Pork pie aristocratic visitors carry lumps of pie with them on horseback". The main distinctive feature of a Melton pie is that it is made with a hand-formed crust. The uncured meat of a Melton pie is grey in colour when cooked; the meat is chopped, rather than minced. As the pies are baked free-standing, the sides bow outwards, rather than being vertical as with mould-baked pies. In light of the premium price of the Melton Mowbray pie, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association applied for protection under European Protected designation of origin laws as a result of the increasing production of
Melton Mowbray Navigation William Green, who had been involved in the construction of the Grantham Canal. Although he declared that the workmanship and the materials used were very bad, he completed the work and the navigation was open by 1797. A second act of Parliament was obtained to resolve a number of financial issues, and it seems that the total cost of the project was around £45,000. The navigation was long, with twelve broad locks, which raise the canal by between the Soar and Melton. The canal served a mainly rural area, and traffic levels reflected this. The population of Melton Mowbray was