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In times of poverty in the past the Cornish tended to have very little 'butchers meat' and a pasty as we know it today was a luxury. Early miners did not take food underground and when they first started to take a 'mossel' for 'croust' it was usually barley bread, or many miners preferred 'fuggan' a solid mass of flour mixed with water and baked without leavening - very heavy fare. Sometimes it would contain a small piece of green pork. This was probably the forerunner of todays pasty. Wheat flour was usually very expensive and barley flour was widely used.
 Pastry rolled out like a plate,
Piled with 'turmat, tates, and mate.'
Doubled up, and baked like fate,
That's a Cornish Pasty. (Traditional)
So what does go into a Cornish pasty? the answer is probably almost anything to suit the taste of the consumer but traditionally potatoes, onion, turnip (swede) and meat. When baked for the family each pasty would have the initial of its owner, this allowed for variations in filling and also the initial end would be eaten last so that, should the pasty not be finished, it could be reclaimed by its owner. I usually tried to leave an end of mine as I liked cold pasty. Also I was not very fond of swede and my mother would not put any in mine - today I would certainly want it.
Father liked mate and tate best,
Mother liked turmat an' mate.
Boy Jack wanted all mate,
Boy Tom liked likkey best,
An' the maidens edden perticler tall. (Traditional - 'likkey' is leeks)
The pasty is a meal in itself and therefore was very convenient for men to take to work in the fields, or down the mine. In times past children walking from their homes on outlying farmsteads to the village school would take a pasty which, in cold weather, could be warmed on the classroom stove. In times past when fishing was bad in Newlyn some of the men would walk up to St. Just to work in the mines. They would lodge for the week in the village and take with them a pasty for every day that they were going to be away. Pasties are best eaten straight from the oven, held in the hands and starting at the non initial end. They are best served with a mug of sweet tea. Miners with no facility to brew tea underground would take a bottle of cold tea with them, they found this a very refreshing drink in the extreme heat underground.
A pasty recipe
The ingredients are obviously going to vary according to the size of pasty wanted and the wishes of the eventual consumer, the following quantities will make two reasonable sized traditional pasties. The pastry should not be too rich or you will spend all your time patching when you fold it over and crimp the edges. Crimp at the top or the side? this depends on what part of Cornwall you live in! - here in West Cornwall at the side.
for the pastry:
- 1/2 lb plain flour
- 3 oz fat (half lard/half margarine)
- cold water to mix to a stiff paste
- good pinch of salt
Make the pastry and roll just under half into a round about a quarter of an inch thick. Support half of the pastry over a rolling pin.
for the filling:
- Half pound of good chuck steak or skirt of beef, cut into small pieces
- 2 or 3 large potatoes
- onion
- Piece of turnip (swede)
- salt and pepper
Peel and thinly slice potato on to the flat half of the pastry, extending to the sides to form a base, slice the turnip on to this and then put on half the beef and top with some chopped onion. Season. I like to add a nub of butter or margarine to give a rich gravy.
Now comes the difficult bit, dampen the top half circle of pastry around the edge with water and bring the pastry down over the filling to seal the edges and enclose the filling. There should be no splits or holes, just a neat fat parcel. Now for the crimping, make sure your hands are dry and hold the edge with one hand and follow on with a firm fold down with the other hand.
Hold and fold alternately along to the end. Transfer carefully to a greased baking tray, slit a hole in the top to let out the steam and repeat with the remaining ingredients. You may want to mark each pasty with an initial in one corner. Finally bake at 200 C for about thirty minutes or until pale brown and reduce the heat to 190 C for a further 30 minutes.
Recipes sometimes tell you to chop the vegetables, never do this as you want to trap the rich juices from the meat in the layers of potato and turnip. If you are unable to follow my instructions (practice at crimping makes perfect) I suggest you find a Cornish woman who has never left the County and brought up a large family to give you some lessons!
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