Tim Worstall

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Cornish sardines

December 11th, 2009 · 6 Comments

Now have EU protected status.

I’d never actually heard of Cornish sardines, had to go and look it up.

Ah, you mean pilchards then?

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Tags: Food

6 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Ian Bennett // Dec 11, 2009 at 8:54 am

    Nice of our Euromasters to recognise the products of an industry that they’ve very nearly destroyed.

  • 2 DBC Reed // Dec 11, 2009 at 10:21 am

    Sardines are little tiny things in tins that are generally served on toast: pilchards are dirty great things also put in tins that are considered naff. Possibly because pilchard is a slang term of abuse particularly meant to cause offence to women because nobody knows what it means really.
    Like the v-sign or reverse Churchiilian
    which caused Wittgenstein to reformulate his entire philosophical system
    These Europeans have no idea of the sensitivities of Brits to language and its capacity to patronise and offend people for a laugh!

    A particularly sensitive (to the fragile sense of Cornish identity) is another slang term for pilchards: Cornish Duck.

  • 3 Martin Adamson // Dec 11, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Eh? What is the difference between Cornish Sardines, Irish Sardines or Breton Sardines? They’re all the same fish, it’s just that some happen to be in one particular place on a particular day. It’s not like Parma ham or Stilton cheese, which have particular recipes or techniques associated with them.

  • 4 Ian Bennett // Dec 11, 2009 at 11:38 am

    The rationale behind the claim is that, for whatever reason, some people want to buy Cornish fish; and non-Cornish (by some measure) fish was being sold as Cornish.

    EU recognition of product names is hugely irrational. Stilton cheese has to come from Stilton but Cheddar cheese can come from anywhere, despite them both being placenames. Feta cheese has to come from Greece despite the facts that “feta” refers not to a place but to a method, and most of it used to be made in Germany anyway.

    “Ceterum Censeo Unionem Europaeam Esse Delendam”, I suppose.

  • 5 Mr Potarto // Dec 11, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    “Stilton cheese has to come from Stilton but Cheddar cheese can come from anywhere…”

    Actually, Stilton can only come from Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire.

    Since the village of Stilton is in Cambridgeshire, cheese from Stilton is not allowed to be called Stilton cheese.

  • 6 Tim Newman // Dec 14, 2009 at 10:50 am

    I thought pilchards were adult sardines. Are they not the same fish?

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