The Good Old Cornish Pasty (2024)

FAQs

The Good Old Cornish Pasty? ›

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.

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.

Pasties date back as far as the 13th century, at which time they were devoured by the rich upper classes and royalty. The fillings were varied and indulgent, often containing venison, beef, lamb and seafood like eels, flavoured with rich gravies and fruits.

Women cooking pasties would shout into the mines “Oggie, oggie, oggie”, receiving a reply of “oi, oi, oi” when the miners were ready to eat. It is because of this that the British traditional rhyme came about, which is still used today. Today, there are a wide variety of flavours available across the country.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

The Oggy!, Oggy!, Oggy! is a traditional shout (which stems from 'hoggan') from the miners' wives or pasty sellers; it is a call to say the pasties are ready. In Cornish slang, Oggy is simply a pasty.

Why does a Cornish pasty have 20 crimps? ›

The Cornish pasty

Pasties went down the mines, across the fields and out to sea. Which is why they have the crimped edges so that the miners could hold onto them (there are no soap and basins down the mines!) The Cornish pasty's name came west of the Tamar, in the county of Cornwall.

Mexicans refer to the Cornish pasty as a paste, and its ingredients' list is rather different compared to its Cornish cousin. In fact, there are various types of fillings used in paste today.

The Mighty Cornish Pasty

There must be at least 12.5% beef and 25% vegetables in the whole pasty. All the ingredients must be uncooked when the pasty is assembled and then slowly baked to develop all that famous Cornish pasty taste and succulence.

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.

These Cornish Pasties are filled with a mixture of well-seasoned steak, onions, potatoes and swede (or rutabaga/yellow turnip if you're in the US). The meat and vegetables are placed in the pastry raw, with a really good pinch of salt and pepper and a few dots of butter, then sealed and cooked in the pastry.