The Medieval Pie and Sour Sugar

A love of pies has always been apparent in British food culture. Traditionally, the pie recipe was created before the use of cutlery. The purpose of the pie was to be rich, nourishing and easy to eat with the fingers. Elisabeth Ayrton’s The Cookery of England (1974) opens its chapter on pies by writing that, "[t]he meat pie attained its full perfection only in England and holds its pride of place from the middle ages until the nineteenth century" (85). The "pride" that Ayrton discusses is interesting when considering the evolution of pies and their constant changing ingredients. Throughout her cookbook, Ayrton attempts to recreate and establish new recipes for the medieval pie; Considering this idea of the medieval pie and the origins of the infamous food item, Chef Heston Blumenthal filmed a documentary on his recreation of the medieval pie. 

The opening page to Aryton's chapter on "Pies"

In the opening to the video when Heston begins talking about the pigeon pie, he reads his recipe from the very book which is being discussed in this post. During the video when Heston mentions taking the pies to a tasting at a football match, he comments on how people are "used to such low pie standards". It’s comical that Heston comments on the standards within today’s society, when Ayrton herself comments on the unappealing taste of the medieval pie. Ayrton establishes that, "I have faithfully made Gervase Mackham's Chicken Pye, and it is very sweet , rather too rich with butter, and all flavour of the chicken is lost" (86). Later on in her discussion of the Medieval pie Ayrton addresses the struggles that modern cooks faces with the strange notion of adding sugar and currents to supposedly savoury recipes. 

It is through this removal of a method in Ayrton's writing that I might suggest that Ayrton assumed that her readers would be uninterested in trying the traditional recipe. Upon reading it’s evident that there are moments in the opening to the chapter that Ayrton attempts to evoke disgust among her readers. One way in which Ayrton achieves this is by listing the innards of the animals which traditionally made their way into British recipes. One suggestion as to why Ayrton includes this pre-history to the pie before presenting her own recipes is firstly to provide the reader with a knowledge of what they're eating, but my assumption is that she includes these disgusting recipe's in order to make her own seem more  appealing.

The struggle between sweet and savoury that Ayrton discusses in the opening to her cookbook is one that I can relate with. Personally, the thought of a mince pie for example is completely disgusting; the combination of both sweet and savoury disturbs my taste buds greatly. The pie is neither a sweet, nor a savoury dish; it is sometimes served with cream and sometimes served with potatoes. What has become apparent from Ayrton and Heston's dishes is that the pie is complex; it is neither one thing nor another. The pie is not a dessert, nor is it just to be served with potatoes and gravy. It is so much more than that...





Works Cited: 

Ayrton, Elisabeth. The Cookery of England. 1974. Andre Duetsch Limited. BAS Printers Limited. London. Print. 

Blumenthal, Heston. Youtube. 'Heston's Pigeon Pie'. May 10th 2010. Web. 01/04/15. 

Introduction: Is the Pie Britain's Best Dish?

The pie is quite literally the taste of Britain; it represents all that is British. From the pastry which is delicately made to the various fillings which are put inside; the pie really is a national dish. I've decided to focus on the history of the pie because to me the burnt upper crust of a pie is the warming taste of home. Having grown up in South East London, almost every Saturday throughout my childhood was spent in the traditional Pie, Mash and Liquor shop. Pie and mash has been a family favourite of ours for generations, it is the glue that holds our family together. No matter where we end up, we always return home for the comfort food that we so strongly desire. Similarly to how side pastry of the pie keeps the filling in, pie and mash is the glue that holds our family together and reminds us of the taste of London. This blog will look through the history of the pie and why some might say that it is Britain’s best dish. What I aim to question throughout this blog is the divide in tastes which separate us nationally. Despite having family completely spread out our love for traditional cockney food still exists. Nationally, there are big differences in the way in which pies are enjoyed. For example, there's the Cornish pasty, the pudding pie, Sheppard's pie and the rich taste of the mince and onion pie.  I’ll be looking at medieval pies and the use of currents and sugar in pie recipe’s and then question how the pie has evolved. Should a pie be called a pie if it has mashed potato on top? Is an apple pie really the same as rich meat pie with gravy? Now the story of the pie can begin…