Shepherds Purse Yorkshire Fettle

This is Yorkshire’s version of the traditional Mediterranean salad style cheese and has been made by Judy Bell and her team in Thirsk, Yorkshire, since 1987.  It really is a very easy cheese to enjoy on your cheese board, in a salad or in your favourite dish.

Made with whole ewes’ milk, Judy and her cheesemakers hand make and hand-salt each cheese to encourage the piquant, lemony flavour and slightly crumbly texture. Matured over a minimum of two weeks, the salt infuses the whole cheese and locks in the fresh flavour and creamy texture as the cheese’s continue to mature on in their  cheese stores until ready.

Originally it had another name, Yorkshire Feta but it was renamed Yorkshire Fettle (meaning fine order or good shape) in 2008, due to Greece being awarded the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) for the name Feta.

The cheese was Judy Bell’s very first cheese, produced first in 1987 and then launched as a product in 1989. It’s since won many international awards, and was featured on Paul Hollywood’s BBC One cooking program, Pies & Puds.

Yorskshire Fettle has a wonderfully rich and slightly lemony taste without the saltines of a traditional Greek feta cheese that can at times be overpowering and harsh.