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A Cornish fairing is a type of traditional
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...
commonly found in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, England, United Kingdom. "Fairing" was originally a term for an edible treat sold at fairs around the country, though over time the name has become associated with ginger biscuits or
gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...
, which were given as a treat to children or by men to their sweethearts. In Cornwall, fairings contained ginger and became famous around the country when a Cornish manufacturer started selling them by mail order in 1886. The same manufacturer still makes them and the company has recently teamed up with celebrity chef Rick Stein to make biscuits.


Description

Cornish fairings are sweet-and-spicy ginger biscuits, made with standard biscuit ingredients such as flour, caster sugar and butter, together with mixed spice,
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
,
cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
, and
golden syrup Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and co ...
. They are roughly circular and brittle, similar to
gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...
. They are created by mixing the dry ingredients with butter, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs, then adding the sugar and syrup before forming the biscuits and baking high in the oven, followed by a period at the bottom of the oven.


History

"Fairings" was originally the common name for edible souvenirs sold at fairs around England. Fairings would vary throughout the country: at
Bartholomew Fair The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted by King Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1133. It took place each year on 24 August (St Bartholomew's Day) within the p ...
in Smithfield, fairings of gingerbread were sold from 1126 to 1800; in the northern counties, a traditional fairing would be a decorated " paste egg" at Easter. The Cornish version included the spiced ginger biscuit which became famous in Victorian times. The complete fairing from Cornwall would include the ginger biscuit, along with almond and caraway comfits (colloquially "lambs' tails" – actually sugar-coated
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s and
caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...
seeds), crystallised
angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...
and
macaroons A macaroon ( ) is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. Etymology The name ''macaroon'' is b ...
. During the 1800s, the biscuits became a treat that young men from the
middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...
or
lower Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...
classes would buy as a treat for their sweetheart. Previously, the spices required to create the biscuits were exclusive to the wealthy classes, who used them to make cakes. A number of manufacturers started making ginger biscuits called "fairings" all over England. One example of this was in Grasmere, where the gingerbread sold as fairings was so popular that
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...
's sister
Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...
wrote in one of her journals that she and her brother both craved them. In 1875, John Cooper Furniss obtained a large store in East Bridge Street, Truro, and premises on Duchy Wharf and installed ovens for biscuit manufacturing. He introduced several new kinds of biscuits and also a penny box of sweetmeats with every box containing a small piece of jewellery. Needless to say, these were very successful and in great demand. In 1886, John Cooper Furniss started selling the ginger biscuits at his tea room in
Truro, Cornwall Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
, baking them in his Truro bakery. They were so popular that he started selling them via mail-order. The recipe Furniss used is thought to have originated from a "maid-hiring" fair which used to take place during the week after Christmas, in
Launceston, Cornwall Launceston ( , ; rarely spelled Lanson as a local abbreviation; ) is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is west of the middle stage of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire borde ...
although Furniss Foods suggest the recipe came from the fairs held at
Whitsuntide Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
or Corpus Christi. Furniss went on to expand his company to Furniss Foods, a well-known Cornish biscuit manufacturer, which created a number of different fairing varieties, such as "orange and lemon" or "apple and cinnamon". He also established a Charitable Trust which is still in operation today. It is limited to the parish of Truro to provide assistance to residents in need who use coal as the primary source of heat. The company moved to a larger factory in 1988, but ran into financial difficulties during the 2000s and it was bought by Proper Cornish, a pasty manufacturer, which focused the company's production on the Cornish fairings and a couple of other lines. Cornish foods are an essential element in the county's touristic appeal, with a survey by South West tourism showing food as one of the top three reasons people visit Cornwall. During an interview where he was launching a new line of biscuits, celebrity chef Rick Stein explained that he associated fairings with his childhood.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish Fairings Cornish cuisine British snack foods Biscuits Ginger desserts