I'd like some Wensleydale cheese, please.

January 18, 2018 10:45 AM

It's pretty simple. I don't live in the UK and I'd like some Wensleydale. Any suggestions?

While vacationing in London I ate a marvelous Wensleydale and carrot sandwich. I'd like to replicate it, but I'm not sure where I can find Wensleydale cheese.

I live in New Jersey, if that helps. I'm willing to travel as far as NYC or Philly. I'm OK with ordering it online, except all the Wensleydale I've encountered online comes with fruit. I want plain cheese.

If there are cheeses similar to Wensleydale that I could use, I'm willing.

The open Internet hasn't really been helpful to me on this question, or my Googling skills have betrayed me in a profound way.

Thanks so much.

posted by orangutan to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Best answer: Telephone the West Side Market in NYC, 110th and Broadway. They had it the last time I looked.
posted by JimN2TAW at 10:48 AM on January 18, 2018

I've seen imported Wensleydale in Maryland and in Texas. Surely there's a shop near you that carries it, too.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 10:49 AM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'd call or IM with Murray's Cheese (IM link on home page). Wensleydale is sort of in a weird market niche as it's not really considered a high-end cheese, so specialist cheesemongers in the U.S. are less likely to stock it. But if Murray's doesn't carry it, they can probably refer you to someone who does.
posted by praemunire at 10:49 AM on January 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

Caerphilly is reasonably similar to Wensleydale, in the unlikely event of you coming across a Welsh-biased cheese importer.
posted by Vortisaur at 10:54 AM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is this the famous Marks and Spencer wensleydale and carrot chutney sammich? If so, the chutney is available occasionally in the food section in sealed jars which should be postable. Not sure if they are available to send abroad from M and S webpage though.
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 10:55 AM on January 18, 2018

I have seen it in my local natural foods co-op (I live in Connecticut). If you have one near you in NJ, check there?
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:55 AM on January 18, 2018

I live on the other coast but I've seen it in Whole Foods. It probably depends on who the cheesemonger is who works in the specific locations. You could ask the cheese person in the one near you if they could get it.
posted by matildaben at 11:19 AM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

You can buy it online at igourmet.
posted by essexjan at 11:27 AM on January 18, 2018

When it's in stock...
posted by essexjan at 11:28 AM on January 18, 2018

Another vote for Whole Foods. I have been able to buy Wensleydale at a couple of the ones near me in suburban Boston.
posted by briank at 11:34 AM on January 18, 2018

Best answer: Philly source: Downtown Cheese in the Reading Terminal market had Wensleydale as of a few weeks ago. They likely still have some.
posted by nolnacs at 11:46 AM on January 18, 2018

I live in Northern New England and normal supermarkets near me that have imported non-prepackaged cheeses (which is most of them) will have Wensleydale from time to time, though I don't think any of them have it all the time.

Just going a few dozen miles towards Boston I'll encounter even better-stocked supermarkets than the ones near me; so I am suspicious that you may be viewing this as a more difficult a quest than it actually is, OP.
posted by XMLicious at 1:02 PM on January 18, 2018

I buy Wensleydale with cranberries at Fairway Market, in Manhattan and in Westchester County. I believe they also have a variety with apricots. I've never seen one without fruit. They always have it.
posted by zorseshoes at 1:39 PM on January 18, 2018

Argh. Just read more carefully. You can see whether they have the plain. They just might.
posted by zorseshoes at 1:40 PM on January 18, 2018

Best answer: Lancashire cheese is similar to Wensleydale, and I've yet to see it with any fruit in it.
posted by BeeJiddy at 12:18 AM on January 19, 2018

Another Philly-area recommendation - Wegman's often has it, in plain and cranberry varieties.
posted by okayokayigive at 11:40 AM on January 19, 2018

Just for the record, we have Coombe Castle brand out here in Cincinnati. Surely you can find some in NYC! Enjoy!
posted by 8603 at 4:02 PM on January 19, 2018