Nettles & Garlic
All the nettle and wild garlic leaves we use for our cheeses are picked by hand in country areas well away from roads, before being wrapped around the cheese to impart their unique natural flavours.
As anyone who's ever had a brush with them while wearing shorts will be aware, nettles are covered with tiny stinging hairs. Many people also know that they can be delicious - and sting-free - when cooked. But they have lots of other surprising qualities.
For hundreds of years they've been used to treat a whole range of ailments, from skin conditions to headlice. They're widely held to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory qualities, and even to stimulate hair growth! Recent research by the University of Plymouth has shown that they can help arthritis symptoms, perhaps explaining why the Romans used flogging with nettles as a cure for rheumatism.
Nettles play a valuable role in eco-systems, providing a food source for no less than 107 insect species in the UK, including ladybirds and butterfly caterpillars - which in turn are eagerly snaffled up by hedgehogs and other creatures. Being a rich source of nitrogen, they act as an excellent accelerator for compost.
They're also are rich in minerals and in vitamins A and C. Nettle products include soup, tea, nettle pudding, porridge and beer - and of course Yarg cheese, to which they give a subtle, mushroomy flavour.
Nettles are found from May to September, particularly on rich soil, in disturbed habitats, moist woodlands, along rivers and beside partially shaded trails. Some people learn to handle them without getting stung, but we find it much simpler to strip off the leaves quickly with work gloves. We then rinse and steam them before using them to wrap the cheese.
Wild garlic grows abundantly in this part of Cornwall, thriving particularly well in moist, semi-shaded conditions, preferably under trees. The plant comes into growth in the spring, flowers early summer and then dies down by the middle of summer, allowing many other plants to grow in the same space. An excellent companion plant in the garden, it seems to improve the ability of many other plants to resist pests and diseases. It's also said to repel moles, though in our experience not all moles would agree!
We eat all parts of this plant when it's in season. The leaves are delicious raw or cooked, and - though milder than garlic cloves - add something special to a winter salad. They're also good as flavouring in soups and stews, and we sometimes cook them like spinach. As the leaves start to lose their vitality in the middle of spring, we switch our attention to the flowers, which have a somewhat stronger flavour and make a decorative and very tasty addition to salads.
