Every year on March 5th, the Cornish community celebrate St Piran - one of the patron saints of Cornwall. Proud manufacturers of Cornish clotted cream (with Protected Designation of Origin), Trewithen Dairy, reflect on the duchy's legendary ambassador and how the county still commemorates St Piran to this day.

About Saint Piran 

According to Cornish legend, St Piran was tied to a millstone and thrown into the Irish sea by orders of the king. Famed for washing up on the shores of Perranporth beach (named in his honour), it was said that St Piran lit a fire one night and in doing so discovered the precious metal, tin.

The design of the Cornish flag, originated from the flag of St Piran - The white cross on a black background is said to depict the discovery of tin. The 'white metal' flowing from the Cornish black rocks. 

How is St Piran celebrated? 

The week running up to 5th March is known as 'Perrentide' and sees towns and villages across the county celebrate with all things Cornish: pasties, cider and the all important cream tea with lashings of clotted cream spooned over a generous layer of jam. 

Francis Clarke, director at Trewithen Dairy says: 

“We are immensely proud to be amongst the brilliant array of food and drink producers in our county and to champion our Cornish heritage whilst inspiring new ways to enjoy the classics. What better way to celebrate this tradition than with delicious Cornish clotted cream and butter flavoured with Cornish sea salt.”

The best Cornish recipes to celebrate St Piran's Day

Berries and Cream Cornish Pasty

It is said that the mighty Cornish pasty was traditionally made with one side meat, the other filled with jam to create a two-course meal. We've deep-filled pasties with berries and cream for a majestic sweet-treat. Perfect for packing on a picnic or enjoying on St Piran's Day.

Banoffee Cornish Fairings

With their tell-tale crackled top, golden syrup flavour and spicy ginger bite, Cornish fairings are a step up from your everyday ginger biscuit. They were once so popular at fairs that the name stuck and they've been known as the fairing ever since. Trewithen Dairy put a twist on this Cornish classic, with a banoffee inspired treat.

Stargazey Pie

This iconic Cornish dish is the perfect centerpiece for your dinner table to wow your guests. The fish are designed to 'gaze at the stars' and don't worry – you don't have to eat the heads. Legend has it this pie was created after a brave fisherman, Tom Bawcock, ventured out into stormy seas to fish when the townsfolk of Mousehole were facing starvation. He returned triumphantly with an abundance of seven types of fish, which were cooked up in a pie and served to the community.

Cornish Junket

A dish from the West Country, comforting junket has been enjoyed for generations. Traditionally finished with a scrape of nutmeg, we love ours flavoured with real vanilla, saffron or rum. Play around with toppings too – perhaps adding blood orange, salted caramel or caramelise some sugar for a crunchy creme brulee finish.

Scone Revolution - Dark Side of the Moon Scone

Reimagining the traditional cream tea, this chocolate, orange, clotted cream scone is the perfect twist on a classic. 

Francis Clarke says: “Scone Revolution is all about reimagining the cream scone.  We all love the classic, of course, but tear down the traditional boundaries and there is a whole new world of flavour sensations and stunning aesthetics to discover.  Our clotted cream is far niftier than you think!”  Francis continues: “We've had a lot of fun trying out new pairings and hope that we will inspire a new wave of cream tea lovers to create their own and share these with us here at Trewithen Dairy.”

The 'Scone Revolution' is all about adding some life to the traditional cream tea at the same time highlighting the many outstanding and versatile qualities of the award-winning Trewithen Dairy clotted cream.  Made in Cornwall, to a traditional Cornish recipe from milk produced in the county, Trewithen Dairy clotted cream has 'Protected Designation of Origin' status. Only by achieving all of these strict criteria can it be called Cornish clotted cream.

All Images and recipes available here. 

For more recipe inspiration head to trewithendairy.co.uk

RRP £2.45

Trewithen Dairy's Cornish Clotted Cream is available in 200g and 400g sizes, available to buy direct from supermarkets across the South West or via Ocado.com. For more information, visit their website, www.trewithendairy.co.uk.

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Notes to Editors

Trewithen Dairy has been recognised as a 'champion' food producer of the West Country by the Taste of the West judging panel for 2022, for both their salted butter and traditional Cornish clotted cream. 

For further information, high resolution images or additional expert comment, please contact RAW Food & Drink PR: Harry Hook - harry@rawfoodanddrinkpr.co.uk /  07540399025

About Trewithen Dairy:

Trewithen Dairy is owned and run by the Clarke family, who have owned Greymare Farm in the Glynn Valley since 1976 and started crafting dairy products there in March 1994. As the business has grown, so has their family. It's not just the Clarke family that do all they can to make their delicious Cornish dairy products what they are, it's their colleagues, farmers and of course, customers too.

In the early days, the Clarkes had their own herd. Bill and Rachel would bottle the milk once the children were in bed and deliver it early the next morning. They cooked the clotted cream themselves, in open trays and potted it by hand. Their customers loved all of this Cornish dairy goodness and soon the Clarkes were supplying more and more happy customers. By 2001, the milk bottling and cream making side of the business had become so successful that the family made the brave decision to sell their herd and moved full time into producing milk, cream, butter and, more recently, yoghurt. Bill and Rachel's sons Francis and George now have key roles within the company, and with over 250 highly valued employees they are one big family business.