About Cornish Yarg Cheese
This delightfully different cheese is a beautifully finished Cornish, semi-hard cheese. The epitome of artisan cheese, Cornish Yarg is solely hand-produced in round, open vats, by Lynher dairies near Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, and has never been mass produced.
Differing from many other creamy, crumbly semi-hard cheeses, the Cornish Yarg Cheese has a definite bite due to it’s wrapping of nettle leaves, brushed on before the cheese is left to mature for five weeks, in traditional concentric circles. This process produces an edible, mouldy rind, which leaves a slightly mushroomy taste to the cheese.
The Cornish Yarg cheese gets it’s unusual name from its creator’s, a couple by the name of Gray, who gave the recipe to the Pengreep Farm in the 1970’s. In memory of this, the cheese, produced by Lynher Dairies since 1984, was named “Yarg” – “Gray” spelt backwards.
The Cornish Yarg cheese is described as a low fat, mild to medium cheese, made with pasteurised cows milk (from the dairies Ayreshire, Jersey and Friesian herds) and traditional animal rennet. It has won various Gold awards, and was crowned the winner of the Best English Cheese at the 2012 International Cheese Show.
Tasting Notes
Cornish Yarg cheese varies from a creamery, rich and soft texture directly beneath the nettle rind, to a more crumbly middle with mushroomy and sweet undertones. Throughout the cheese is fresh, moist and rich with a lactic quality, and a slight tang.
How to Enjoy
I think a large part of the enjoyment of this cheese is aesthetic, due to the beautiful cultured rind of nettle leaves, giving of entrancing shades of blues and greens, making it a great addition to a wedding cheese cake, or ordinary cheese board.
Best wrapped in grease proof or cheese paper and kept under 8°, eaten within ten days of cutting and removed from the fridge an hour before eating.
Our cheeses are delivered by courier for overnight/next day delivery, for customers in England and Wales only, so they arrive in the best condition. For customers in Scotland or Ireland, please call us on 01780 489269. We charge £6.50 for P&P for orders up to 2.5kg. Orders above this weight are charged £6.50 per additional 2.5kg. Unfortunately we can only deliver within the UK at present.
