Cornwall is a haven for food lovers

With an abundance of fresh produce, fresh fish and artisan food producers throughout the county you will not go hungry or lack choice. Indulge in a delicious Callestick Dairy ice cream or maybe have some fresh fish and chips sat on the beach watching holiday makers making memories. Cornwall also has some fantastic cider farms, gin distilleries and vineyards too - so go on treat yourself!

FISH & CHIPS

In life we have some simple pleasures - fresh fish and chips eaten on the beach, a bench on the coastal path or at the end of a harbour wall can’t be beaten. Every seaside town has their local but in Cornwall we have some of the best!

CORNISH CIDERS

Cornwall has a growing band of Cider producers to quench your thirst on a warm sunny day. Cornish Orchards, Healeys Cyder Farm, St Ives Cider and Polgoon Cider to name but a few. Healeys Cyder Farm, the home of Rattler, offer guided tours so why not go and find out how they make these local favourites.

CORNISH CREAM TEAS

People will argue that the cream tea originated in our neighbouring county of Devon and both consist of a scone sliced in half, served with indulgent clotted cream and a generous helping of strawberry jam. However in Cornwall you must apply the jam first and top it off with the clotted cream, to do this in reverse will see you thrown from the premises as you are committing a heinous crime! Be warned! Of course we always serve it with a lovely pot of freshly brewed tea.

callestick

THE PASTY

The Cornish Pasty is popular right across the country and is no longer found just in the miner’s lunchbox. You may have heard of the word Oggy which is a slang term for a Cornish pasty and the tin miner's wives would shout "Oggy Oggy Oggy" when delivering pasties to their husbands.

The ingredients

  • Roughly diced or minced beef

  • Sliced or diced potato

  • Swede (turnip)

  • Onion

  • Seasoning to taste (mainly salt & pepper)

All the ingredients must be uncooked when the pasty is assembled and then baked slowly with the edges sealed by crimping. This creates the crescent shape and as they say if it’s not crimped it’s not Cornish. Click here for the recipe - you can't beat a good oggy.

CHEESE - THE CORNISH YARG

There are many cheeses produced locally but one of the most famous is Cornish Yarg. Cornish Yarg is made using pasteurised cow's milk sourced from Cornish farms near Lynher Dairies near Truro. The name came from Allan and Jenny Gray in 1960, they found a recipe in their attic and Yarg is their surname spelt backwards! The cheese is a semi hard cow’s milk cheese and nettles form an edible rind. After pressing and brining, nettles are painted on by hand with the stings removed by freezing the leaves first.

SAFFRON BUNS

Similar to a tea cake a saffron bun is loaded with currants but is rich in colour and flavour due to the saffron. Many would enjoy them sliced and with butter, toasted or fresh but a Cornishman or woman would probably tell you to enjoy them simply unadorned. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world in terms of weight. The stamens of thousands of crocus flowers must be harvested to obtain a single ounce of saffron. How did this spice with it’s origins in Southwest Asia become popular in Cornwall - possibly with the tin trade Cornwall had with the Phoenicians.

HEVVA CAKE  

Hevva cake is made with mixing lard, butter, milk, sugar and raisins and dates back to the days when a man would spot shoals of pilchards from the Cornish clifftops and shout ‘Hevva Hevva’. The fleet would then make their way to the shoal of fish and when they landed the catch they would be greeted by the families and then the cake was baked and it would be a time of celebration. A light and tasty cake usually has a criss-crossed pattern to denote the fishing nets.

CORNISH FAIRINGS

Similar to a ginger nut biscuit but not as crunchy and possibly more buttery. Using ginger, cinnamon, coriander and pimento to give that warmed, spiced taste - the rest is the secret of Furniss Biscuit Co. The Cornish Fairing became popular in Victorian time due to John Cooper Furniss a Cornish baker. They were sold as treats at fairs and then became more popular and were sold by mail order. The trademark still belongs to the Furniss biscuit company and are sold throughout the UK by mail order still today.

Food tourism in Cornwall is having a renaissance with TV Chefs with National fame claiming many prime locations throughout the county. From Paul Ainsworth in Padstow to Michael Caines in Maenporth and Porthleven. They are too numerous to mention but most people, when they come to stay in Cornwall, think of our genuine iconic Cornish food like the pasty and the cream tea.