The only maker of unpasteurised cheese in Wensleydale has unveiled its new facility. Curlew Dairy, based in Carperby, has converted disused farm buildings into a working dairy and has already produced several tonnes of its Yoredale Wensleydale cheese.
The launch comes just in time for the Yorkshire Dales Cheese Festival and marks a significant step forward for the business. Ben Spence, the artisan cheesemaker behind Curlew Dairy, said: “People are welcome to come by during the Cheese Festival, to see us making cheese that week through the vat room window.
“There will be samples to taste and there should be cheeses to buy. “If you go an hour’s walk from Aysgarth Falls to Castle Bolton, you’ll almost pass the front door of this place.” Curlew Dairy is one of 14 food, retail, and hospitality businesses taking part in the festival, which runs from October 11 to 18 and celebrates local produce across the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Until recently, Curlew Dairy operated from a converted garage in Wensley before relocating to its new premises. Explaining what makes his unpasteurised cheese ‘unique’, Mr Spence said: “A garden of moulds grows through the cheeses as they age.
“This fluffy, kind of cat’s hair, mould that you see here, that is the mould that presents itself first. “In terms of flavour, we’re looking for the lemon acidity freshness of a Wensleydale towards the centre, with more earthy textures towards the rind.
“We aim for a texture that is akin to how farmhouse cheeses used to be: softer and more buttery than the mealy texture that many people would associate with Wensleydale today.”
Artisan cheesemaking in and around the Yorkshire Dales National Park has seen something of a resurgence during the past decade, with makers such as Stonebeck in Nidderdale, Piper Hole Goat Farm in Ravenstonedale, Lacey’s Cheese in Reeth, and Courtyard Dairy near Settle finding a ready market.
Mr Spence credited the wider Wensleydale brand for helping Curlew Dairy reach new markets. He said: “I think the late David Hartley and the Wensleydale Creamery have done an incredible job at promoting Wensleydale as a brand, and it’s certainly what has allowed us to take our cheese to America.