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Cornish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Cornwall and the Cornish people. It has been heavily influenced by the geography of the county as well as its social history.
Cornwall being a peninsula surrounded by historically well-stocked seas, with a significant fishing industry, has meant that fish dishes form a major part of the historical and modern recipes in Cornwall. The iconic dish of Cornwall, [1] the pasty, has its roots in another historical industry within the county, this being mining.
Certain Cornish food dishes have been granted protected geographical status under European Union law, ensuring that they can only be labelled and marketed as "Cornish" if they are produced and mainly sourced within Cornwall. [2] The Cornwall Food and Drink Festival promotes Cornish cuisine and produce. A major theme is the use of game foods as well as fish. A number of high-profile Cornish restaurants and hotels use game as part of their menu. This is highlighted at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival by the Magnificent Seven Dinner, put on by seven of the best chefs in Cornwall. [3]
Larger commercial producers of characteristically Cornish products include the bakers, famously Warrens Bakery, and the creameries Davidstow Creamery and A. E. Rodda & Son of Scorrier.
Cornwall has a strong culinary heritage. Surrounded on three sides by the sea amid fertile fishing grounds, Cornwall naturally has fresh seafood readily available; Newlyn is the largest fishing port in the UK by value of fish landed. [4]
Traditional dishes in the Lizard Peninsula are described in a pamphlet published in 1980. These include breakfast of "gerty milk" (bread and milk) with tea or cocoa; pasties made of pastry, turnip (swede), potatoes, beef and onion; boiled beef; squab pie of apples, onions and salt pork; "scrowled pilchards" (grilled over the fire on an iron plate); and "heavy cake". [5]
Cornish food and drink was promoted in the Houses of Parliament in April 2009 following intervention from Mark Prisk MP, then Shadow Minister for Cornwall, as part of the Commons plans for a South West regional food week. [6]
One famous local fish dish is stargazy pie, a fish-based pie in which the heads of the fish stick through the piecrust, as though "star-gazing". The pie is cooked as part of traditional celebrations for Tom Bawcock's Eve. [7]
Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties, a savoury baked dish made from pastry. Today's pasties commonly contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and turnip (swede) with salt and white pepper, but there are also other variations, such as the cheese and onion pasty, Steak and stilton, vegeterian, and pork and apple [8]
Historically, pasties had a variety of different fillings. "Turmut, 'tates and mate" (i.e. swede, potatoes and meat) describes a filling once very common. For instance, the licky pasty contained mostly leeks, and the herb pasty contained watercress, parsley, and shallots. [9] Pasties are often locally referred to as oggies. Historically, pasties were also often made with sweet fillings such as jam, apple and blackberry, plums or cherries. [10] The Pasty Shop [11] and West Cornwall Pasty [12] are among the Cornish chains that have popularised traditional oggies around the UK.
Squab pie is a traditional dish from South West England, with early records showing it was commonly eaten in Cornwall, Devon and Gloucestershire. Although the name suggests it should contain squab (young domestic pigeon), it in fact contains mutton and apples. The pie has become popular around the world, though outside South West England, it generally does contain pigeon.
In recent times, Ginsters Bakery has become a large-scale producer of meat pies.[ citation needed ]
Cornwall has a variety of meat puddings. One example is hog's pudding, a type of sausage, with some variations being similar to white pudding. [13] Another example is gurty pudding. [14]
The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. [15] However, it is ideal for growing the rich grass required for dairying
leading to the production of Cornwall's other famous export, clotted cream. This forms the basis for many local specialities including Cornish fudge and Cornish ice cream. Cornish clotted cream is protected under EU law, [16] and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is Rodda's, based at Scorrier.
Clotted cream is a principal ingredient of a Cornish cream tea. Cream teas in Cornwall have its own traditions, such as clotted cream being served on top of the jam. [17]
See also List of Cornish cheeses
In 2004 there were nearly 60 varieties of cheese produced in Cornwall, and Cornish cheeses have won many awards. [18]
Davidstow Cheddar and Cathedral City Cheddar cheeses are produced at Davidstow by Dairy Crest, using water ultimately from St David's Holy Well, next to the parish church. St Erth was the site of a large creamery operated by United Dairies; this was responsible for processing a large quantity of milk produced in Penwith.
Cornish Blue is a cheese made by the Cornish Cheese Company at Upton Cross and was recognised in December 2010 as the winning cheese in the World Cheese Awards. [19] Cornish Brie is a brie-style, soft, white-rinded cheese produced by several makers in Cornwall. Gevrik is a soft, full-fat goat's milk cheese produced in Trevarrian near Newquay. The name means "little goat" in Cornish. [20] Keltic Gold is a type of semi-hard cheese made by Whalesborough Farm Foods. Menallack and Nanterrow cheeses are made at Menallack Farm near Penryn. [21] Tesyn is a type of smoked goat's milk cheese made by the firm Cornish Cuisine. Cornish Yarg is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese made in Cornwall. Before being left to mature, this cheese is carefully wrapped in nettle leaves to form an edible, though mouldy, rind. The texture varies from creamy and soft immediately under the nettle coating to a Caerphilly cheese-like crumbly texture in the middle. Modern production is at Pengreep Farm near Truro, by Lynher Dairies from an old recipe. Lynher Dairies also make Cornish Garland and Tiskey Meadow.
Local cakes and desserts include saffron cake, heavy (hevva) cake (similar to Welsh cakes), fairing biscuits, figgy 'obbin, [22] or fuggan, scones (often served with jam and clotted cream) and whortleberry pie. [23] [24] [25] Baking cakes using yeast is more common here than in the rest of England.
The Cornish Gilliflower is a variety of apple tree found at Truro in 1813 which was afterwards grown commercially. Other Cornish cultivars include the Cornish Aromatic and the King Byerd. Various fruit trees can be grown in Cornwall – the Tamar Valley was once renowned for its early strawberries and cherries. Whortleberries, damsons and blackberries can be gathered in some rural areas and homegrown produce can be used for jam-making or puddings.
The Cornish stove (commonly known as the "slab") was found in most kitchens in west Cornwall. These stoves were supplied by a number of foundries in the district and were made of cast iron with brass knobs. The ironwork was kept looking fine with black lead. The foundries included Sara, Jenkins & Barnicoat of Camborne, Tippet, Terril & Rodgers of Redruth, Luke's of St Ives, Hill's and Radmore & Dart at Truro, Roberts's at Praze, and Toy's and Williams's at Helston. The doors to the firebox were either closed to heat the oven, or opened to provide a cheerful fire. Above the oven and firebox was the hotplate and some stoves had a built-in boiler to supply hot water. Once a week the blackleading would be renewed and the brasswork would be polished. [26] The exhibits of the St Ives Museum include a reconstruction of a traditional Cornish kitchen. [27] The predecessor of the Cornish range was the open hearth of which three still existed in the 1970s in the parishes of Feock and Kea. At that time several ranges by different makers were to be found at a house in St Agnes. [28]
A clome oven (or cloam oven) is a type of masonry oven. It has a removable door made of clay or alternatively a cast iron door, and was a standard fitting for most kitchen fireplaces in Cornwall and Devon. The oven would be built into the side of the chimney breast, often appearing as a round bulge in the chimney. This bulge consisted of the masonry surrounding the oven, and was intended to be dismantled should the oven ever need to be replaced. During installation, they are surrounded by packed clay to prevent the actual oven cracking. As cast iron range cookers were brought into common use, it became standard practice to build a dividing wall to split the fireplace into two separate fireplaces, thus allowing access to the clome oven, as well as providing a space of the correct dimensions to fit a Cornish stove or similar. Bricks were the most common building material for this task, since the installation of a Cornish stove required a brick flue to be built up the back of the fireplace. Many clome ovens were preserved in situ in this way.
When large parts of Lanhydrock House were destroyed by fire in 1881 a new kitchen block was built next to the old house. It was unusual for a large Victorian kitchen to be housed in a new building like this. The house has been a National Trust property since 1953 and is open to visitors. [29]
There are many types of beers brewed in Cornwall – those produced by Sharp's Brewery, Skinner's Brewery and St Austell Brewery are the best-known – including stouts, ales and other beer types. There is some small scale production of wine, mead and cider. Spingo (meaning strong beer in Old English) is a generic name for a collection of beers brewed solely in the brewery of the Blue Anchor Inn in Coinage Hall Street, Helston.
Cider was traditionally made for farmworkers and Cornwall has a wide selection of local apple varieties. Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm near Truro brews and sells its own cider, brandy and country fruit wine produced on site. There are currently, at least 12 cider producers in Cornwall.
Cornish food, like the Cornish pasty, is still popular amongst the Cornish Australian communities. Former premier of South Australia Don Dunstan once took part in a pasty-making contest. Swanky beer and saffron cake were very popular in the past and have been revitalised by Kernewek Lowender and the Cornish Associations. [30]
In the 1880s, Henry Madren Leggo, whose parents came from St Just, Cornwall, began making vinegar, pickles, sauces, cordials and other grocery goods based on his mother's traditional recipes. His company, now known as Leggo's, is wrongly believed by many to be Italian. [31]
A boutique brewery operation in South Australia, Copper Coast Wines, produces traditional Cornish Swanky beer, a bottle-conditioned beer, for the biennial Copper Coast region Kernewek Lowender Cornish Festival, [32] held in May in alternate (odd numbered) years. The name "Swanky beer" appears to refer to a Cornish home brew. During the 19th century, many Cornish miners emigrated to the Copper Triangle region of South Australia to work in the copper mines at Moonta. They brought local traditions, such as Cornish pasties and home-brewed beer they termed "Swanky beer", [33] which was brewed from ingredients including malted barley, hops, yeast, brown sugar, ginger, raisins and soft rainwater. It was put into beer bottles with the tops tied down with twine and stored in the coolest place in the house until ready. It was served on festive occasions, such as Easter, Midwinter's Night (Bonfire Night) and Christmas.
Some aspects of Cornish American cuisine are derived from Cornwall. At Mineral Point, Wisconsin, it is claimed that authentic Cornish food, such as pasties and figgyhobbin, are served [34] and Cornish pasties are sold at ex-Cornish mining towns in America. Pasties can also be found in many Northern Michigan towns, such as Crystal Falls, Michigan. The city of Grass Valley, California, holds St Piran's Day celebrations every year, which along with carol singing, includes a flag raising ceremony, games involving the Cornish pasty, and Cornish wrestling competitions. [35]
In the State of Hidalgo in central Mexico, a local speciality originates from the Cornish pasty, called pastes, which was introduced by miners and workers from Cornwall who were contracted in the silver mining towns of Mineral del Monte and Pachuca. The majority of migrants to this region came from what is now known as the Cornish "central mining district" of Camborne and Redruth. [36]
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.
A pasty or Cornish pasty is a British baked pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetables, baked in a folded and crimped shortcrust pastry circle.
Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War.
Clotted cream is a thick cream made by heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms "clots" or "clouts", hence the name. Clotted cream is an essential ingredient for cream tea.
Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location on the fertile Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta at the North Sea, giving rise to fishing, farming, and overseas trade. Due to the availability of water and flat grassland, the Dutch diet contains many dairy products such as butter and cheese. The court of the Burgundian Netherlands enriched the cuisine of the elite in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th century, so did in the 17th and 18th century colonial trade, when the Dutch ruled the spice trade, played a pivotal role in the global spread of coffee, and started the modern era of chocolate, by developing the Dutch process chocolate.
Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been influenced mainly by Turkish but also a series of European cuisines in particular from the Balkan Peninsula and Hungarian cuisine as well as culinary elements stemming from the cuisines of Central Europe.
Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is the typical and traditional fare of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
The Kernewek Lowender is a Cornish-themed biennial festival held in the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. 'Kernewek Lowender' means 'Cornish happiness' in the Cornish language. It is held in the late autumn starting on the second Monday of May, in odd-numbered years. The Kernewek Lowender claims to be the world’s largest Cornish Festival outside Cornwall.
A Cornish fairing is a type of traditional ginger biscuit commonly found in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. "Fairing" was originally a term for an edible treat sold at fairs around the country, though over time the name has become associated with ginger biscuits or gingerbread, which were given as a treat to children or by men to their sweethearts. In Cornwall, fairings contained ginger and became famous around the country when a Cornish manufacturer started selling them by mail order in 1886. The same manufacturer still makes them and the company has recently teamed up with celebrity chef Rick Stein to make biscuits.
There are many geographically indicated foods of the United Kingdom. In British cuisine, there is a custom of naming foodstuffs with reference to their place of origin. However, there are other reasons for this practice; Scotch egg, which was invented in London and Dover sole which indicates where they were landed, for example.
The cuisine of Minnesota is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Minnesota.
The cuisine of Devon in England has influenced, and been influenced, by other British cuisine. Its tradition of dairy farming has resulted in several dishes, some of which have made both it and Cornwall famous, such as cream teas and junket. Because Devon is largely a rural county, it likewise has a strong reputation for excellent pasture-raised beef and lamb. Orchard fruits are also important, particularly apples, used both for cider as well as for apple-based desserts. The long coastline supplies the county with a wide variety of fish and seafood.
Cornish ice cream is a form of ice cream first made in Cornwall, England. It is made with Cornish clotted cream, and may be made with sorbet. Today, it is still produced using milk from many farms in Cornwall, although Cornish ice cream are sold in supermarkets all over the United Kingdom. It may be made with regular ice cream and vanilla essence. Some companies of Cornwall, such as a company in East Looe, claim to make Cornish ice cream using only Cornish milk and cream.
Pembrokeshire has been called "the cottage garden of Wales", due to its good soil and the beneficial effects of the Gulf Stream, which provide a mild climate and a longer growing season than other parts of the country. The good climate and soil meant that the south of the peninsula was coveted by the Norsemen and Normans because it had "great plentie" of corn and cattle The county has prime agricultural land, much of which is located at about 70m above sea level, while to the north, the Preseli Hills rise to 500m above sea level and form uplands that are made up of heather and bracken, which are used for grazing sheep. Consequently, Pembrokeshire is classed as one of the most fertile counties in Wales, with its 392,300 agricultural acres having 14% of its land classed as of good quality, 67% being classed as medium quality and 19% being classed as poor quality. However, agricultural production is subject to market forces and in the 1890s, as a result of the Panic of 1893, a deep agricultural depression led to the area under cultivation falling by a third. Many labourers and farmers had no option but to emigrate to the New World and many of the large farming estates were sold. World War I brought prosperity again, but by the 1930s, as a result of the Great Depression, there was another agricultural depression which lasted until World War II. During the Post-war period agriculture has benefited from marketing schemes and marketing boards, which have helped in the regulation, marketing and distribution of the county's agricultural production.
The cuisine of Monmouthshire is historically associated with Lady Augusta Hall, also known as Lady Llanover, who published one of the first Welsh cookery books, First Principles of Good Cookery (1867). The book uses a fictional Welsh hermit to give culinary advice to a visiting guest who is travelling though Wales.
The Davidstow Creamery is a manufacturing plant in Cornwall; it makes Cathedral City mature Cheddar cheese. It is the largest cheese factory in the UK, and the largest mature cheddar plant in the world. 50% of all milk in Cornwall goes to the site.
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