Cornish Yarg Cheese

Cornish Yarg Cheese

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Produced from a recipe which dates back to the 13th century, Cornish Yarg cheese was conceived and first produced in its present form by a cheese-making couple, Allan and Jenny Gray, on their farm near Bodmin Moor. Its unusual name stems not from the Cornish language but is simply their surname spelt backwards.

Cornish Yarg Cheese
Cornish Yarg Cheese
Its semi-hard texture is often compared to that of Caerphilly at its core, though the outer layer is distinctly creamier, and its identifying feature is the edible jacket of nettle leaves it wears. Unique to Cornish Yarg, and originally intended to aid preserving and as a mould ripening method, the nettles also lend this cow’s milk cheese a distinctive flavour. The leaves are picked locally and frozen to remove the sting, then brushed on by hand. Though internationally popular, Yarg is still hand-made and produced using vegetarian rennet and milk from its own herd.

Going a step further on the flavour, Cornish based Lynher Dairies, who now produce the cheese having purchase the recipe from the Grays in the 1960s, have also developed a Yarg enveloped in the leaves of the wild garlic plant known, logically, as Cornish Wild Garlic Yarg.