We’re so pleased to have author JL Merrow with us today on the tour for her brand new release, One Under, which features a romance between two characters readers of her first Porthkennack book, Wake Up Call, will have already met: Mal Thomas and Jory Roscarrock. She’s talking food today and is also offering the chance for one lucky reader to win a book from her backlist, so check out the entry details, including the prompt question, below.

Welcome, JL!

When Is a Turnip Not a Turnip?

Everywhere you go, you’ll find local delicacies—foodstuffs that were once produced and eaten in only a specific area. Of course, in this world of international food exports, you’ll often find them in your home town supermarket too. But there’s something very special about eating them in the place they originated, and often you’ll find they’re not quite the same as you’re used to. For example, the Bakewell pudding I ate in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell itself was immeasurably superior to the oversweetened “Bakewell tarts” available in any Tesco store.

When I think of Cornish cuisine, two treats immediately come to mind: the clotted cream tea*, and the Cornish pasty. Or pastie, if you prefer.

I’ve always liked pasties. They’re a more relaxed version of a pie—none of this faffing around with a dish and cutting dainty little slices. Pasties are filling, robust, take-’em-anywhere meals, and as someone who doesn’t eat a lot of meat, I appreciate the high vegetable content. Pasties are traditionally thought of as having originated as a tin miners’ packed lunch, and apparently you know you’ve made your pastry tough enough if it can survive a drop down a mine shaft. However, they originated long before Cornwall’s tin mining heyday, and are first mentioned in cookbooks during the reign of Edward III in the 14^th century. They were clearly around before that, though: a 12^th century Old French Arthurian romance set in Cornwall gives a shout out to the pasty:

“Amis,” fet il, “or an tastez
Un petit de cez pastez froiz!   

Érec et Énide, Chretien de Troyes, c. 1170

(Translation: “Friends,” said he. “Come taste a little of these cold pasties.”)

So what traditionally goes in a Cornish pasty? The answer, of course, is that the poor Cornish folk who ate it as a staple would throw in whatever they had, and it would likely seldom include meat, as a luxury beyond their means. There is an old proverb that says the Devil himself never dared cross the Tamar river into Cornwall, for fear a Cornishwoman might catch him and shove him into a pasty!

The official recipe, however, sanctioned by the Cornish Pasty Association, includes only the following ingredients: beef (making up around a third of the content), potato, swede (rutabaga) and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Confusion can arise as to whether turnip should be included, but this is down to linguistics, swedes being sometimes called turnips in Cornwall.

So when is a turnip not a turnip? When it’s in a Cornish pasty.

*Clotted cream teas are, of course, also a speciality of neighbouring county Devon, where they split the scone, spread on the cream, then add jam. In Cornwall, they do it properly, and put the jam on first. ;)

Question: Are you hungry now? And which would you choose: cream tea, or Cornish pasty?

About the Book

London Underground worker Mal Thomas is staying in Porthkennack to recover from a traumatic experience. Getting more bad news from home is the last straw—until big, blond museum curator Jory Roscarrock steps up to offer some comfort.

As a doctor of English literature, Jory should be in a prestigious post at a top university. But a youthful indiscretion led him to abandon academia to come back to his hometown, Porthkennack, and the controlling family he’s never really felt a part of. He’s delighted to find a kindred spirit in Mal.

But Jory’s family hurt Mal’s best friend deeply, and while Jory is desperate to repair the damage, his own mistakes threaten to keep him and Mal apart. Meanwhile, Mal is torn between his feelings for Jory and his duty to his friend—and his fears that a failed relationship could be more than his shattered confidence can take. Jory must convince Mal it’s worth risking everything for their love.

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About the Author

JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea.  She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again.

She writes (mostly) contemporary gay romance and mysteries, and is frequently accused of humour.  Her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy, and several of her books have been EPIC Awards finalists, including Muscling Through, Relief Valve (the Plumber’s Mate Mysteries) and To Love a Traitor.

JL Merrow is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, International Thriller Writers, Verulam Writers and the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.

Website || Twitter: @jlmerrow || Facebook || Goodreads

The Giveaway

To celebrate this release, one lucky winner will receive their choice of a book from JL’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 24, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.