Cornish Produce

The Cornish pasty is the original hand-held convenience food with a pedigree that dates back to the Middle Ages. In the 13th and 14th centuries, pasties were filled with venison, beef, lamb, salmon and lampreys (eels), dressed with rich gravies and sweetened with dried fruits. It was a high-table dish enjoyed almost exclusively by royalty and the upper classes. The pasty became synonymous with Cornwall some 500 years later, due to the development of tin and copper mining in the county. Filled with beef, potatoes, onion and turnip, the pasty was a highly portable, well-insulated and nutritious meal ideally suited to the gruelling conditions underground. Some miners would have a pasty with a sweet course at one end, containing apple, jam or treacle. When Cornish miners emigrated to work in the USA, Australia, South Africa and South America they took their pasty-making skills with them. The tradition continues to this day in many former mining boom towns and cities. Three million pasties are produced in Cornwall every week. Home bakers argue that their pasties are vastly superior to their commercial counterparts. Opinions vary considerably however on whether to crimp on the top or the side of a pasty, to slice or dice meat and vegetables and to use glazed or un-glazed pastry. The debate all adds to the pasty's appeal and charm. There is as much folklore around the Cornish pasty as there are recipe variations, but the standard content should always be meat, potato and onion. After that, anything is possible, according to taste.

No proper Cornish cream tea is complete without a large helping of Cornish clotted cream smothered over the jam on a freshly-baked scone. Almost all Cornwall’s cream is now produced on a commercial scale, although there are still some rural homes which make clotted cream for their own use, as in days gone by. Cornish clotted cream is heat-treated high butterfat cows' milk cream. The milk is warmed to separate the cream which is then scalded to 70 to 80 degrees C, but not allowed to boil, for a minimum of one hour, during which time a thick crust forms. This is then cooled to a maximum temperature of 5 degrees C, the crust hardens and the underside cream thickens. Cornish clotted cream is different in texture and flavour to other creams, such as that produced in Devon, due partly to the high level of carotene found in the grass in Cornwall.

Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Cornwall has always produced some of the best sea-food in the world, from sea bass to sole, mullet to mackerel, and from crab to all other crustaceans. Sea-food served in the many eating places around the coast is of course the freshest of all, but as nowhere in Cornwall is far from the sea, the quality of fish is always excellent. Towns and villages such as Looe, Fowey, Mevagissey, St Mawes, Falmouth, Porthleven, Penzance, St Ives, and Newquay all have very good sea-food establishments, although in recent years Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant at Padstow has become one of Cornwall’s best-known gastronomic attractions.

Cornwall is one of the few areas of Britain, if not the only area, where saffron is used to make cakes and buns. Once made only at Easter time, for many years now it has been commercially produced by bakeries all over the county. Saffron is expensive, hence the old Cornish saying ‘as dear as saffron’. Saffron was once grown in Saffron Walden in Essex and it is believed that the Phoenicians brought saffron over with them when they came to trade for tin. Saffron cake and buns can be eaten ‘bare’ or, better still, with a generous spread of butter.

Cheese production in Cornwall has grown significantly in recent years and the best-known is probably Cornish Yarg, a semi-hard cheese, with a fresh faintly lemony taste and unique flavour derived from being covered with nettles, which also produces its distinctive rind. It is produced by the Lynher Dairy Cheese Company, a partnership between two Cornish farming families dedicated to making hand-made speciality cheeses. They started making Yarg in 1983 because the Duchy of Cornwall, who were then the landlords, asked if they would be interested. They started on a small scale with two cheese makers called Mr and Mrs Gray who gave their name to Yarg by turning their name backwards. Also in recent years, more and more wine and beer have been produced in Cornwall. St Austell Brewery has been established for many years, but recently smaller local breweries, such as Sharps and Skinners, have been growing steadily. Cornwall’s climate also lends itself to vine growing, and several companies have been producing excellent English wines for a good many years.

The effect of the warm Gulf Stream means that Spring comes early to Cornwall, which helps the county to produce some flowers long before the rest of the country. The most popular and best-known of these is the daffodil which comes in many varieties and is shipped out of Cornwall by the million each year, bound for all parts of the UK and Europe. On a smaller scale, many companies now send daffodils and a wide variety of other flower types to anywhere in the world.

The fishermen of Cornwall provide fresh, local produce to many establishments in the county. At Hustyns where I am the head chef, I use Falmouth Bay Oysters who produce a varied source of local produce. Calum, a local fisherman from Port Isaac, provides me with fresh lobster and crab freshly caught off the North Cornwall coast.I have never tasted crab as good as this, and it is as its best when served with a good home-made mayonnaise, as queeze of lemon, freshly ground black pepper and a good selection of mixed salad leaves. Mussels are found in abundance along our coastline, are easy to collect from our clear waters, provide a delicious meal and are easy to prepare. The common prawn is an inshore crustacean, wide spread on sand shores and estuaries. Once caught, rinse and boil in sea water; the taste is amazing. After speaking to some to some of my fishermen friends I’m reliably informed about the following destinations for fishing, for both novices and the true professionals. Near the Minack Theatre is Porthcurno beach, popular with holidaymakers. A good selection of mackerel, bass, and mullet can be caught here. Merlin at Mousehole near Penzance is another good spot for catching the above. Treyaron Bay at Padstow is famous for landing sea bass, which can be caught all year round. The island at St Ives is plentiful if you are a keen fisherman .Plaice, flounder, turbot and the occasional bass are found in this lovely location. Along Cornwall’s coastline colourful characters can be found selling their fresh produce such as crab, sole and mackerel, plus many other delicacies, all for a fraction of the cost from mainland shops. Stock up if you find one and enjoy truly fresh Cornish fish at its best. Cook it as simply as possible, it truly is wonderful.

It was whilst enjoying a largely undeserved break in Cornwall towards the end of the summer that I turned a corner in my life that I had never expected to be negotiating in the first place. I came to the shock realisation that I actually liked beer. Not lager, but real ale.
The awakening of my senses to the pleasures of real ale came about when I ventured into The Golden Lion in Padstow looking to slake a nagging thirst. I felt like something smooth and substantial. My eye was drawn to a pump handle displaying the ominous title: ‘Doom Bar - by Sharp’s of Rock’.
The fact that this was a local brew appealed to me. Rock is but a stone’s throw from Padstow on the opposite bank of the River Camel; the Doom Bar being the notorious sand bank stretching across the mouth of the estuary.
I raised the glass to my lips, and like the prey of many of those drinking around me in this fishermen’s haven, I was hooked. It was magnificent, a world of difference from how I remembered beer to taste. As a youth I was probably enduring keg beers, but this was cask-conditioned, producing an altogether more pleasing result.
Having discovered my new-found appreciation of this libation, I decided to go in search of other Cornish brews. The largest of the county’s breweries, St Austell, can distribute nationwide, but not so most of Cornwall’s breweries, who struggle to sell to pubs on their own doorstep.
Thanks to the efforts of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale), after years of decline the small breweries are fighting back. Twenty years ago there were just three Cornish breweries. Today there are 13, but they’re all battling to get a foothold in the county’s pubs.
One way of solving the problem of selling locally is to buy your own pub, which is exactly what Ian Spencer-Brown has done. Ian co-owns The Doghouse Brewery near Redruth and just over a year ago bought The Hawkins Arms in the village of Zelah.
‘‘Things were getting so difficult, it was the only way of finding a guaranteed outlet’’, Ian told me over a glass of ‘Retriever’ - and yes, it was golden. ‘‘We can get into more than 200 free houses across the county, but only as a guest beer. Typically that means a pub taking just a single barrel at a time just a couple of times a year.
One brewer which is content to keep its operation on a small scale is The Blue Anchor at Helston, Britain’s oldest brewpub. The beer is produced on the premises, as it has been since the 15th century.
There is just one brewer – Tim Sears - who works totally alone - at night -producing seven barrels, or in this case, kilderkins, per shift. That’s just over 1,000 pints. The Blue Anchor’s beers are generically known as ‘Spingo’ which has a highly individual taste.
Cellar man Alan Rowe told me why. ‘‘The great thing is we have our own well underneath the pub. The water comes up through the granite – so our beers are always going to have a unique flavour. We produce just enough beer to satisfy the pub’s own requirements, along with the two other pubs who stock us - The Dock Inn in Penzance and the Seven Stars in Penryn - and that means we can maintain a consistently high standard with all our beers.’’
Alan forced me to try a couple of brews. I started with the Blue Anchor’s most popular beer, ‘Middle’, amber-coloured and malty to the taste. I then progressed to their darker, mahogany-hued ‘Christmas Special’. At 7.6%ABV, (alcohol by volume), it should be treated with the utmost respect. It’s strong enough to blow your socks off and give you a mighty headache, but is absolutely splendid.

Ales Of Scilly Brewery ,St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly: Natural Beauty; Scuppered; seasonals.

Blackawton Brewery, Saltash: Bitter; Devon Gold;44 Special; Exhibition; Golden Hind, Headstrong.

Blue Anchor, Helston: Bragget; Spingo Middle; Spingo Special; Easter and Christmas Specials.

Doghouse Brewery, Redruth: Bow Wow; Corgi; Dingo; Doghouse Biter; Dozey Dawg; Mild Mutt; Retriever; Wet Nose; seasonals.

Driftwood Brewery, St Agnes: Cuckoo Ale.

Keltek Brewery,Lostwithiel:4K Mild; Golden Lance; King; Magic; Revenge

The Organic Brewhouse, Helston:Black Rock; Lizard Point; Serpentine; Wolf Rock.

Redruth Brewery (1742) Ltd, Redruth: Cornish Original; Cornish Rebellion; Crofty; John Davy; Mild; Steam Brewed Bitter.

Ring O’Bells Brewery, Launceston: Bodmin Boar; Dreckly; Farmer Dray; Porker’s Pride; Santa Boar’s; Sozzled Swine; Surf Boar; Tipsy Trotter.

St Austell Brewery Co.Ltd, St Austell: Black Prince; Celtic Smooth; Dartmoor Best; Duchy Bitter; Hicks Special Draught; IPA; Tinners; Tribute.

Sharp’s Brewery, Rock: Cornish Coaster, Doom Bar Bitter; Eden Ale; Own; Special Ale; Will’s Resolve.

Skinner’s Brewing Co, Truro: Betty Stogs; Coastliner; Cornish Knocker; Figgy’s Brew; Ice Blonde; Keel Over; Spriggan Ale; Summer Blonde.

Wheal Ale Brewery, Hayle: Miller’s; Paradise; Speckled Parrot.