Traditional Easter Foods

Not unlike Christmas, Easter has a whole host of delicious foods associated with it. In our latest blog, we take a little dive into traditional Easter munchies and how they came about.

 

Eggs represent new life and rebirth and are an important Easter symbol within Christianity. Those made of chocolate have been on the shelves this time of year (they can usually be spotted as soon as we’re into the New Year nowadays!) since the 19^th Century.

Now I, for one, like a hot cross bun throughout the year, toasted with lashings of melted butter. But in the run up to Easter all sorts of different hot cross bun varieties (double chocolate anybody?!) are available in the bakery isles of supermarkets. The traditional sort with raisins and spices and a cross on the top, not surprisingly, have important religious connotations. The cross represents the crucifixion, while the fragrant spices symbolise the embalming process. Who knew!?

The light fruit cake often eaten this time of year with glorious little nuggets of yellow marzipan on top can be traced back as early as medieval times. This cake also has a religious meaning with the 11 marzipan balls atop representing the 11 apostles (minus the 12^th betrayer)!

Many households opt for a Roast Lamb on Easter weekend and this tradition, again, has its origins in Christianity. As well as being utterly delicious, lamb represents purity and the sacrificial lamb! Whether you enjoy yours with steamed veg and roast pots or go for Greek-inspired sides, you can't beat it.

The lovely orange veg often has a place on an Easter table and these are a representation of springtime, not to mention the favourite food for an Easter bunny to nibble 🐰

 

Our award-winning Sheep Pie (pictured above) – one of Director, Simon’s all-time favourite pies, uses a combination of mutton and lamb for great flavour.

We’ve also got a new limited-edition Lamb, Pie and Mint Pie that is ideal for Easter - chunks of tender lamb with peas a plenty and a fresh minty sauce. The lovely lamb for our new Lamb, Pie and Mint Pie comes from Coombe Farm, just down the road from us here in Devon. We suggest pairing this pie with baby carrots and new potatoes for the pie-fect springtime supper!