Pork Pies come from across the UK, and are made in a variety of ways using a variety of recipes; however Melton Mowbray is known as being the capital of the Pork Pie industry! It is said to be the traditional source of commercial and artisan pork pies.
In 1928, we baked our first pork pies in Leeming Bar. However, the humble pork pie has been a staple in diets for centuries, so we wanted to delve a little deeper and take a look at the pork pie through the years . The first time we can trace the word ‘pie’ by The Oxford English Dictionary was back in 1303 and was a popular, well known word by 1362.
Another question we ran across in our research was “What is a pork pie?”.
The answer is that modern pork pies are a direct descendant of the raised meat pies of medieval cuisine, which used a dense hot water crust pastry as a simple means of preserving the filling. In France the same recipes gave rise to the modern pâté en croute.
The traditional melton mowbray pork pie has gelatinous pork stock added to the pie after its cooked. The name and process has European protection in the same way as champagne. The safety/culinary purpose was to help preserve the meat by filling any air holes in the pastry with low water activity jelly.
Why is there no jelly in pork pies?
The jelly in British pork pies is added deliberately, after the rest of the pie is cooked, to help keep the meat moist. In good pies it is usually either ham or chicken stock which jellifies as it cools.
While you can make a pork pie without the jelly, traditional pork pies have gelatin (some boiled pig trotters) added to preserve and keep the meat moist. You will often see a small hole in the lid of the pie where the jelly has been poured in. It is traditional to have jelly in pork pies .
What kind of PIE do they make in Canada?
French Canadian Pork Pie (Tourtière) Meat pies are a staple of Acadian cooking, particularly around the holidays. This French Canadian Pork Pie is simple, cozy, and flavorful, and a great way to make use of leftover mashed potatoes.
How can you tell if a pie has jelly in it?
You will often see a small hole in the lid of the pie where the jelly has been poured in. It is traditional to have jelly in pork pies. I used to make them at my uncles bakery when I was kid, the jelly went in after cooking while the pies where still hot.