Cornish Yarg is an attractive little Cornish cheese and has a unique covering of local nettle leaves which gives it a slightly vegetal or herby taste. Using nettles in this way was once quite common in this part of the world but the practice largely died out in the last century.

The name Yarg does not relate to old Cornish but is simply 'gray' spelt backwards. Gray was the name of the cheese-maker who developed the cheese from some old recipes found in an attic.

The nettles give the cheese a grayish-green rind which contrasts with the very white paste. The texture is similar to Caerphilly but the flavor is not really the same. The young cheese is fresh and lemony with a touch of herbs. Older cheeses start to lose their lemony tang and develop more aromatic, peppery, and vegetal tones.