Nothing says the U.P. like a good pasty! So where did this traditional fare come from?
Early references to pasties go back to the early 1500s and include a letter from a baker to Henry's VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, that states "hope this pasty reaches you in better condition than the last one...." And this: "Wife, bid these gentlemen welcome. Come, we have a hot venison pasty to dinner." (Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor").
By the 1800s the pasty had evolved to meet the needs of tin miners,in Cornwall, a region in southwestern England. Tradition claims that it was originally made as lunch ('croust' in the Cornish language) for Cornish miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat. The pasty was a complete, hand-held hot meal, usually consisting of diced meat - nowadays ground beef or steak - potato, onion and swede (rutabaga). The pastry was folded over the filling and crimped on one side.
The pasty's dense, folded pastry stayed hot until lunchtime and, when carried close to the body, helped the miner stay warm. These pasties were normally made with the meat filling at one end and a fruit filling at the other, separated by a pastry partition.
The story goes that, covered in dirt from head to foot (possibly including some arsenic often found with tin), they could hold the pasty by the folded crust and eat the rest of the pasty without touching it. This crimping was then discarded and left for the mischievous 'Knockers' (ghosts) which were said to exist down in the mines.
|
|
Traditional bakers in former mining towns will still bake pasties with fillings to order, marking the customer's initials with raised pastry. This practice was started because some miners used to eat one half of their pasty for breakfast and leave the remaining half for lunch, necessitating a way for each miner to identify his own.
English miners spread the taste for pasties all over the world, including many areas of the United States. In Michigan it became especially popular in the Upper Peninsula (UP), where today there are many Cornish pasty shops, catering to lunch customers seeking a handy, hearty, portable meal.
Pasty Facts
- Legend has it that the devil will not step foot in Cornwall for fear of the Cornish housewife! He fears that if he goes to Cornwall he might wind up in a pasty.
- For fear of bad luck fishermen never took a pasty aboard ship.
- It was said that a good pasty should be strong enough to endure being dropped down a mine shaft!
Sources:
www.experiencefestival.co
www.propercornish.co.uk/pasty-heritage.html
www.ehow.com
|
