Cornish Yarg

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A very young Garlic Yarg , a yarg covered with wild garlic leaves
The Lynher Dairy, today the only production facility of the Cornish Yarg

Cornish Yarg, or just Yarg, is a semi-hard, semi-hard cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk that has been made on various farms in Cornwall since the early 1980s , but has been produced exclusively on Lynher Dairy near Truro for a number of years . The cheese, which is based on the tradition of very old cheeses such as Caerphilly and Wensleydale , was developed by the Gray family, although they only produced it for household use and sale on the farm. She sold the recipe to the neighboring Horrell family, who started building a modern cheese dairy and soon marketed the cheese nationwide. Today the dairy is owned by the Mead family. The milk comes from a herd of around 500 Holstein cows into which other breeds, especially Jersey and Ayrshire , have gradually been crossed. The peculiarity of this cheese is that it is coated with nettle leaves .

The Celtic-sounding name Yarg is meaningless. It was created by the Horrells, who also honored the real developers of this cheese, because Yarg corresponds to Gray written backwards.

Manufacturing

The yarg is made from pasteurized cow's milk from their own herd. The cows graze on the pastures all year round, and hay is fed in the winter. Silage is not used.

The production is largely similar to that of a Caerphilly. The curds are ground and pressed into loaves weighing about 9 pounds , soaked in brine for 24 hours, and then left to dry for 48 hours. Then the sterilized nettle leaves are placed concentrically from the inside to the outside and the loaves are initially sprayed several times with a white mold culture. The cheese is ready for sale after 3–6 weeks.

Characteristic

The loaves of the yarg have a diameter of around 28 cm, a height of 9 cm and weigh a little more than 3 kg depending on the degree of ripeness. The edible, soft rind is gray-green, especially on the edges of the nettle leaves with white borders. The dough is creamy yellow under the rind and, in young yargs, is whitish towards the middle and has a somewhat crumbly structure. As it ripens, the dough becomes more yellow and creamier. The fat content of the cheese is around 45%.

Mature Cornish Yarg are mild, very balanced cheeses with no ostensible taste nuances. The nettle taste is palpable, but not intrusive. Very young cheeses can be unbalanced and sharp.

The yarg has excellent melting properties, making it ideal for pasta dishes, as a pizza or baguette topping or as a gratin cheese.

Others

In addition to the classic yarg covered with nettle leaves, there is also a garlic yarg on the market. This is covered with wild garlic leaves and has a subtle garlic note.

The Cornish Yarg is one of the better known cheeses in the UK today. It is exported worldwide and is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the USA. Annual production is currently around 200 tons.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Info from the manufacturer
  2. ↑ Info British Cheese Board
  3. ↑ Harbutt (2011) p. 200

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