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 railway station by no later than 2012 will not go ahead in the original timescale. From Melton Mowbray there is an hourly service off-peak in both directions operated by CrossCountry. Westbound, trains run to Birmingham via , and Coleshill. Eastbound, trains run to via , Ely and . Additional trains run at peak times, with some terminating at Cambridge. Although the next station westbound is , there are no direct services between the two stations. Despite managing the station, East Midlands Trains (EMT) only operates a limited number of services to the station. A single daily return service to London St Pancras