Huff paste is a stiff pie shell (or ''coffyn'') made using a mixture of

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

suet Suet ( ) is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys. Suet has a melting point of between and solidification (or congelation) between . Its high smoke point makes it ideal for deep frying and pastr ...

, and boiling water. The pastry when cooked creates a tough protective layer around the food inside. When cooked, the pastry is generally discarded as it is virtually inedible. However, the shell becomes soaked with the meat juices and historically was sometimes eaten by house servants after the meal had concluded. Huff paste's main purpose is simply to create a solid container for the pie's ingredients. The flour itself is stronger than normal flour, often made from coarsely ground

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

, and suet, which is mixed with hot water to create what was an early form of

hot water crust pastry Hot water crust is a type of pastry used for savoury pies, such as pork pies, game pies, scotch pies and more rarely, steak and kidney pies. Hot water crust is traditionally used for producing hand-made pies. As the name suggests, the pastry i ...

. Huff paste can be moulded into a variety of shapes, called ''coffyns'' or ''coffers'', similar to a Cornish

pasty A pasty () or Cornish pasty is a British baked turnover pastry, a variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, but has spread all over the British Isles, and elsewhere through the Cornish diaspora. It consists of a filling, ty ...

. A benefit of these early pies was that meat could be preserved for several months and the food contained within was protected from contamination. It also allowed food to be preserved so that country dwellers could send it over long distances as gifts to their friends in other towns or areas. Shells of huff paste can also be baked empty, or " blind". After baking, the pastry is brushed with egg yolk to give it a golden color, and later filled with a mixture of meat and spices and then baked. A dish from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, called the Devizes pie, is layered

forcemeat Forcemeat (derived from the French , "to stuff") is a uniform mixture of lean meat with fat made by grinding or sieving the ingredients. The result may either be smooth or coarse. Forcemeats are used in the production of numerous items found ...

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

cooked under a huff paste.

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* British pies British cuisine Doughs English cuisine Pastries {{UK-cuisine-stub

See also

References

Additional sources