What is it with macaroni pies?
- Published
The thought of putting pasta into pastry sounds so wrong, but, as with a few other Scottish delicacies, at the right time it can just hit the mark.
But now a decision by Greggs to drop the pies has left a bad taste in the mouth, stoking up an online petition, political opposition and a newspaper campaign.
The petition asking Greggs to "restore the Macaroni Pie, external to its rightful place (just below the Sausage Rolls and to the left of the Steak Bakes)" has topped 1,300 signatures.
Nicola Sturgeon enters the debate to save the macaroni pie
On Twitter, Scottish Labour's Kezia Dugdale has appealed for cross-party support, external to #savethepie.
And at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Nicola Sturgeon revealed that while she was "not a lover of the macaroni pie", she had been lobbied on the issue by her own family.
She told MSPs: "I got a stern talking to on the telephone last night from my father that he expected me to join the campaign to save the macaroni pie.
"I've always been an obedient and loyal daughter and this occasion is no different."
However, Greggs has said it is sticking by its decision, adding: "Unfortunately over recent years it had become the smallest selling line from our savoury counters in Scotland."
The history of the macaroni pie suggests a genesis of happy accident or thrift, yet there are dozens of online recipes, with the main centres of excellence seeming to be Scotland and Trinidad and Tobago.
Despite an age of globalisation, widening choice and changing tastes - there's always a market for the traditional. Maybe the time of the craft macaroni pie has come?