History Of The Cornish Pasty - Proper Cornish (2024)

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History Of The Cornish Pasty - Proper Cornish? ›

The Cornish Pasty originates from Cornwall (Southwest England) and can be traced back as far as the 1200's. Mining was once a thriving industry in Cornwall and at that time pasties were baked by the wives and mothers of the tin miners.

As mining boomed in Cornwall, pasties became a go-to meal for the miners' crib break (a Cornish colloquialism for a mid-morning break): they were an all-in-one meal that could be taken down the mines, particularly if they were so deep that it was impractical for the miners to return to the surface during the day for a ...

The PGI status also means that Cornish pasties must be prepared in Cornwall. They do not have to be baked in Cornwall, nor do the ingredients have to come from the county, though the CPA notes that there are strong links between pasty production and local suppliers of the ingredients.

No debate here: carrots are "sacrilege" as the Cornish Pasty Association points out: the swede adds all the sweetness this dish needs. Older recipes tend to be vague on exact details but potatoes should be waxy, as the CPA makes clear, rather than the floury ones Mark Hix uses, so they keep their shape when cooked.

The Cornish pasty has been given protected status by the European Commission so no matter where it is made in order to be called a Cornish pasty it has to contain beef, onion, swede and salt and pepper and be crimped along the side not along the top.

Use a firm waxy potato such as Maris Peer or Wilja. A floury potato will disintegrate on cooking. Crimping is one of the secrets to a true Cornish pasty. A good hand crimp is usually a sign of a good handmade pasty.

Opposition. In response to the ensuing row, a number of campaigns were launched in order to try to prevent the tax rise on the Cornish pasty. These ranged from The Sun's "Who VAT all the pies" campaign to an online petition set up by the Cornish Pasty Association entitled "Don't Tax My Pasty".

Since 2011, the Cornish Pasty has enjoyed protected status under Protected Food Names legislation; so only a pasty made to a specific recipe in Cornwall can be called a “Cornish Pasty”.

There will always be great debate about the origin of the pasty, but one easy way to detect the Devon pasty from the Cornish is that the Devon pasty has a top-crimp and is oval in shape, whereas the Cornish pasty is semi-circular and side-crimped along the curve.

In the Cornish language, a Cornish pasty is known as an “Oggy”. When the Cornish pasties were finished cooking and ready to be eaten, the wives would go to the mineshaft and shout down: “Oggy, oggy, oggy!”, and the men would shout back “Oi, oi, oi!” to let them know the pasties were on their way.

Why does a Cornish pasty have 20 crimps? ›

Miners' wives would prepare for them small hand pies filled with meat and vegetables, which we now know as pasties. The edges of the pasties would be crimped, forming a handle for the miners to hold to with their arsenic-covered hands (via Cornish Pasty Co).

A bridie or Forfar bridie is a Scottish meat pasty that originates from Forfar, Scotland.

But what you might not know is just how many calories are in a Cornish pasty. And how other various food groups, healthy or otherwise, match up to that. Apparently a traditional large pasty from the Cornish Pasty Company contains 774 calories and 45g of fat.

This made for a hearty yet portable meal for the miners. They're still very popular there, and you'll find them in every local bakery and community cookbook! American pasties are the American equivalent to Cornish pasties.

As well as being used as an undergarment in lieu of a bra, pasties are also worn visibly as a fashion accessory where it is desirable to show the breasts but not the nipples, and are sometimes called nipple stickers.

"Oggy" is a slang term for a Cornish pasty derived from its Cornish language name, "hogen", and was used by local Cornish sailors throughout Cornwall as well as at the Devonport Dockyard in reference to pasty sellers who stand outside the gates.

As mining boomed in Cornwall, pasties became a go-to meal for the miners' crib breaks; they were an all-in-one meal that could be taken down the mines and eaten without cutlery. The wives of Cornish miners would lovingly prepare these all-in-one meals to provide sustenance for their spouses.

In Cornish slang, Oggy is simply a pasty.

There will always be great debate about the origin of the pasty, but one easy way to detect the Devon pasty from the Cornish is that the Devon pasty has a top-crimp and is oval in shape, whereas the Cornish pasty is semi-circular and side-crimped along the curve.

It's thanks to mining that Mexicans were first introduced to the Cornish pasty, where it's now regarded as a staple dish by locals. During the 1820s, skilled miners from Cornwall were recruited to Mexico to regenerate the mines that got damaged or flooded during the Mexican War of Independence.