Pork pie facts for kids
| Type | Meat pie |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | England |
| Region or state | United Kingdom |
| Serving temperature | Cold |
| Main ingredients | Pork, pork jelly, hot water crust pastry |
| Variations | Gala pie, Melton Mowbray Pork Pie |
A pork pie is a classic British meat pie. People usually eat it cold. It has a tasty filling of pork meat and fat. This filling is wrapped in a special pastry called hot water crust pastry. Inside, there's also a layer of jelly made from pork stock. Pork pies are great as a snack or with a fresh salad.
Contents
History of Pork Pies
Pork pies today come from old meat pies made in the Middle Ages. Back then, people used a thick pastry to keep the meat fresh. In France, similar pies are called Pâté en croute.
Many old recipes for meat pies were sweet, sometimes with fruit. People ate them cold and often threw away the crust. One fancy old recipe from a book called The Forme of Cury described a pie shaped like a castle. It had sweet fillings and was even set on fire!
By the 1800s, sweet fruit and meat pies became less common. The pork pie then started to look like the ones we see today.
Different Kinds of Pork Pies
Traditional pork pies use a mix of fat and cured meat. This gives the filling a pink color. These pies are often made in special molds. This helps them have a very regular shape. Making them in molds is easier and cheaper for big companies.
When the pie cooks, the meat shrinks a little. So, after baking, people used to pour hot pork stock into the pie. This stock would turn into jelly when it cooled. This jelly filled the gap and kept air away from the meat. This helped the pie stay fresh longer. Today, many companies use a special gelatin solution instead.
Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
The Melton Mowbray pork pie gets its name from Melton Mowbray. This is a town in Leicestershire, England. Some people say these pies became popular with fox hunters in the late 1700s. Others believe the pie trade started around 1831 with a baker named Edward Adcock.
A special thing about Melton pies is their crust. It is shaped by hand. The meat inside a Melton pie is not cured, so it looks grey when cooked. The meat is chopped, not minced into tiny pieces. Because these pies are baked without a mold, their sides often bow outwards.
The Melton Mowbray pie is quite special. The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association asked for special protection for its name. This was because many large companies were making pies that looked like Melton pies but were not made in the traditional way. On April 4, 2008, the name was protected. Now, only pies made in a certain area around Melton and using the traditional recipe can be called "Melton Mowbray."
In the East Midlands, it's a tradition to eat pork pies for breakfast at Christmas. This tradition goes back to at least the mid-1800s. Christmas was always the busiest time for pie makers in Melton.
Yorkshire Pork Pie
In Yorkshire, pork pies are often served hot. They might come with gravy or with mushy peas and mint sauce. For example, a pie van often serves this combination at Leeds Rhinos rugby matches. It's also a popular food at Bonfire Night celebrations. In Yorkshire slang, a pork pie is sometimes called a "growler."
There is an annual pork pie competition held in April. It takes place at The Old Bridge Inn in Ripponden, Yorkshire.
Images for kids
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Large pork pie cut in half
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Gala pie
See also
In Spanish: Pastel de cerdo para niños
