the.com/wensleydale
A crumbly Yorkshire cheese saved from extinction by a clay-obsessed cartoon inventor and his dog.
means A pale, crumbly, mild cheese originally made in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, often crumbly and slightly sweet, sometimes blended with cranberries or other fruit.
from Named straightforwardly after Wensleydale, a valley in North Yorkshire whose own name traces to a medieval village (recorded as Wendreslaga and similar forms), likely 'Waendel's clearing or valley' from an Old English personal name plus a word for valley. Cheesemaking there is traditionally credited to Cistercian monks at Jervaulx Abbey, who brought the craft from France; after the monasteries were dissolved, local farmers carried on the recipe. The cheese nearly vanished as a commercial product in the late 20th century, and its modern fame owes much to its appearance as the favourite of the animated 'Wallace and Gromit' films, which sent sales soaring.
- wallace effect
- Sales soared after Wallace and Gromit's onscreen devotion
- monk origin
- Made by Cistercian monks since the 1150s
- near death
- Creamery nearly closed in 1992 before fame hit
- fruit pairing
- Traditionally eaten with fruitcake or apple pie
- protected name
- Yorkshire Wensleydale holds EU geographic protection
wensleydale cheese — yorkshire dairy product with protected designation of origin, traditionally made in wensleydale valley since 1897
wensleydale railway — heritage railway in north yorkshire running 22 miles between leeming bar and carlisle since reopening in 2003