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| Hawes, home to the Wensleydale Cheese Factory |
As we enjoyed all the samples on offer in the Wensleydale
Cheese Factory, I initially found it intriguing that two of the three cheeses we brought home with us were Cheddars. Only one, a blend of
Wensleydale and Apricot, represented the creamery's signature variety. The
Wikipedia page on Wensleydale cheese describes its flavor as “wild honey
balanced with a fresh acidity.” I don’t remember
reacting to that acidity at the factory, but once I got home, and had a little
of it with my breakfast, it somehow tasted off to me.
My wife liked the taste though, so I let her enjoy it while
I got on with the Cheddars. I
particularly enjoyed the smoked Cheddar—it had a nice, strong flavor that mixed
well with the eggs, toast, and fruit I eat each morning. While my wife found she disliked the smoked
Cheddar, she helped me out more with the softer, Abbot’s Choice variety. I tried the Wensleydale a second morning, but
still couldn’t find the sweetness in it that my wife appreciated.
For a time, I wondered if we had simply waited too long to
eat it. We brought back many treats from England, after all. As we had good
things awaiting our return, including leftover Stilton, the new cheeses sat in
our fridge awhile before we got around to them.
By the time we unwrapped them and cut through the wax casing, all three
were past their expiration dates. The two
Cheddars supported this argument, as I often had to cut a little mold off them
as I sliced off a little for my breakfast.
But the Wensleydale & Apricot never developed a hint of mold.
Despite the fact that we were enjoying the latter stages of
summer, one night my wife dug out Wallace & Grommit’s Cheesy Cook Book
and announced that we were going to bake a cake. Using the last of our Wensleydale &
Apricot cheese, we proceeded to make “Wallace’s Crumbly Apricot & Apple
Cake.” While I peeled and sliced the
apples, she did the rest. In short
order, the cake was in the oven, which was happily pouring more heat to our
already hot house.
I always find it difficult to describe a unique taste to
someone else. Our new cake, which we
sliced into the following night, was a combination of flavors and textures. Perhaps it was the baking process, or the
addition of the sugar and the apples, but the cheese in it no longer tasted
off. The cake had a substance that I often find lacking in cakes. It wasn’t too
dense, nor was it too light and airy. It
was moist, but not too moist. No one
flavor dominated: it wasn’t too sweet, too cheesy, or two apple-y (if that’s a
word). In short, the cake was different,
a unique combination of flavors. Usually, I accompany cake with ice cream to
balance out the tastes and textures. But
when I set the fork on my empty plate, I decided I needed nothing more.
My wife, on the other hand, marched out to the store the
following day and brought home some vanilla ice cream. That night, she presented me a slice of cake
and some ice cream drizzled with a little Caramel sauce. Oh, yes: her instincts had steered her right
once again!
I’m not sure if I can get any variety of Wensleydale Cheese in
San Diego. That’s something we’ll have
to investigate. I’d like more of
Wallace’s “Crumbly Apricot & Apple Cake,” and I'd like to try some of the other
recipes in the book. But even if I can’t
find any more Wensleydale cheese until I return to England, I’m glad we brought
those cheeses back, and I’m also glad she insisted we bake that cake. For it was wonderful to return to England,
albeit through the medium of taste, and visit Yorkshire one more time.
Dragon Dave
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