Heavy (hewa) cakes

Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant, Padstow

The Cuisines of Devon and Cornwall are closely related though that of Cornwall has greater emphasis on fish cookery.

[edit] Devon

The county has given its name to a number of culinary specialities. The Devonshire cream tea, involving scones, jam and clotted cream, is thought to have originated in Devon (though claims have also been made for neighbouring counties); in other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, it is known as a "Devonshire tea".^[1][2][3] In New South Wales, Australia, Devon is a name for luncheon meat (processed ham). The name changes in different states of Australia (for example, 'Fritz' in South Australia, 'Polony' in Western Australia) but all describe the same type of meat.

White pudding is a meat dish popular in Scotland and elsewhere; it is also quite popular in Devon and Cornwall, where it is known as Hog's pudding.

Curworthy, Sharpham and Vulscombe cheeses are all made in Devon.^[4]

In October 2008, Devon was awarded Fairtrade County status by the Fairtrade Foundation.

Dittisham has given its name to the Dittisham plum, a dessert variety grown there.^[5]

[edit] Cornwall

A Cornish pasty

Stargazy pie, with sardines looking skywards

Cornish Pirates (senior XV of Penzance & Newlyn RFC) players display a giant pasty which was paraded as part of the 2009 St. Piran's Festival at Camborne, Cornwall

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.^[6]

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, 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".^[7]

[edit] Fish dishes

Television chef Rick Stein has long operated a fish restaurant in Padstow for this reason, and Jamie Oliver recently chose to open his second restaurant, Fifteen, in Watergate Bay near Newquay. Masterchef host and founder of Smiths of Smithfield, John Torode, in 2007 purchased Seiners in Perranporth. 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.

[edit] Pasties

Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties, a savoury baked dish made from pastry containing suet. Today's pasties usually contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and swede with salt and white pepper, but historically pasties had a variety of different fillings. "Turmut, 'tates and mate" (i.e. Turnip, 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

[edit] Dairy products

The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. 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^[10] and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is Rodda's, based at Scorrier. 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. Davidstow and Cathedral City cheese are produced at Davidstow by Dairy Crest, using water ultimately from St David's Holy Well, next to the parish church.

[edit] Cakes and sweet dishes

Local cakes and desserts include Saffron cake, Cornish heavy (hevva) cake, Cornish fairings biscuits, figgy 'obbin, scones (often served with jam and clotted cream) and whortleberry pie.^[1][2][3] Baking cakes using yeast is more common here than in the rest of England.

[edit] Alcoholic beverages

[edit] Devon

Devon has a large number of breweries; two well known ones being Otter Brewery (located at Luppitt near Honiton) and Dartmoor Brewery, which, being based in Princetown on Dartmoor, is the highest brewery in England.^[11]

The Plymouth Gin Distillery has been producing Plymouth Gin since 1793, which was exported around the world by the Royal Navy.^[12] During the 1930s, it was the most widely distributed gin and has a controlled term of origin.^[12]

[edit] Cornwall

St Austell Brewery

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. Cider was traditionally made for farmworkers but Cornwall is not particularly suited to apple growing. Healey's Cornish Cyder Farm near Truro brews and sells its own cider, brandy and country fruit wine produced on site.

In Cornwall, a meadery can also refer to a tourist-attraction type of restaurant that serves mead and food with a medieval ambience. Such a meadery would typically be in the style of a banquet hall, having wooden flooring, heavy wooden tables, and lit by candlelight with white-painted granite walls.^{[citation needed]}

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,^[13] 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".^[14] Home-brewed Swanky 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.

[edit] See also

• Cornish Gilliflower, a variety of apple tree
• Pasty

An example of the scones served with a cream tea (Devon method, with jam over cream)

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Clark, Philippa, comp. (1968) Exeter Cooking: a collection of recipes. Exeter: [the compiler] (includes a few from other countries and a few for drinks)
• Smith-Twiddy, Helen, comp. (1979) Celtic Cookbook: 156 traditional recipes from the 6 Celtic nations; collected by Helen Smith-Twiddy. Talybont, Dyfed: Y Lolfa ISBN 0904864502