How much do you know about the humble stinging nettle? Did you know that:

• Nettles have stings to prevent them being eaten by animals.
• Despite their stings, nettles have been eaten by humans for as long as we know.
• Nettles are thought to help seasonal allergies like hayfever .
• Nettles are also used as a fibre to make string and cloth.
• Nettles are really, really good for you!

We usually make our mini Yargs for the agricultural show season – they’re the perfect size to take home with you after the delights of the flower tent/main ring/rare breeds shed. 2020 being 2020, our plans have been thwarted – but the show must go on!

Cornish Yarg or Wild Garlic – or both preferably. See our online shop for weights and prices.

Lynher Dairies owner Catherine Mead is chair of the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association, and has been at the very heart of trying to keep small British cheesemakers afloat during the rough seas of the Covid-19 crisis.

With the usual customer base (restaurants, hotels, pubs and delis) disappearing overnight, many small but brilliant dairies have found it a struggle to find the right business solution.

But customer support has been nothing short of wonderful. The #supportlocal campaign on social media has encouraged people to think about and try the wonderful food that is produced on their doorsteps.

So, from us and from our fellow cheesemakers up and down the country, a heartfelt thank you, not only for buying our cheeses but by sending us such lovely feedback. We have put our Cornish Kern on special offer as a way of showing our appreciation. Have a look at our online shop to see the options.

Keep safe, eat well…

At last, a fun date for your diaries! We are joining many other small cheesemakers, food journalists, chefs and specialist cheese   retailers in Britain for a weekend of cheese tastings, quizzes, cookery demos, dairy and farm tours and more this coming May Bank Holiday May 8-10.

Our dairy owner Catherine Mead will be holding a Masterclass titled ‘Kern – the making of a World Champion cheese’ which includes meeting our Ayrshires, touring the farm and an online tasting. Buy a wedge of Kern – on special show price offer now – from our online shop in advance and settle down at 4pm on Friday 8th to an illuminating session of how to optimise your enjoyment of Kern by pairing it with other food and drink.

Follow us on Facebook @lynherdairies for a notification about our live streaming slot, and see you there!

We’ve never known a spring like it. The sun is shining and plants are bursting into life but we can’t get out there to enjoy it as we normally would. There are ways to bring the new season into our kitchens though, by eating the fresh flavours that April and May bring to our plates. Our Wild Garlic Yarg is one way to do that. Its low melting point means you can use it in risottos, on pizzas, and in pasta sauces. Cube it for use in salads, or just enjoy it on its own as a snack to keep the spirits up until things get better. And things will get better.

On the basis that staying at home is that bit more appealing if you have a ready supply of delicious cheese, we’re now selling ready cut wedges direct from the dairy and reducing the postal costs to just £3 for a 1kg mixed box.

Cornish Yarg and Wild Garlic Yarg will be good for two weeks, with our  farmhouse cheeses – Stithians and Cornish Kern – having a fridge life of 6-8 weeks. So some for now, some later.

Choose three for £17 – and if you know someone vulnerable or self-isolating, leave them one on their doorstep and wave through the window!

We’d like to tell you about our new business moove…

In the search for perfect milk to make our cheese, we have bought our own herd of cows -and we’re already in love with them! These beautiful Ayrshires, who live just down the road from the dairy, have been lovingly cared for by Trevor and Julie Howe of Gadles Farm for decades. When retirement beckoned and Jonathan and Eleanor Hosken were offered the Cornwall Council tenancy, talks with us began. So it’s a big thank you from us to the Howes and the Hoskens, not forgetting our handsome Ayrshires, for helping us secure a consistent supply of the exact milk we need to make our award winning cheese.

With its low melting point, Cornish Yarg is a great choice when it comes to baking with cheese. Scones, soufflés or crumbled into short pastry, Yarg’s mild earthy flavour adds a complex note. When incorporated into the baking process, the rind can be ‘cook’s treat’ but used as a sprinkling, we say keep those nettle leaves in! They add an extra touch, as do the leaves on Wild Garlic Yarg when used as a topping onto home-made pizza. Click Recipes to find out other ways of using Yarg in the kitchen.  

The extended Lynher Dairies family includes many children of school age so we know the rigmarole (and let’s face it, coercion!) that sometimes goes with the return to school after a long summer full of outdoor freedom. One trick is to include slices of Yarg in their packed lunch.

‘What have you got in your lunch today?’

‘Stinging nettles.’

Trust us it’s a winner!

Here are some other nettle facts to wow the crowd:

Nettle leaves can help to keep fruit fresh

Archaeologists love nettles as huge clumps of them sometimes indicate where ancient settlements exist

Nettle leaves were once used to make fabric for clothing  – and not that long ago either. They were used to make German uniforms in the Second World War.

And finally, no – the nettle rind on a Yarg doesn’t sting (but there’s no need for your child to let on immediately!)

Like you need to be told how to enjoy award-winning cheese in the great outdoors! But here are five delicious ways to enjoy Cornish Yarg and Wild Garlic Yarg that you might not have considered:

• A thin slice of Cornish Yarg slipped onto a chargrilled burger for a minute before capping with a home-made bap
•  Toast a slice of sourdough on the barbecue, crumble some Wild Garlic Yarg with finely chopped sage or thyme and melt
• Cubes of Yarg with walnut, apple, green leaves and a light honey dressing
• A foccacia, salami, Cornish Yarg, red onion marmalade and baby leaf sandwich
• Replace the traditional Gruyère with Wild Garlic Yarg in an Alsace style onion tart (and then take on a picnic!)
  

  Cornish Yarg deserves speciality bread