shops is free - choose Shop Collection at checkout.

Choose your preferred delivery date at checkout. As we use third party couriers (typically DPD) we cannot guarantee the arrival day of your order but we will do our best to ensure that it arrives as close as possible to your chosen date. To be sure it arrives in time, we recommend choosing a date a couple of days ahead of when you would like to eat your cheese.

Download Crib Sheet

milk type
Cow

ingredients
MILK, salt, rennet

coagulant
Animal Rennet

milk treatment
Raw

location
Nidderdale, Yorkshire

milk source
Own herd

cheesemakers
Andrew and Sally Hattan

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The Hattan family’s quest to recreate a farmhouse Wensleydale from the 20th century led to them making use of cheesemaking books from 1917 and 1947, together with interviews with a 101-year-old local cheesemaker.

background

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.

FAQs

How much cheese to buy?

As a general rule of thumb, we would recommend roughly between 100 and 150 grams per person for after dinner, and a bit more if cheese is the focus of the meal. If you are buying cheese to serve over a couple of days or as part of a buffet, it is advisable to buy a few larger pieces. This will both look better and keep better than many small bits. To help visualise weights, a good tip is to consider that a regular supermarket pat of butter weighs between 200 and 250 grams. If you are at all unsure please give us a call for some advice.

How should I store my cheese?

The best option is to keep your cheese wrapped in its paper within a box in the fridge. This will prevent the cheese from drying out and absorbing other flavours. Your cheese will arrive wrapped in waxed cheese paper, which achieves the best possible balance between maintaining humidity around the cheese and allowing it to breathe. We are happy to provide some free extra cheese paper, just search for "cheese paper" and add it to your basket. We don't recommend cling film or foil as it can cause the cheese to sweat which will negatively affect the flavour.