Mini Pork, Cranberry, and Wensleydale Pies

Brand: Morrison’s

Cost: £1.30

Found at: Morrison’s

Pork pies are one of those things that I had always assumed were fictional. I had only ever heard about them in nursery rhymes, along with giants, magic beans and women living in shoes, and so I assumed that these pies were just another colorful piece of folklore invented to delight children. Who would want a pie made of meat, after all? And along with mulberry bushes, the Duke of York, and magpies, I had considered the majority of UK specific cultural references to be gibberish words made up for children’s songs.

However, in the four weeks I have now spent in the UK, I have been given the chance to stand corrected. I’ve seen a mulberry bush in someone’s back yard (it looks like a cross between a black berry and a pinecone), I have seen the Duke of York (Prince Andrew) in the newspaper, magpies frequently dig through my trash, and the Morrison’s (a grocery store) stocks a considerable variety of pork pies. Of the four, the pork pies are easily the best. These ones taste like a little like ham salad in a pie crust or like a very tiny Easter dinner. And the miniature size is pretty cute, fitting neatly into the palm of my hand. (If you’re like me and have short, stubby fingers, you will understand the joys of holding small versions of things). It’s so exciting to live in a world where fairytales are just that little bit more real than you expected. But just so we’re clear: if my dishes start running off with the silverware, I expect a full refund from IKEA.