It is rich in history and is recognised by consumers as a traditional, regional food product. The recipe for a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie is not complex. Indeed, its simplicity underlines its very authenticity and reminds us that the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie has remained true to its roots and is still baked without a hoop as it was the end of the 18th Century
• The sides of a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie are bow-shaped as they are baked free standing i.e. without a supporting hoop or tin. [Pork pies with straight sides are baked in tins or hoops].
• The meat used is fresh pork which is naturally grey when cooked (like roast pork) and must be particulate. [Pork pies with a pink filling are made with cured pork i.e. bacon or ham]. The meat is seasoned with salt and pepper and the Pies are well jellied
• The pies must be produced within a geographical region defined as the area which runs from the River Trent in the north to Wellingborough in the south, and from the M1 motorway in the west to the A1 trunk road to the east
The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie has a long heritage in British food history. Its development was aided by the Enclosure Awards of the 1760's which encouraged Melton Mowbray's thriving beef and dairy industry by providing an environment which materially increased milk yields. As the region's Stilton Cheese production grew, so did its pork industry because the whey was an excellent food for pigs.
Agricultural workers, grooms and hunt servants were soon eating pork wrapped in a protective pastry case as a handy and transportable lunch. As the pies popularity grew, companies like Atkins and Dickinson & Morris adapted the recipe to make the pastry richer and more palatable and started using the ‘hand-raising' technique which is still used today.
The pie's longevity and popularity was increased by visiting hunters who enjoyed eating ‘Meltons' during the hunting season. As the age of the railway dawned, manufacturers could supply markets further away and by the mid 1850's the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie had gained a reputation of social, cultural and agricultural importance.
Protected Geographical Indication
Since 1993, the European Union (EU) has provided a framework that gives legal protection for named regional food products against imitation across the EU. This framework is important because it aims to protect and promote regional food products, the consumer interest and rural economies that become vulnerable as the EU expands and regional markets move to national and international supply chains.
In July 2009 The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie was granted Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This is one of three European designations to protect regional foods and it protects regional products that have "specific quality, reputation or other characteristics attributable to that area". It acts just like a Trade Mark or 'Appellation Controllee ' and stops manufacturers from outside a region from copying a regional product and selling it as that regional product. PGI is available for products that originated in that region and which are either produced or processed or prepared in a geographical area. The specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are due to that area. The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association felt that PGI is the appropriate protection level for the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie.
In gaining PGI status for the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, the Association aims to:
• Protect the integrity of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and resist its denigration at the hands of manufacturers outside the Melton area, thereby ensuring its survival
• Protect the consumer from being misled about the provenance and quality of Melton Mowbray Pork Pies
• Promote the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie so that as many people as possible are able to try this famous regional food
• Encourage growth and investment in the rural economy through promotion to the consumer of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie as the guaranteed and genuine article
• Protect the good name of the town of Melton Mowbray and therefore protect its important tourist economy
• Reinforce the credentials of Melton Mowbray as the heart of an important rural economy
• Protect the jobs and investment dependant on the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
• Promote our rural region and fine food heritage through the ongoing support of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
• Support the wider initiative to recognise the importance of regional food
|
