The first Cornish Yarg was made in the 1980s by a farmer on Bodmin Moor called Alan Gray (spell his name backwards and you’ll find out how the cheese got its name – perfect trivia for that next pub quiz!).

Rummaging in his attic one day, Gray found a 17th century recipe for nettle-wrapped cheese and decided to give it a go.

Today, the internationally award-winning Cornish cheese is made at Lynher Dairies in Ponsanooth near Truro. Using the creamy milk from the dairy’s own herd of Ayrshire cows, it takes only six weeks to mature.

Made by hand right through from the cutting of the curd to the wrapping in leaves, Cornish Yarg is fresh and buttery with notes of lemon and yoghurt. As the nettle rind develops, white bloom moulds appear, adding gently earthy flavours. The fact that these blooms evoke images of snow-laden fir trees makes a whole baby Yarg a Christmas favourite on the cheeseboard.

The Lynher team also make the much longer maturing black waxed Cornish Kern, a Supreme Champion winner at the World Cheese Awards. Kern is a hard farmhouse cheese with nutty and caramel flavours that develop over sixteen months in the maturing stores.

With a first-hand understanding of the pressures on small and medium sized businesses at this time of year, Lynher has made the task of corporate gifting easier. It is now possible to send their delicious cheeses to multiple addresses in just one click. Work out who’s on your thank-you list, select the items, fill in the destinations and choose the delivery date. The dairy will do the rest. There’s an option to leave a personalised message with each gift too.

Visit www.lynherdairies.co.uk to order baby Yargs, a handsome wedge of Kern or a limited edition Stithians, ready to deliver in small or large amounts to any address in the UK. A well-chiosen thank you goes a very long way!