Cornish culinary heritage

lutego 02, 2015

One of greatest symbols of Cornwall is Cornish pasty (in Polish : pieróg kornwalijski). It's a regional delicacy, the Cornish define it as their culinary heritage. Although Cornish pasties are sold throughout the United Kingdom, native Cornish will say that a true Cornish pasty can be baked in the traditional way only in Cornwall. They are proud of it and must eat it really often as each bakery sells variety of pasties (different fillings and sizes) and before afternoon they are almost completely sold out :)

History of Cornish pasty dates back to the 13th century when the delicacy was devoured by the rich upper classes and royalty. In 17th and 18th centuries the pasty was adopted by miners and farm workers in Cornwall as a means for providing themselves with easy, tasty and sustaining meals while their very hard work.The wives of Cornish tin miners prepared pasties for their husbands to provide them with a filling, high-calorie meal during their exhausting days down the dark, damp mines. Working at such large depths caused that it wasn’t possible for them to surface at lunchtime. That's why Cornish pasty as all-in-one meal turned out to be a great idea.

All Cornish pasties are in the shape of the letter “D” and the pastry edges are crimped into a thick crust. Crimping is the traditional process by which the edges of a pasty are sealed. The crust was used as a handle which was then discarded due to the high levels of arsenic in many of the tin mines.

Some facts about pasty:

In the past people believed the devil would never dare to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall for fear of ending up as a filling in a Cornish pasty :)

The pasty was sometimes divided inside into two sections so as to provide both: a main course and dessert

A good pasty was thought to be strong enough to drop unharmed down a mine shaft

Fishermen never took a pasty aboard ship for fear of bad luck

(from: http://www.propercornish.co.uk/pasty-heritage.html)

Apart from classic Cornish pasties which are very popular in this region, bakery shops sell a wide spectrum of different kinds of this traditional delicacy. Meat or vegetarian, spicy or sweet, beef, pork or chicken... Depends on customer's taste:)