What is a Melton Mowbray pork pie?
A Melton Mowbray pork pie is a traditional English pie from the town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. It has a hand-raised pastry crust filled with uncured chopped pork and a layer of jelly, and it has protected status.
Melton Mowbray pork pies became popular in the 1700s and 1800s among fox hunters, who carried them on hunts as a convenient snack.
Unlike other pork pies, the meat is not cured, so it appears grey rather than pink when cooked. The pastry is baked without a supporting tin, giving the pie its bowed sides.
Protected status
In 2008, the Melton Mowbray pork pie gained Protected Geographical Indication status. Only pies made in a defined area around the town using the traditional recipe can use the name.
The pie is usually eaten cold, often with pickle or mustard. It is a popular part of picnics, buffets and ploughman's lunches.
Melton Mowbray also calls itself the rural capital of food and is known for Stilton cheese.
The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association promotes the pies and protects their authenticity. Dickinson and Morris, a bakery in the town, has been making pork pies since 1851.