Features of Wensleydale cheese, production and possible varieties. Nutritional value, chemical composition, benefits and harms when consumed. Cooking Applications and History.
Wensleydale is an English hard cheese, once made from sheep's milk, but now almost always pasteurized from cow's milk. Belongs to the Cheddar group. The texture depends on the aging period, it can be crumbly, flaky and soft in young heads, dense and tough in mature ones. The taste also varies: from sour honey to oily, sweetish with a salty aftertaste. The color in the section is pale yellow, the smell is fresh, cheesy, hay-smoky. Instead of a crust, cheese cloth is used. It is allowed to be produced in the form of heads of various shapes - high cylinders or blocks, packaging - from 1 to 25 kg.
How is Wensleydale cheese made?
On the farm, a little sheep's milk is added to the raw feed to enhance the flavor of the final product. At food factories, cow's milk is pasteurized and, using a centrifuge, the fat content is reduced to 3.85%. A complex of thermophilic and lactic acid bacteria is used as a starter culture, and rennet from a calf stomach is used for coagulation.
How Wensleydale cheese is made:
- Prepared milk is first cooled and then heated. In order to maintain a constant temperature regime of 30 ° C, a water bath is used at home, and heated stones in farms. In dairy factories, special installations are responsible for the regime.
- After the addition of rennet, kale is formed within 40-45 minutes. Cutting begins after checking for a clean break. The size of the cheese cubes is small - no more than 1, 3 cm. It is more convenient to use a "harp" than a knife with a thin blade.
- Kneading is carried out in several stages. First, up to 10 minutes at a constant temperature, then they give the same time to stand and again raise them with movements from top to bottom. The mixture is heated at 1 ° C and mixed again for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese grains turn into peas. The process continues while gluing continues. Allow to settle, evaluate the quality of the intermediate product, drain part of the whey.
- Drainer - stand for whey removal - covered with cheesecloth, serpyanka. Spread the curd mass, tighten the fabric for better separation of the liquid. Untie again, mix the squeezed, but not yet pressed cheese, tighten again. This process is continued until, when the knot is untied, the curd mass does not stop disintegrating, but forms a monolith.
- Grind again. Pour in salt and start pressing. If you plan to cook Wensleydale cheese with blue mold (one of the subspecies of the variety), then she also intervenes at this stage.
- If the shapes are cylindrical, then they can be filled with cheese mass using an automatic machine. When pressing into blocks, laying is done manually, otherwise voids will remain in the corners. Leave to dry and compact on its own, at a temperature of 21 ° C.
- Duration of pressing with oppression - 3 hours. The heads are pre-wrapped with cheese cloth.
Several subspecies of Wensleydale cheese are made:
- Mature - hard, when pressing, the pressure is increased to 80 kPa;
- Extra - cooked as ripe, aged for at least 9-10 months;
- Blue - with blue streaks, pressure during pressing is not more than 10 kPa;
- Unpasteurized farm - sheep's milk must be added to the feedstock, the weight of the oppression increases as the whey is compacted and separated;
- Mixed - when forming heads, add fruits (apricots or pineapples), berries (cranberries or lingonberries), seasonings (garlic, ginger, onions or green onions); pressing is carried out manually.
- Smoked - the ripened heads are fumigated with the smoke of fruit trees for 30 minutes.
Regardless of the subspecies, the varieties are dried at 18 ° C for 10-12 hours. The ripening conditions differ only for blue cheese: it needs a more humid environment - 90%. For all other options, conditions are created: temperature - 12-13 ° C, humidity - 80-85%. The aging period is at least 3 weeks, Blue Wensleydale can be tasted no earlier than 12-14 months.
Cheese makers share the secret of how to make Wensleydale cheese so that it doesn't have extraneous flavors. While the heads are ripening, they are regularly inverted during aging. The chamber is constantly ventilated, the adherence of the cheese cloth is checked, and the fermentation is made to stop on its own. In pre-sale preparation, paraffin is applied to the surface of the head. If the activity of microorganisms is not controlled, the taste will be too sour.
Composition and calorie content of Wensleydale cheese
Fat content of cheese relative to dry matter is 45-50%. The energy value of the farm options is higher - sheep milk is added to the feedstock. Subspecies of fermented milk product differ in taste, but the chemical composition is identical.
The calorie content of Wensleydale cheese is 377 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 23, 3 g;
- Fat - 31.5 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0.1 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Retinol - 275 mcg;
- Carotene - 260 mcg;
- Vitamin D - 0.2 mcg;
- Tocopherol - 0.39 mg;
- Thiamine - 0.03 mg;
- Riboflavin - 0.46 mg
- Niacin - 0.1 mg;
- Tryptophan - 5.5 mg;
- Pyridoxine - 0.09 mg;
- Cobalamin - 1.1 mcg;
- Folate - 43 mcg;
- Pantothenic acid - 0.30 mg;
- Biotin - 4 mcg.
Minerals:
- Sodium - 520 mg;
- Potassium - 89 mg;
- Calcium - 560 mg;
- Magnesium - 19 mg;
- Phosphorus - 410 mg;
- Iron - 0.3 mg;
- Copper - 0, 11 mg;
- Zinc - 3.4 mg;
- Chlorine - 810 mg;
- Selenium -11 mcg;
- Iodine - 46 mcg.
Fats per 100 g:
- Saturated fatty acids - 19, 70 g;
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.9 g;
- Cholesterol 90 mg
Ash and nitrogen were found in the composition of Wensleydale cheese - 3, 65 g.
Despite the fact that 100 g of this variety contains 80% of the calcium required by the human body per day, and 65% of phosphorus, it is not recommended to eat in such portions. It is enough for small children to eat 30 g per day, and for adults - 50-80 g. If a fermented milk product is consumed together with vegetables and fruits, then not only the exquisite taste is revealed to the maximum, but also the vitamin and mineral reserve is replenished without harm to health.
Health benefits of Wensleydale cheese
When you taste any tasty product, your mood improves. Depression recedes, tone rises. It has been officially established that due to the balanced complex composition of a very important group of vitamins responsible for the functioning of the nervous system, resistance to stress increases and even falls asleep faster.
The benefits of Wensleydale cheese for the body:
- Increases the absorption of nutrients necessary for the normal functioning of the human body, not only from the fermented milk product itself, but also from food eaten simultaneously with it.
- Increases overall tone and organic immunity. Blue cheese additionally creates favorable conditions for the activity of lactobacilli, digestion improves.
- Normalizes acid-base balance. The body retains precious moisture, the onset of old age slows down, the skin becomes more elastic.
- The body's defenses increase in relation to the aggressive influence of the external environment.
- Strengthens bones, accelerates hair growth, prevents peeling of epithelial tissue.
There are no contraindications for the use of cheese made in dairy factories from pasteurized milk. It can be given to children from 1, 5 years old. Adding to the diet will accelerate growth, prevent rickets and help develop faster. And subspecies with fruits can replace harmful sweets and cakes. By the way, people who control their weight should pay attention to this type of food. The daily portion recommended by nutritionists has 3 times fewer calories than a standard slice of cake and many more nutrients.
Contraindications and harm of Wensleydale cheese
Acquaintance with a new product made from pasteurized milk should be postponed only in case of individual intolerance to milk protein. When adding subspecies with additives to the diet, it is necessary to take into account the likelihood of developing allergic reactions.
Wensleydale cheese can cause harm in people with chronic diseases of the digestive system or obesity due to high fat content. In order not to provoke deterioration in health or weight gain, the "dosage" should be reduced.
Abuse should also be avoided due to the amino acid content of tryptophan. There is more of it in hard cheeses than in soft ones. Because of it, when overeating, headache and insomnia, nervous breakdowns and increased anxiety occur.
When purchasing subspecies made on farms, you should make sure that the entrepreneur is in good faith. Cheeses made from raw milk should not be given to young children and should not be included in the diet of women during pregnancy and lactation. Increased risk of contracting listeriosis and salmonellosis.
The salinity of the product can cause impaired renal function, a gout attack and the formation of edema due to an increase in blood pressure. Therefore, when making up the daily menu, you should focus on your own feelings.
Wensleydale Cheese Recipes
This fermented milk product is served on a cheese plate with white wines and fruits. It was this use that prompted cheese makers to manufacture flavored subspecies. In culinary recipes, the variety can replace Gruyere and Cheddar.
Wensleydale Cheese Recipes:
- Cheese platter … Portion forms (preferably ceramic pots) are lubricated from the inside with sunflower oil and garlic. In a deep bowl, mix 80 g of grated cheeses of various varieties - Gloucester, Derby and Wensleydale, preferably blue. Add 110 g of slightly flooded butter, pour in half a glass of sherry, season with nutmeg, pepper and dry mustard, but not more than 0.5 tsp. Stir so that no lumps form, lay out in prepared forms, bake at a temperature of 180-200 ° C for 15-20 minutes.
- Cheese dumplings … The oven is heated to 200 ° C if there is no convection, and to 220 ° C if there is. Knead in a bowl of a food processor 400 g of flour, salt - 1/2 tsp., 1 tsp. mustard powder and butter, cut into pieces - 80 g. You can rub by hand, but it takes longer. You should get a mixture that looks like breading, but sticky. Transfer everything to a large bowl, pour in a glass of milk, add 150 g of Wensleydale and knead the dough. If it seems that something is missing, pour it on the eye. It should not be very cool, otherwise it will not be chewed. Rub some more cheese - for sprinkling. The dumplings can be shaped and baked in the oven, then sprinkled with cheese while hot. But there is another interesting way of cooking - boil it in milk. The dumplings will not be rosy, but they will become very tender.
- Cheese cakes … Knead a dough of 225 g flour with 15 g baking powder, 1 cup milk, 50 g butter, 100 g grated Wensleydale, 1 egg and 1 chopped leek. If it turns out to be liquid, you can add flour. For taste, add 50 g of seeds or crushed walnuts. Roll the same balls of dough. A plastic bag is put on a cutting board and cakes are formed by pushing the blanks with the board. This gives flat cakes of uniform thickness. Fried in sunflower oil on 2 sides.
- Salad … Pine nuts, 2 tbsp l., fried in a dry frying pan. Mix in a plate 2 finely chopped onions, 90 g of salad mixture - the leaves are torn by hand, 6 cherry tomatoes, halved, grated green apple. Add there 100 g of diced Wensleydale cheese with cranberries and roasted nuts. For dressing, equal amounts of olive oil and wine vinegar are poured into a glass jar (2 tablespoons are enough for this set of products) and shake until a uniform consistency is obtained. Season the salad. You can decorate with real cranberries.
See also Fourme d'Amber cheese recipes.
Interesting facts about Wensleydale cheese
This variety was developed from a recipe suggested by Cistercian monks. During the fermentations in France, the ministers of God in the province of Roquefort moved to England and founded a monastery in Lower Westland. Sheep milk was replaced with cow's milk, which allowed the introduction of blue mold by reducing bacterial properties. However, now this subspecies is not so popular - local residents at all times preferred white cheese made from cow's milk.
In the 16th century, the monastery was disbanded, but Wensleydale had already gained popularity, and its production continued until the Second World War. It was then that they stopped making cheese - all the raw materials were given to Cheddar, which was part of the soldiers' rations. Even in 1954, when the rationing was abandoned, it was not possible to restore production.
However, by the end of the twentieth century, the variety was lucky. In 1992, a major businessman Gibson bought out the "dying" factories, and not only farmers, but also dairies began to make the variety, and in 2014 many new subspecies began to be produced. By 2015, the company expanded its staff to 230 people and began to sell 4,664 tons of cheese per year.
The popularity is due to the fact that English writers and directors began to mention this variety. First, a novel was filmed, written in 1962, in which the main character exclaims that Wensleydale cheese and port are heavenly twins. Then the title was voiced in the cartoon "Pinky and the Brain". And in 2005, the film "The Curse of the Rabbit" was released on the wide screen, in which all the characters acquired this particular variety.
In 2018, the cheese-making company had a new chairman, Wensleydale was made for export. At fairs, the variety was constantly awarded. Now he is put in second place after Cheddar, and it is very worthy.
Since 1994, the Wensleydale Dairy has opened its restaurant, a museum with an observation gallery, and conducts master classes, and subsidiaries have opened across the country. But wherever cheese is made, the raw material for it is bought only in the "small" homeland, in 36 farms.
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