Swaledale Ewes Cheese

Swaledale Ewes Cheese

Swaledale Ewes Cheese is a cylindrical shaped full fat hard cheese, white in colour with a firm crumbly texture, made from ewes milk. The cheese is coated with a greeny blue greyish mould or coated with black wax.

 The cheese is made entirely within Swaledale in the County of North Yorkshire, the milk also comes from within the area.

 The pastures on which the sheep graze consist of herbs and grasses characteristic to the area due to the soil and climate. The milk together with the authentic unvarying cheese making skills gives the cheese its specific properties.

 Origin
The Cheese has been made in the area for centuries. The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation and is still known only by a few people

Method of production
The entire cheese making process is carried out by hand. Milk from the designated area is heated to 28C and culture is added. Two hours later rennet is added and the milk is left to curdle for an hour. The curd is cut and stirred for 40 minutes at 28C. It is cut into blocks and allowed to drain and then cut again into smaller blocks and stacked. After being broken into small nuggets and filled into moulds lined with muslin, they are lightly pressed for 18 hours at 20C and turned once after 4 hours. The cheese is removed from the moulds and soaked in an 85% solution of brine for 24 hours. The cheese matures over 3 to 4 weeks.

Producers
There is only one producer of Swaledale Ewes Cheese

The Swaledale Cheese Company Limited
Mercury Road
Gallowfields
Richmond
North Yorkshire
DL10 4TQ
01748 824932
Fax – 01748 822219
sales@swaledalecheese.co.uk
www.swaledalecheese.co.uk