Food in the News: Pasties worth protecting

A proper Cornish pasty

For 9 years, the Cornish Pasty Association has been campaigning for Protected Geographical Indicaton (PGI) status from the European Union. Alas, the time has finally dawned. Hurrah, now no longer will we be fooled by inferior imitators, but be able to know that if we are sold a Cornish Pasty, it is indeed the real Mccoy. 

So, this all may sound like the cider-induced hallucination of a farmer sat somewhere in his Somerset-static tractor (pardon the extreme stereotype). But it's hit the news in a big way, arguably for its sheer weird-factor. So here's the lowdown on what exact makes a Cornish Pasty, well...Cornish.

1. As ridiculously simple as it may sound, it must be Cornish. No, not produced by anyone by the name of Cornish, have corn in it or operate under any other advertising loopholes you may wish to conjure. It must have been made in Cornwall.

Cornish pasty descendant, the Devon pasty

2. Everyone's favourite part of the pasty, the crust (aka the crimp to Pasty experts) must follow a specific design. The main body of the pasty itself must form a distinct 'D' shape, and the crimp must lay to the side. Confuse with the Devon pasty at your peril, whose crimp can be seen centrally slithering across the top of the body of the pasty.

3 It must follow a strict recipe in accordance with original Cornish guidelines : "The texture of the filling is chunky, made up of uncooked minced or roughly cut chunks of beef (not less than 12.5%), swede, potato, onion with a light seasoning. The pastry casing is golden in colour, savoury, glazed with milk or egg and robust enough to retain its shape throughout the cooking and cooling process without splitting or cracking. The pasty is slow-baked and no artificial flavourings or additives must be used." 

As a proud Devonian lass, I can only show my full support to my Neighbouring Cornwall; I still recall years spent as a nipper chomping on genuine Cornish Paaaaaaasties (pronounced with a farmer-esque drawl) on the breezy yet picturesque coast of Mount Bay. And to think of imposters marketing their so-called "Cornish" Pasties, well, the thought sickens me. Well, that's a tad extreme, but at the very least surely this case should've been taken to Petty Claims Court under under false advertising a long time ago?!