Plan B Forum

I "improvise" the filling with whatever I have to hand.

Lord Jim wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:38 am

Gee whiz, from your reactions previously about this (when I and others have shared our "improvised" pastie fillings) I got the impression that pasties were some sort of sacrament; with one (ultra-bland) way and only one way to properly fill them...

Have your views on this changed, or do the native Welsh have some sort of special dispensation to deviate from the sacred recipe, not allowed for others?

On 20 July 2011, after a nine-year campaign by the Cornish Pasty Association – the trade organisation of about 50 pasty makers based in Cornwall – the name "Cornish pasty" was awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission. According to the PGI status, a Cornish pasty should be shaped like a 'D' and crimped on one side, not on the top. Its ingredients should include beef, swede (called turnip in Cornwall), potato and onion, with a light seasoning of salt and pepper, keeping a chunky texture. The pastry should be golden and retain its shape when cooked and cooled.[18] 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 Cornish Pasty Association (CPA) noted that there are strong links between pasty production and local suppliers of the ingredients. Packaging for pasties that conform to the requirements includes an authentication stamp, the use of which is policed by the CPA.

The recipe for a Cornish pasty, as defined by its protected status, includes diced or minced beef, onion, potato and swede in rough chunks along with some "light peppery" seasoning. The cut of beef used is generally skirt steak. Swede is sometimes called turnip in Cornwall, but the recipe requires use of actual swede, not turnip.[30] Pasty ingredients are usually seasoned with salt and pepper, depending on individual taste.[39] The use of carrot in a traditional Cornish pasty is frowned upon, though it does appear regularly in recipes.

The type of pastry used is not defined, as long as it is golden in colour and will not crack during the cooking or cooling, although modern pasties almost always use a shortcrust pastry.

Originally a good, calorie-filled, transportable meal for hungry workers – possibly even the first real ‘convenience’ food – it would have contained cheap ingredients such as potato, swede and onion without the succulent meat that is included today. That came later as people became bigger meat eaters and pasties became more widely eaten.

ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:40 pm

The story about Cornish pasties I remember and which was told to me by a member of the Cornish Liberation Front (it was the 70s - what can I say?) was that the traditional pasty was a double act. There is a reason the crimping of the pastry is along the curved side of the D and not along the top, as Gob's post indicates. The traditional pasty was baked for the miners and farmworkers as a packed lunch and had a meat end and a sweet end, separated by a bulwark of pastry. So it was a full meal including dessert.

Lord Jim wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 03, 2020 12:49 pm

Then my minced lamb, green onion, potato, garlic, and diced jalapeno recipe is perfectly fine as a pastie filling...

A father baked a huge Cornish pasty to celebrate the birth of his son - matching the exact same size and weight of the baby.

Tim Fuge, 33, from Liskeard, Cornwall, took on the task after seeing a post online of another father using a pasty to demonstrate the measurements of his child.

It took Mr Fuge two-and-a-half hours to produce the 6lb 4oz (2.8kg) pasty - and 19 hours to eat it after he researched the method online and did a practice run.