Wensleydale cheese

The Wensleydale is an English hard cheese made from cow's milk in the form of a cylinder with natural rind. This is manufactured cheese in Hawes, a village in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales.

The recipe for this cheese can be traced back to the Cistercian monks who came to England in the 12th century.

There are two types of Wensleydale: White Wensleydale, in flat pressed disks with honey flavor; and blue Wensleydale, also called Yorkshire, with blue veins and "double cream", which is a relative of Blue Stilton. Good Wensleydale has a crumbly, moist texture and resembles a young Caerphilly. The aroma is reminiscent of honey with a fresh acidity. It matures in two to four months and has a fat content of 45%. It can be used as a table cheese and goes well with "apple pie".

Wensleydale cheese is a favorite of Wallace from Wallace & Gromit animated films to and the name of the played by Michael Palin cheese merchant in the Cheese Shop Sketch in Monty Python's Flying Circus.