To celebrate Yorkshire Day on 1st August, local cheesemonger Andy Swinscoe shares his ten favourite cheeses from the region.
The resurgence of artisan cheesemaking has spread throughout Britain, with a host of new, talented producers. As always, look for local; but with Yorkshire Day on 1st August, what better time to focus on the brilliant cheeses that my home county makes?
Monks and milk
Yorkshire boasts a rich history of cheesemaking, with hundreds of farms making cheese in the Dales: Nidderdale, Wensleydale, Teesdale, Swaledale and Coverdale. Cheesemaking was established here by French Cistercian monks as they developed their huge monastic estates (around the abbeys of Jervaulx, Fountaines, Fors and Bolton) after the Norman invasion. These monks made a loose, crumbly and moist sheep’s milk cheese.
The Industrial Revolution
When the monastic states were dissolved, the local farmers took it upon themselves to continue to make cheese in this style. This continued well up to the Industrial Revolution, although many Yorkshire farms had by now shifted to using cows’ milk. After the Industrial Revolution and establishment of the railways, more and more milk was sold to factories in the cities. Consequently, farmers stopped making so much cheese. This, coupled with cheesemaking developments, meant the range of farm cheeses became more standardised and consistent (like the crumbly white Wensleydale you see today).
Eventually all the farmhouses stopped making cheese (the last farmhouse Wensleydale was made in 1957), and it seemed that farmhouse cheesemaking in Yorkshire was gone forever.
But now, luckily, the future for Yorkshire cheese looks promising!
My Courtyard Dairy
My 10 favourite local cheeses
Dale End Cheddar
Made by Botton Camphill Community, it is traditionally farm-made, cloth bound and aged for 18 months – tangy, rich and powerful. (Main picture, above)
Richard III Wensleydale
A cloth-bound Wensleydale that is moister, lighter and fresher than its modern day namesake, which is much sharper and crumblier. Made by Fortmayne Dairy.
Ribblesdale
Iona Hill makes some lovely fresh goats’ curd and hard cows’ milk cheeses at her small creamery based in Hawes, but it’s her hard goats’ milk cheeses that are the ones to seek out!
Cotherstone
Joan Cross makes a true Dales cheese – how it used to be made, and has been made for as long as anyone can remember.
Yellison
A light, fresh goats’ cheese log made near Bradley in North Yorkshire using milk from their own herd of goats.
Barncliffe Brie
Made by Danny Lockwood in Shelley, Huddersfield. It’s a recent creation, and is a creamy, gentle brie-style cheese (also known as Yorkshire Brie).
Wensleydale Blue & Kit Calvert Wensleydale
Both made by the brilliant Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes, which kept cheesemaking alive in the Dale.
Laceys Cheese, Wensleydale
Go to the old Station at Richmond where you can watch Simon Lacey make a lovely range of cheeses. My favourite is his traditional Wensleydale.
Harrogate Blue
A recent addition from Shepherd’s Purse, this is a creamy soft blue. They make a wide range of cheeses at their creamery in Thirsk, from Yorkshire Blue to Fine Fettle (a Feta style).
Lowna Dairy soft cheese
This dairy uses its own goats’ milk to make soft, blue and hard cheese in East Yorkshire near Hull.
Also try...
Other Yorkshire cheeses to look out for include those made by The Pextenement Cheese Company, based at Todmorden. They make a traditional cheddar and soft creamy Coulommier-style cheese with milk from their own farm.
Also, give Swaledale Cheese a try. In the mid-1980s the last small farm making traditional Swaledale cheese with sheep’s milk gave up, but handed their recipe over to David and Mandy Reed. The Reeds continue to make cheese in a similar Dales style, and have added other variations to the fold including using cows’ and goats’ milk.
You might also like
A day in the life of a top cheesemonger