Traditions

The pasty is mentioned in Shakespeare and there are historical references that go back  even further. In fact the idea of meat and vegetables in pastry can be found all over the world either created locally like in the Lebanon or introduced by the miners of Cornwall in Canada Mexico and New Zealand. The story goes that pasties were homemade by their wives with a variety of ingredients and spices for Cornish miners and fishermen to take with them to their work. The unique Cornish side crimp meant that by holding the pasty by the crimp the food itself was not ruined by the hard working dirty hands.

The pasty contains a mixture of meat and vegetables so it feels like a proper meal more than a mere pie! There’s another difference as to why pasties taste so good it is because the ingredients are actually cooked in the pastry rather than having been pre-cooked as is often the way with pies.
If you want to find out more about Cornish Pasties and the history visit the Pasty Wikipedia

At Crantock’s we will always aim to uphold the tradition of the Cornish Pasty.
If you would like a try our traditional recipe you can visit our recipe page.