A British Pie Week Special: I Love a Pie, Me
Why I think pies are truly the food that have it all
Last British Pie Week (which is in March - mark your calendars), over on my WordPress page*, I went on about how much I love the pastried parcels of love. Here’s what I said. I defy you not to run immediately to Gregg’s after reading…
The food that has it all
In my humble opinion, pies are a food copywriter’s best friend.
Because when your favourite meal elements are comforting carbs, steamy sauces that melt your eyelashes, and a huge range of sweet or savoury fillings that you can change up depending on your mood…
…you are never stuck for something to write.
I really do love a pie, me
With all of their sensory elements that make me feel so cosy and satiated, I hereby confess to craving pies almost every day, not only during British Pie Week.
When I do give in and allow myself that tastiest of treats, it’s usually one that’s been ready-made from down the chippy, with a dollop of mushy peas, and a decent-sized portion of golden, slightly soft and slightly crunchy chips.
But I have been known to make a pie from scratch myself every now and then. My favourite is cheese and onion, made to my mum’s own excellent recipe – which is pictured here on this post. It’s a quintessentially British kinda pie: shortcrust pastry, tangy mature cheddar, buttery onions... served with mustard mash and beans. And it’s nearly as good as Mum used to make. Nearly.
There are so many other things I love about pies:
When the pie maker has roughly pinched the pastry together before cooking it, resulting in some thicker areas of pastry
When the gravy inside makes the underside of the lid go a little bit soggy
When there’s a hole thoughtfully poked into the top for the steamy aroma to pipe out
When the contents are so hot you have to become one of those ceramic blackbirds – designed to deal with aforementioned steamy aroma – by making your mouth into a chimney shape so you can funnel the heat of your mouth as quickly as possible. (Eyes must also be wide and a hand must be held in front of your mouth, in a pathetic attempt at etiquette.)
When there’s an egg wash added before it goes in the oven, creating cracked, dark textures on the top as the pie cooks
When the baker kindly adds a little pastry letter on the top to indicate what’s inside
Dipping chips into the gravy as it oozes out of the casing
Decadently rejecting all learned table manners and eating a pie with your hands – say, at a picnic or a football match
The brightly coloured foil trays the ones at the chippy come in (which also, unfortunately, look like those disposable ashtrays on little, round Formica tables of 1970s working men’s clubs)
When it’s a sweet pie – say, apple – adding a generous glug of custard to it, which serves as a creamy addition to the crumbly pastry, crunchy sugar, and tart fruits within
If it’s a dark berry filling, the way the fruit juices burn and caramelise on the edges of the crust as they spill between gaps in the casing, then become chewy in the mouth once cooled
But above all, no matter what the filling, I love the way pies comfort me, make me reminisce about cosy days gone by, steam up my windows with a delicious mist, and hug me from the inside for the… oh, I don’t know… three minutes it takes me to scoff one down.
It doesn’t have to be British Pie Week to appreciate a good pie – but I must admit, it does need to be a British pie to really get my juices flowing.
What do you love about pies?
Tell me on a social media page like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!
I don’t just write about pies
I’m a copywriter based in the UK but who can write in fluent US English too (“apple pie” – see?).
While I love food writing, I also specialise in lifestyle copy, peppered with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) copywriting, blog copywriting, and tone of voice development.
Take a look at my freelance copywriter’s portfolio!
Get in touch
To ask me questions like, what does a food copywriter do? How much does a copywriter cost? Why do you keep banging on about pies? And more.
*I don’t write on my WordPress page anymore, but please feel free to have a browse through the dusty archives one day, if you like.