Cornish pasties - mine are not real
We are having Cornish pasties for dinner tonight, but I can tell you now that mine will not look like it's supposed to - see above - nor will it have the requisite filling - beef (not mince preferably skirt), swede, onion and potato. And I'm probably not even allowed to call it a Cornish pasty because the Cornish pasty now has PGI status - Protected Geographical Indication. It's an EU standard, so what that means now after Brexit I don't know. But in the meantime, not only does it have to be made according to strict standards (I read somewhere that there should be 20 of those twists on the edge), but it also has to be made in Cornwall. Which, as you can imagine, raised the ire of many British manufacturers - some of whom have apparently decided to ignore the ruling. It does account for 6% of Cornwall's economy though, so not to be scoffed at. And, of course, mine is not being made in Cornwall. Oh and those twists have to be on the side, not the top - as they are on mine.
The Cornish Pasty Association fought long and hard for the EU ruling and their website celebrates that. They hold competitions and give you the recipe as well as a history.
Mine, on the other hand, look more like these from delicious. Rather prettier I think, and not quite as heavy and daunting looking.
And they will have carrots in them and no swedes (I don't have any), and I might put in a bit of pumpkin too - and some parsley and thyme. I did see somewhere a mention of lots of pepper, and yes I do remember my mother being quite lavish with the pepper - ordinary ground white it was. Felicity Cloake provides an 'authentic' recipe if you want to try that. Delia doesn't like individual pasties - too much pastry to filling she says. (I like that there is lots of pastry.) She prefers to make one big pie. And I was tempted to try that. Perhaps the next time.
The main reason I am making them is that I discovered the other day when trawling through my freezer looking for some rump steak that I have large quantities of mince in the fridge. So I thought I should do something with mince, but I didn't want all the bother of meatballs, was bored with spaghetti bolognaise and lasagne and am not really attracted to meatloaf. I also didn't fancy a hamburger or any other kind of minced kebab or patty. So I thought of Cornish pasties, which also are a bit of a fiddle but we haven't had them for a while and I do like them - comfort food again and memories of youth. It's one of those dishes that kids can help with and which are quite fun to put together for a child.
In spite of having read about the history of the Cornish pasty I'm not really sure why the Cornish had a convincing enough case to get that EU ruling that they did, unless it was for that very specific filling. Though even the Cornish in their tourist Cornish pasty shops, sell all kind of pasties - sweet ones too. For pasties have been around since forever. And what's an empanada but a pasty? Really it was a catch all term derived from the Old French word paste (or pasta), meaning pastry and which was applied to virtually anything, but mostly venison, that was wrapped in pastry in a raw state and baked in an oven. It wasn't until the Cornish tin miners took it to their hearts that it became particularly associated with Cornwall. It's a convenient way of providing a sustaining lunch - with that trim on the side being a useful handle. Apparently down in the mines it generally stayed warm until needed, if wrapped sufficiently well in in a tea towel, and if it didn't then it could be heated by placing on a spade and holding over a candle!
Other fun things about Cornish pasties - oggy is another (Cornish) word for pasty - as in Oggy, oggy, oggy, oi, oi, oi.
"In the tin mines of Devon and Cornwall, pasties were associated with "knockers", spirits said to create a knocking sound that was either supposed to indicate the location of rich veins of ore, or to warn of an impending tunnel collapse. To encourage the good will of the knockers, miners would leave a small part of the pasty within the mine for them to eat. Sailors and fisherman would likewise discard a crust to appease the spirits of dead mariners, though fishermen believed that it was bad luck to take a pasty aboard ship." Wikipedia
And I rather like this last one, from Felicity Cloake:
"the Devil was afraid to cross that river (the Tamar - the border between Devon and Cornwall) thanks to the "well-known habit of Cornishwomen of putting everything into a pasty"
Which, as she says, (Felicity Cloake that is) rather belies the strictures about what can be put into a pasty. And also they're a bit vague about the pastry - all they say is that it should be golden, savoury and robust which gives a lot of options.
And by the way, the ones we buy here are nothing like the ones I grew up with.
