The pork pie has been around since medieval times and changed very little. Generally pies were the result of trying to keep food for longer so the filling would be encased in a very simple dough and baked to lengthen the shelf life of whatever was inside. Pork jelly (historically clarified butter) is also injected after cooking to fill air gaps and lengthen the preservative factor. Furthermore, they could be easily transported with the pastry acting as a protective layer, particularly with the lower classes working outside. The pastry was not always eaten and sometimes discarded.
This simple dough is known as a 'hot water crust pastry'. The high water content means it is strong and has no problems with dense, wet fillings.
Traditionally eaten cold the pork pie is an essential ingredient in the ploughman's lunch. It is also often seen as a pub snack accompanied by some English mustard or the unmistakable Branston's pickle. In the Midlands of England there is a tradition for it to be eaten for the Christmas breakfast said to be started in the Victorian era by the novelist D H Lawrence.
The most famous pork pie is the Melton Mowbray variety originating from Leicestershire.
If you hear someone from the East London saying that you are telling porkies then beware. In Cockney rhyming slang 'Pork pies' are 'lies'.
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