Part of the Geo Adams heritage is its range of Pork Pies. From humble beginnings, the Ruskington factory now makes a wide variety of cured and uncured pork pies, together with cutting pies for caterers and delis for brand and own label customers.

A key part of any pork pie is the pastry. All Geo Adams pork pies are made with hot-water pastry that has a crisp texture when it is baked.

Hand-raised pork pies are traditionally-made using ceramic pots. Sizes vary from about 400g up to 1800g (about 4 lbs). The Lincolnshire recipe uses uncured pork which gives the characteristic grey colour. The texture is coarse and meaty. When baked, each pie achieves its own distinctive shape. Once cooled, seasoned jelly is added through the top of the pie to retain the succulence of the meat and the crispness of the pastry.

A range of other Lincolnshire uncured pies is available in Adams brand. Pies are as small as 75g and up to 300g. The biggest seller in the Adams range is 140g – an ideal size as a wholesome snack any time of day. Key characteristics are the coarse meat texture and the rich, crisp pastry.

Cured pork is the preferred option in some parts of the country. The meat has a pink colour and a slightly sweeter, tasty pork flavour.

For caterers and deli departments in supermarkets, Gala Pies and large cutting pies are made. Traditional Gala and Egg pies have a square end that lend themselves to easy portioning for snack meals and buffets and each slice has a piece of egg. Cutting pies can be layered. For example, the Ploughman’s pie is made with layers of pork, cheese and pickle.

At Christmas, consumers look for something a bit special and demand for all types of pork pies goes up. Fruit-topped pies are made for buffets and the cutting pie range is increased.