WENSLEYDALE CHEESE-MAKING IO5 



making of this cheese ; also no special dairy ac- 

 commodation is required, and no special utensils 

 are employed. In the old-fashioned method, 

 a large brass or copper pan, called a "cheese- 

 kettle," was used in place of a cheese-vat, but 

 the use of this is fast dying out. 



The cheeses are made of two shapes, "flat" 

 and " Stilton " shape. The former of these are 

 suitable for making during spring and autumn, 

 and also when the cheeses are intended for 

 immediate consumption. When the cheeses 

 are made of the " Stilton " shape, they are 

 supposed to develop a greenish-blue mould 

 just as a real Stilton, but with the flats this is 

 not looked for. The Stilton-shaped Wensley- 

 dales are therefore classed as British blue 

 mould cheeses. The period of ripening of 

 Wensleydales varies according to the shape 

 adopted, but this is only so owing to the differ- 

 ences in the curds used in making the respective 

 shapes. The " flats " take only a short time to 

 ripen, the " Stiltons " a longer time. Although 

 we speak of " Stilton-shaped " Wensleydales it 

 is rare to find them exactly resembling a Stilton 

 in shape, as the cheese usually becomes much 



