9 best food and drinks from Cornwall
If you’re planning a trip to Cornwall, you should definitely try out some of the unique local cuisine. Recently the diverse range food and drink from Cornwall has been in the spotlight – mainly due to how good it is.
Assuming you want to sample the best that Cornwall has to offer, here are 9 types of food and drinks that should definitely be on your list:
- Cornish pasty
Although they were originally the staple food of miners, Cornish pasties have undergone a transformation over the years. Traditionally it contains diced beef, potatoes, onions and turnips – but there are tons of modern variants with different ingredients.
- Clotted cream (with scones and jam)
Made from full-cream cow’s milk, clotted cream is a fixture in Cornwall, though there is some controversy as to whether it originated there or in Devon. It should be noted that the tradition in Cornwall is to apply the jam first then the cream, whereas it is reversed in Devon.
- Hevva cake
Often referred to as ‘heavy cake’, hevva cake is made from flour, lard, milk, butter, sugar, and raisins – and is really quite ‘heavy’. It was a type of cake that would originally be baked when the fishermen’s wives on the Cornish coast heard cries of ‘Hevva, hevva!’, indicating that shoals of fish had been spotted and the fishing fleet would be back soon.
- Cornish Yarg
While there are many types of cheese that are local to Cornwall, Yarg is definitely the most famous. It is a semi-hard cheese made from cow’s milk and is wrapped in nettle leaves to create an edible rind. Technically you can find it outside of Cornwall too, but it is exclusively produced by Lynher Dairies near Truro.
- Tarquin’s Cornish Gin
Recently quite a number of artisan gin distilleries have popped up in Cornwall, but Tarquin’s Cornish Gin is the one that stands out the most. It has several variants, including some award-winning tipples such as the Seadog Navy Gin that won the World’s Best Gin in 2017.
- Cornish fairings
If you like ginger snaps you should try Cornish fairings that are made from butter, flour, sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Nowadays there are many other flavors available as well, so you should be able to find one that fits your palette.
- Saffron bun
Also known as the revel bun or tea treat, this Cornish bun is a rich bun that contains currants and saffron. The fact that a traditional Cornish food contains saffron may seem odd, and it has led to speculation that it was acquired from ancient traders who came over to acquire tin.
- Stargazy pie
Despite being an iconic and traditional Cornish dish, stargazy pie is not for everyone. It contains pilchards, eggs, and potatoes under a pastry crust – but what puts some people off is the fact that the heads of the pilchards are left to poke through the crust of the pie as if they are ‘gazing at the stars’. Assuming you can get over the presentation however, it is definitely a tasty pie.
- Cornish mead
Mead has always been popular in Cornwall, although it was by no means invented in the duchy. The popularity of mead has given rise to several ‘Cornish meadery’ restaurants that are essentially medieval-themed eateries. All in all it makes for an interesting dining experience, with some sweet yet potent mead to wash it all down.
See anything tempting that you want to try? As you’ve probably noticed each of the 9 types of food and drinks on the list is unique in its own way, and are an indelible part of Cornish culture.
The best part is that in most cases you won’t need to go very far out of your way to try out any of them. All you need to do is keep an eye out for them when you dine at the local eateries.
