British Pie Week: 2nd - 8th March 2009

Today is the start of British Pie Week 2009, so what better excuse to have a pork pie! It is believed that the humble pie dates back to the Egyptian period of around 2000 B.C. The Egyptians passed the goodness and knowledge of pie onto the Greeks between 1400 B.C. and 600 B.C. sometime during the decline of Egypt and the Greek settlements. From Greece the pie spread to Rome in around 100 B.C. The first known pie recipe came from the Romans and was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. Pies appeared in England in the 12th century and were predominantly meat pies – a tradition that remains today! The crust of the pie was referred to as the “coffyn” and there was generally more crust than filling. Over 4,000 years on, today the pie remains the most popular pastry in Britain with 57% of us choosing to eat it over any other pastry dish.