I didn’t know some had a savoury end and a sweet end.
No carrot!
“The presence of carrot in a pasty, although common now, was originally the mark of an inferior pasty.”
Not me! (still/yet)
“A skilled crimper will crimp on average 3 or 4 pasties a minute, although 7 pasties a minute has been known.”…………………
“The pasty has been a documented part of the British diet since the 13th Century, at this time being devoured by the rich upper classes and royalty. The fillings were varied and rich; venison, beef, lamb and seafood like eels, flavoured with rich gravies and fruits. It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that the pasty was adopted by miners and farm workers in Cornwall as a means for providing themselves with easy, tasty and sustaining meals while they worked. And so the humble Cornish Pasty was born.
The traditional recipe for the pasty filling is beef with potato, onion and swede, which when cooked together forms a rich gravy, all sealed in its own packet! As meat was much more expensive in the 17th and 18th centuries, its presence was scarce and so pasties traditionally contained much more vegetable than today. The presence of carrot in a pasty, although common now, was originally the mark of an inferior pasty.”
It was also common for the pasties to provide not only a hearty, savoury main course lunch, but also a sweet or fruity desert course. The savoury filling would be cooked at one end of the crescent and the sweet course at the other end. Hopefully these ends would be marked on the outside too!”
ON THE INSIDE
Just good, wholesome ingredients, put together with love and care
Roughly diced or minced beef (skirt)
Sliced or diced potato
Swede
Onion
Seasoning to taste (mainly salt & pepper)
No meat other than beef, and no vegetables apart from those listed can be used in the filling. 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
If a pasty is crimped by a left-hander it is called a cock pasty. Right-handed crimpers make hen pasties.
