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Archive 1Archive 2

fruit ends=

I've always been a bit suspicuous of the often repeated thing that miners had one end of the pasty as the pudding and one and as meat... And I read a book about pasties in which the author said that she didn't think it was true and offered this explanation as to where it had come from: The bits of pastry left over when you've made a pasty are called the 'ends' these scraps were often made into little pockets with jam/fruit in. Thus putting fruit in the ends. She also explained from a cooking point of view why she didn't think it would work very well & that despite it being a commonly held tradition that it was the case, she couldn't find any actual evidence of it.

If anyone can find the boook to reference then it might be good just to do a short 'however...' or something, or just change the surety of the wording

BM86.139.85.63 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 20:58, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

ooh wait, there is actually a reasonable bit there though not with the theory above I shall read on next time before launching into my normal reaction to this! BM 86.139.85.63 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 21:00, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I think you're talking about a Bedfordshire clanger.

Pronunciation

Hasn't anyone noted the glaring error thoughout this article?

In the UK, and in Cornwall where the delacacy originated, the plural of pasty is "pastys". I think this should be incorporated in some way into the main article.Serpren 01:55, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

I corrected the pronunciaton (the cart analogy is incorrect - it is pronounced "pass-tee", not "parse-tee" (unless you're a Londoner))

Thanks, comparing the "a" to "past" makes sense. However I do think you misunderstood the original intent -- the "a" is pronounced like the "a" in "cart", not like the "ar" in "cart". The vowel is (to my ear) the same as in "past" anyhow, so no problem. -- dcclark (talk) 16:05, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
I think it is incorrect at the moment. I have never heard pasty pronounced p-ah-sty (as the word past is properly pronounced, eg queens english). It is always pronounced p-a-sty, as the word past is more commonly pronounced by certain people (as americans would pronounce ass). Timb0h 11:55, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
OK, we clearly have some cross-cultural problems here. :) I agree with you, since (as a Yooper) I pronounce it p-a-sty, as in "ass". I think the key is not how you do pronounce it, but that it is not pronounced with a hard a, as in paste. Perhaps that is all we should say in the article. -- dcclark (talk) 16:53, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
If you want a Cornish pronunciation, it's "paasty", as in "ass". Elsewhere in Britain you might hear "parsty" as in "arse", but it's not common and generally sneered at. I agree that as long as it's not pronounced "paysty" then we're doing OK. Bretonbanquet 19:51, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
We clearly have issues with the way the pronunciation should be explained. I for one do not pronounce 'pasty' to rhyme with 'nasty'... Bretonbanquet 22:46, 9 June 2006 (UTC)


Hi Bretonbanquet, I cant believe that you say that pasty doesnt rhyme with nasty. If you say it doesn't rhyme with 'nasty' please supply a word it does rhyme with. Talskiddy 21:55, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
It doesn’t rhyme with the way those of us in the South East say nasty. However, I guess we say pasty like Northerners say nasty. Bombot 08:39, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
Do you agree that it does NOT sound like "paste"? I think that perhaps the only thing we CAN say in the article is that the "a" is not hard. -- dcclark (talk) 00:27, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
Absolutely - as I said above, as long as it's not pronounced "paysty" we're doing OK. I'm only really happy with the short flat "a" as in "ass", but if some people want to lengthen the "a" as in "arse", then I'm not going to start a row over it. It was fine with what you had before Talskiddy's edit. Bretonbanquet 13:12, 10 June 2006 (UTC)


For reasearch puposes I had a look for pasty poems on the web to see what rhymes with 'pasty'. I'm afraid it was the best one I could find!

THE SOUTHERN PASTY POEM from Wilf Lunn's webpage. [1]
Hair lair thair. I do declare, a stall that's selling parsties.
Well I’m agarst; they’re selling farst. I wonder what the corst is.
Hay say young Miss, may hay arsk is that your ver’ larst parsty?
And is it larst becors it’s parst it’s tame and its gorn narsty?
Or is it cors you’ve scoffed the lort? I see you’ve increased varstly.
Please examine your ass in a looking glarse, you’ll find it’s facking garstly.

(I should say the accent for the above poem is a posh English accent not a Cornish one) Talskiddy 09:32, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I am much more inclined to believe that the above poem is not at all meant to be spoken in a posh English accent (RP). My first inclination would be that it is Cockney. Indy4ever (talk) 11:35, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

No. It is definitely taking the mick out of a "posh" English accent as the first line says: "Hair lair thair", meaning 'Hello There'! As a Southern Englisher, I can also say that NO English person would say: Parsty. The pronunciation is definitely as in the words: "Mass" and "Tea". Parsty is a mocking expression as The Queen might say it. The whole poem is taking the micky out of a "Posh" person on encountering a Cornish Pasty (a working class food). I find the poem very amusing so I'm going to "translate" it:

Hello there! I do declare, a stall that's selling pasties. Well, I'm aghast; they're selling fast. I wonder what the cost is. I say, young Miss, may I ask is that your very last pasty? And is it last because it's past its time and it's gone nasty Or is it 'cos you've scoffed the lot. I see you've increased vastly. Please examine your arse in a looking glass You'll find it's fucking ghastly!

Cheers to Talskiddy for putting it up! NH79.121.143.143 (talk) 23:26, 29 May 2008 (UTC)


Mexico

The immigration of English coal miners to 19th century Mexico brought the pasty to the city of Pachuca, where it is common, although served with ingredients never thought of in England such as jalapeno peppers.

Cool. But are you sure they weren't tin miners? Cornwall had plenty of tin mines but not many coal mines. Mind you I suppose it wouldn't be hard to switch from one to the other. Mintguy (T) 02:50, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
It was probably coal miners who brought the pasty to Mexico, but it was Cornish tin miners that would have introduced the pasty to the coal miners.
With respect, it's more likely to have been tin miners: first, there are no coal mines in Cornwall; second, many Cornish tin miners (and mine owners) went to Central and South America to work in the silver mines. There's a pub in Long Rock, Cornwall called the Mexico Inn, the original owner having made his fortune in the Mexican silver mines. Further, tin mining and coal mining are totally different skills; coal is a relatively soft substance which forms the whole of the mined seam, whereas tin occurs as an ore in narrow veins, in a hard rock matrix. Sbz5809 13:46, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
It has been said though in any mine in the world you'll find a Cornishman at the bottom. And I know many ex-Cornish miners who moved overseas after the tin dried up took up a huge range of different mining type jobs, not nessecarily just tin mining. - Ryuujin (Falmouth, Cornwall ;p)

Quote from the Independent,(London), Nov 13, 2006 by Terry Kirby - "They are revered in eastern Pennsylvania and are often the centre of local church fund raising suppers. They remain a popular dish in the Mexican state of Hildago, particularly stuffed with tinga - shredded chicken - and mole sauce, while almost every local bakery in South Australia makes its own version. Yes, the Cornish pasty can truly be said to have travelled the world, largely thanks to the duchy's immigrant tin miners and their families taking their culinary treasures with them." Geotek 19:32, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

It's stated on the main page that:

"Pasties...in South Australia are generally as popular as, Australian meat pies. However, in other Australian states (those without a Cornish heritage) they are relatively little-known."

However, I wish to advise that pasties are in fact well-known in all Australian states. As a resident of Victoria, I can confirm that pasties, like sausage rolls, are as well known here as meat pies, if not quite as popular, and have been at least since I was a kid living in country Victoria in the 1960s (and probably much longer). Walk into any bakery in Melbourne or country Victoria and you will be able to purchase a meat pie, sausage roll or pasty, and will be asked whether you want tomato sauce with it.--Ian Woff 21:51, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation and Michigan

To a recent anonymous editor: why is the pronunciation irrelevant? I want to know how unfamiliar words are pronounced, and I think lots of other people do too. (I think most people who aren't familiar with "pasty" are likely to get it wrong, incidentally. Until I found out, I thought it was pronounced like "having to do with paste".) And why is popularity in Michigan irrelevant? If someone encounters a reference to pasties in Michigan, wouldn't he or she want to be able to find it in an encyclopedia and want to know whether it's related to the Cornish version? —JerryFriedman 18:47, 18 Nov 2004 (UTC)

You can't really tell people how to pronounce it, as there are many different pronunciations. Being from the North of England, I would pronounce it pas-ty, while people from the South-East would pronounce it par-sty while the Cornish would pronounce it paaa-sty. And people who aren't native English speakers wouldn't necessarily know how to pronounce any word that you compare it to. If you really want to talk about the pronunciation, perhaps you could spell it phonetically. If you were to list everywhere in the world where Cornish Pasties are popular, it'd be a rather large list. I suspect that in most places where they are sold they are called "Cornish Pasties" anyway and entering just "pasty" will find this article. David Johnson 00:49, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
All of your examples rhyme with "nasty" in their respective dialects, right? Anyway, I really do want to talk about the pronunciation, so I'll use your suggestion of adding phonetic spelling (SAMPA, and Kirshenbaum if it doesn't get unwieldy.)
As for other places in the world, the odd thing is Cornish pasties are not popular throughout the U.S., like pizza and bratwurst and moo shu pork, but just in one state. Maybe that's also true in Mexico. Do you know other places where they're popular? I think the list would be interesting. —JerryFriedman 19:52, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
No, "pastie" does not rhyme with "nasty" in all dialects. For example, I would pronounce "pastie" as /p{sti/ (SAMPA), and "nasty" as /nAsti/ /nA:sti/. (I am not sure that I got the SAMPA notation correct, but I am sure that the letter "a" represents very different sounds in the two words.) —AlanBarrett 20:15, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Just make my life hard! I think your SAMPA's right, and I think those are the two pronunciations to mention. Apparently Australians say /pAsti/. And they're found in more places in the U.S. than I thought, so I'm no longer so interested in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . —JerryFriedman 00:25, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Your reference to Australian pronunciation made me see an error in my SAMPA notation: I think I meant /nA:sti/, not /nAsti/. BTW, I am South African. —AlanBarrett 21:35, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)
I think the distinction between [A:] and [A] is more detail than I'd want to get into in this article. (I used [] rather than // because I'm not convinced it's phonemic in English, though I don't know much about Australian accents. Anyway, I see that we're now supposed to use real IPA, so... I'll get back to this eventually. —JerryFriedman 22:50, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Upon reading the article for the first time today I was about to remove the Michigan reference, when I checked this page and found an apparent controversy. So rather than delete it, I'll add a comment here: the status quo is not good. Either Michigan needs to go, or that paragraph needs a brief introduction explaining what relevance Michigan has to Cornish pasties. —too lazy to register, 24:32, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The pasty is tremendously popular in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, especially as a tourist item. I personally have not found anywhere near the same popularity elsewhere in the Midwestern United States or Canada (I look for them anywhere I go for more than a few days). If anyone can provide evidence to the contrary, I would be very interested. In my opinion, the reference should stand, as the U.P. (seems to be) the major source of pastys outside of Cornwall. -- dcclark
Agree with dcclark. I've never heard of pasties except in relation to the U.P. (where there are simply "pasties" and not "Cornish pasties". Haven't come across them anywhere else in the U.S. (though to be honest I'm not that familiar with areas outside of the midwest). older≠wiser 14:49, Apr 10, 2005 (UTC)
I've seen pasties on menus in at least the following places: Boston, MA (Cornwall's Pub); Half Moon Bay, CA; Victoria, BC; Salt Lake City, UT. But nowhere are they as common as in Upper Michigan, where there are not only stands that sell nothing but pasties as take-out fast food, but you can also buy them at regular restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets, and even church fund-raisers! It really is the ubiquitous regional food in the area. Also check out pasty.com, where you can have pasties shipped to you. dr.frog
I agree with the previous comments. Removing the U.P. from the pasty article would be a shame. Pasties in the U.P. are one of the most important parts of our culture. We have more pasty shops and stands than fast food restaurants. They aren't even really 'special,' they are simply normal. You go to a football game and the concession stand always has pasties. Church fundraisers, pasties; potlucks, pasties; deer camp, pasties. If you talk to pasty shop owners they will tell you that they have shipped pasties everywhere in this country because you can't find a better pasty in the U.S.
Following up my own post, I found a scholarly article on the history of the pasty in the UP, which I have linked from the article page. dr.frog

Fast food?

Gee, I never would have thought of pasties as fast food. While they are sometimes available at kiosks or takeaway shops, the actually preparation of pasties is not exactly fast and in general pasties are not nearly as unhealthful as what I think most people associate with more typical fast foods. older≠wiser 02:34, Apr 21, 2005 (UTC)

I agree. I think this is sloppy writing. Lupin 03:28, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Agreed. Pasties are extremely popular and "touristy," but they don't share any other characteristics with fast food. --Dcclark 16:23, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I'm not so sure. They're a cultural equivalent of fast food in the Westcountry, at least. Growing up near Plymouth, going into town on a Saturday, and it'd generally be a choice between Ivor Dewdney's (a pasty), Wimpy (burger) or KFC. (We usually went for an oggy, of course.) Similarly, in London's rail termini, the only kinds of food sold are burger outlets, pastry shops and pasty shops. There are definitely some similarities. — OwenBlacker 10:16, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
My experiences are only in the Upper Peninsula, but they are definitely not a fast food item there. Perhaps we should emphasize the difference in perception between the UP and the Westcountry, as they seem to have evolved differently since the mid-19th century! —dcclark (talk) 23:16, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
No I agree with the view put over in the document to quote Wikipedia's own article:
Fast food is food which is prepared and served quickly at outlets called fast-food restaurants. It is a multi-billion dollar industry which continues to grow rapidly in many countriesItalic text'
Most pasties (In Cornwall at least which *is* their native "habitat" ;p), tend to be sold through bakeries or confectionaries in a ready to eat state. I know I used to pick up one at lunchtime very often and eat it on-the-move or in the office. I moved abroard a few years back (Being born and lived in Cornwall for 18 years), and it's only outside of Cornwall do you ever see pasties treated as "a meal" (ie. knives and forks) as opposed to eaten like a burger in the hand. -- Ryuujin 80.242.32.51 17:41, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

The key attributes of fast food are that you get it not long after you ordered it and can eat it on the move. There are plenty of pasty outlets that supply pasties like this, throughout the UK. There’s nothing wrong with saying pasties can be bought as a kind of fast food. I mean, come one, just like the sandwich the thing is designed to be eaten by hand Bombot 08:45, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

If so, the description needs to be explicit that it's not a worldwide phenomenon. You can't get pasties as a fast food in the UP, for example, or pretty much anywhere else mentioned. -- dcclark (talk) 13:38, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
I agree it should be explicit that pasties as fast food aren't a worldwide phenomenon. However, besides the UK (I've bought pasties at London Victoria myself) you can buy pasties as fast food, at Mexico City bus stations. (don't try them, they aren't kept hot enough, in either place) Tubezone 07:53, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Improvements

I think with a few improvements we could maybe get this article to featured article status...
I think it needs splitting up into sections: maybe there could be a section for the history, then a section for each of the places in which they are sold (UK, US and Mexico)? What do people think?
We also really need a picture. I keep meaning to take one, but unfortunately I can't make a pasty last long enough for me to photograph it :-) David Johnson [T|C] 23:55, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I've got a few in the freezer right now (sigh, frozen pasties...) -- I'll take a pic of the next one I cook. —dcclark (talk) 22:36, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
Added a photo, yay! Unfortunately, it's a bit blurry -- my camera was a tad too close, I think. But this will do for now. —dcclark (talk) 02:38, 2 August 2005 (UTC)
Great photo, but is the best we can do for a Westcountry food a photo from the U.S.? ;o) — OwenBlacker 10:16, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
How about this? Sbz5809 12:02, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
With some cropping, that pic will be quite nice. I'd like to see both stand, as Upper Peninsula pasties aren't exactly the same as the original Cornish ones. —dcclark (talk) 23:14, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
I specifically left it un-cropped to indicate scale. Sbz5809 13:35, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Would someone care to explain why that image has been deleted. Sbz5809 09:22, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

OK, I've found out why. Apparently, my requirement that anyone can use it free but no-one can sell it is unacceptable. How stupid is that? Sbz5809 08:28, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

It's not about whether people can sell the image or not - it's about whether people can use the image to sell something - i.e. if someone wanted to use it on a site advertising pasties for sale, that wouldn't have been allowed by your terms. All the text on Wikipedia may be freely distributed, edited etc. If we allow images with restrictions we end up in a situation where whole articles may not be copied and distributed, which defeats the whole point of what Wikipedia is attempting to achieve - a freely usable, editable, distributable encyclopedia.
Anyhow, I'll try and get a replacement photo of a Cornish Pasty next week. David Johnson [T|C] 21:14, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

"if someone wanted to use it on a site advertising pasties for sale, that wouldn't have been allowed by your terms." That was my intention; I don't mind the fact that I'm not allowed to benefit from it but it's stupid to expect me to allow everyone else to do so. Sbz5809 11:34, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

OK, does this conform to Wikipedia's peculiar requirements? Sbz5809 15:04, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

File:BlueAnchorPasty.jpg

Since you release it under the ShareAlike License, I'm sure it's ok. But with that giant credit splashed across it, it's not something we can actually use on the Pasty page. —dcclark (talk) 15:47, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
There's just no pleasing you, is there? Sbz5809 15:53, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
Heh, I guess not. But we really can't use a picture with credits splashed right across the middle. Perhaps if you put it in the corner? I'd still not be thrilled, but it would be better. —dcclark (talk) 16:39, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
Any more hoops you'd like me to jump through? Some other reason that a photograph of a genuine Cornish pasty should not appear on the "Cornish pasty" page along with your own of an American pasty? Sbz5809 17:01, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
I'm not trying to be hostile, just pointing out legitimate problems with the photo. There is also no reason to turn this into a "real" vs. "fake" pasty debate -- there are lots of pasties, we should represent them all. The new version of the file looks fine to me, but you may want to double-check the WP image upload rules to be sure it's ok as it stands. —dcclark (talk) 18:32, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
If it's not, I'm sure someone will delete it like last time, probably without warning, like last time. I'm not in a "real" vs "fake" debate, but this is a "Cornish pasty" page, linked from "Cornwall". I'm also not trying to be hostile, but you guys seem to go out of your way to make being helpful as difficult as possible. Sbz5809 19:10, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
As I noted above, it would be redundant to have two separate pages for what are, fundamentally, the same type of food. It does indeed link from Cornwall, but it also links from Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Butte, Montana, for equally good reasons. Finally, there is no "you guys" -- there is no organized group which deletes images, asks for changes, etc. Wikipedia is just a bunch of people doing whatever it is we do in our own separate ways. I'm sorry you've had trouble with your image, but the real place to argue about it is in a Wikipedia forum on copyright policy, not here. Finally, I think that the image as it stands is ready to go on the main page, so I'll go add that right now. —dcclark (talk) 21:28, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
Then we really should move the article to Pasty since that is what the typical resident of both Cornwall and the UP call it, and how both renditions (as well as the Australian and Mexican ones) are variations of the same food item. Generic page titles are generally better than overspecific ones -- Kaszeta 23:53, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
I support a move to Pasty. —dcclark (talk) 04:55, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

The image does seem to go against the Image use policy ("Don't put credits in images themselves"). I really don't see why you feel it's necessary to have credits in the image - the image page contains the same details and the license you've chosen requires attribution (anyone who uses it without giving it is violating copyright law). We do need an image, so I guess it will probably stay until we have an alternative. In any case, it cannot be deleted without warning as it would have to go through the Images and media for deletion process. David Johnson [T|C] 22:19, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

Personally I dont like the use of this image with credits- (strong remove) Talskiddy 22:54, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

History

The additional history added recently by 193.38.88.6 is interesting, but needs some serious cleanup. It's also very hit-or-miss. For example, the mention of pasties in "Merry Wives of Windsor" is rather minor, compared to (for example) Titus Andronicus, in which Titus bakes his son's head into a pasty and makes his wife eat it. Other bits cited are also rather unimportant. It looks like this article is being made into a school essay or something like that (some of the anonymous edits make this pretty clear). We should watch out for excess cruft being added. I will try to do some cleanup once I get on to a faster connection. —dcclark (talk) 18:50, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

I've had a go and cleaning it up a bit too:
I've removed the following: There is still today a great deal of debate as to the true origins of the pasty, however there is little doubt that the pasty originated in Cornwall, England and has a long and famous history.
Firstly there's little point mentioning a debate if the article isn't going to give details of the debate and I'm not sure the long and famous history bit adds anything.
I also removed The pasty is now Cornwall's most successful export. as there's no verification for that claim and I'm not sure it's true (if someone can find some evidence of the claim, please add it back in).
I moved some of the stuff to be under a new heading, Cultural references. I don't think that's a very good name for the section though...
I removed Another theory is that the crust kept away the arsenic which might be found on the miners' hands. as it's just repeating what was said about dirty hands.
Apart from that I just re-arranged things a bit and did some wikification. David Johnson [T|C] 21:40, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
Looks good to me, nice cleanup. I'm going to add a brief mention of the arsenic, because it seems to be interesting and relevant -- but I agree that two separate mentions of the crust aren't necessary. —dcclark (talk) 23:15, 24 December 2005 (UTC)


The comment; "Les Merton, author of The Official Encyclopaedia of the Cornish Pasty, in reply to the claim, says that he believes the pasty was around in Cornwall as early as 8000BC – 10,000 years ago." is eronious, and sould be removed. This quote has been paraphrased from a lighthearted line used when it was claimed that the earliest pasty recipe had been found in Devon.

'"However Les Merton, author of The Official Encyclopaedia of the Cornish Pasty, said evidence of the pasty could be found in Cornwall from 8,000 BC.

He said: "There are caves at the Lizard in Cornwall with line drawings of men hunting a stag and women eating a pasty.

"At that time it was wrapped in leaves and not pastry, but the leaves were crimped, so I would say there is positive evidence of pasties in Cornwall from primitive times."' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6144460.stm

Obviously a joke

Also, the link for this claim; ^ "Pasty Wars", Western Morning News. Retrieved on 2006-12-23. leads to the front page of the Western Morning News, and should be removedSerpren (talk) 07:54, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Proposal to move to "Pasty"

Copied from above, where this got lost in another thread:

Then we really should move the article to Pasty since that is what the typical resident of both Cornwall and the UP call it, and how both renditions (as well as the Australian and Mexican ones) are variations of the same food item. Generic page titles are generally better than overspecific ones -- (originally Kaszeta)

Please support or oppose below.

Copying my reply from above, I vote to move to Pasty and redirect Cornish Pasty to Pasty. The arguments above have come from use of the adjective "Cornish" -- let's just make sure the article specifies how Cornish Pasties were original, and how the fillings may differ outside Cornwall. —dcclark (talk) 18:35, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
OK, nobody's said anything in a week. I'm moving the article to Pasty and calling it good. Dcclark 23:10, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Sigh, can't move due to a redirect page with history at Pasty. Adding to Requested Moves -- see the top of this page for more details. Dcclark 23:24, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Seems like a good move, hopefully an admin will deal with it, once five days has elapsed (or sooner!) --Lox (t,c) 15:03, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
I didn't see any real need to open this to vote, since it isn't likely to be controversial, but since you have, support.
I didn't feel the need to open the vote either, but Pasty already exists as a redirect, and thus I can't just move the page without an admin's help. This is part of that process, so here we are! -- dcclark (talk) 18:18, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Moved. —Nightstallion (?) 11:32, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

The Savoury / Sweet Pasty

The idea of the pasty with savoury filling at one end and sweet at the other is surely an invention, albeit a nice idea. There is no satisfactory way of dividing sweet from savoury inside a pasty, and the chances of avoiding a grim mixture of beef and jam/apple are nil. Pasty pastry melts slightly when first cooked, which would render any pastry partition useless within about 20 minutes of being in the oven. Not only that, beef pasties take the very best part of an hour and a quarter to cook, whereas any jam/apple filled pastry confection would be utterly carbonised in that length of time, making it near impossible to contrive such a thing. Apart from boiling the thing in a suet-type pastry (not really commonly done in Cornwall that I know of) or using pre-cooked ingredients (never done in Cornwall, and certainly not in the 1800s - way too time-consuming), it just has to be made up.

Also, using ground beef or mince is as much a guarantee of inferior quality as is carrot, peas etc. Skirt is the only really "traditional" cut to use, though chuck is OK, and shin is a maybe.

Lastly, in photos I have seen (and Lord help me, I've seen a lot) miners tended to hold their pasties in whatever they were wrapped in, usually paper or cloth. They were almost always eaten end to end, with the effect of the juices running through keeping the pasty moist till the end. So I am not convinced by the idea that the crimp was designed to be held, although certainly miners would not have touched the filled part with their fingers - the crimp is solely there to keep the edges of the pastry together. It is common for a crimp to be along the top of a pasty - in this case you can't hold the pasty by the crimp anyway.

I like the article though, I must say - I don't mean to be critical. But you really must spell "Helston" correctly in the credits on the image of the pasty... :o) Bretonbanquet 01:21, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

Well, I've hard the story of double ended pasties, holding them by the crust, and dropping them down mine shafts since I was little (I was born and brought up there), I've never acually *believed* the stories mind you, but it's the local folklore on the subject. Not sure what the historical texts have to say for it's accuracy.
I have had fruit filled pasties though (notably strawberry jam), so it's possible... I guess you could make a fruitfilled pasty, and then wrap that into the larger meatfilled pasty, that'd form a suitable seal between the two. I don't see cooking could be a great problem either since the jam tends to caramelise with additional cooking and just gets tastier.
Could justbe folklore though. Oh, and the crimp only runs along the top in non authentic (or rather non Cornish) pasties, in Cornwall it's always along the side. -Ryuujin -80.242.32.51 17:47, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Regarding the crimp, I'm assuming you have your wires crossed. An authentic Cornish pasty crimp is along the top, like the one in the top photo, as opposed to the Michigan pasty in the other photo. I've lived here my whole life and have never seen a home-made pasty with a side crimp. My grandmother (and her mother before her apparently) always made pasties with a top crimp, and that takes us back to about 1920.

Concerning the double-ended pasties, I'd consider it a lot more likely if there was even one of the many commercial pasty-bakers here who were making them today. It would be a fine gimmick, but no-one is doing it - my guess is that it's just too difficult to get the right result. Bretonbanquet 18:55, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

The article states that Devon pasties have a top crimp, and traditional Cornish ones have a side crimp. Is that wrong? (If so, please change it.) -- dcclark (talk) 19:16, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

I have no idea how Devon pasties are crimped, I wasn't aware that there was a particular difference between them and Cornish pasties. Some shop pasties here (in Cornwall) have a crimp tending towards the side, but others run along the top. Equally some non-Cornish pasty-type delicacies have top crimps, and others (like Ginsters) have side "crimps". Maybe there isn't a hard-and-fast definition of an authentic Cornish pasty crimp, but I am certain that a top crimp is at least very common indeed. For example, the Helston pasty shown in the photo. Bretonbanquet 00:00, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Guys I don't think you could have better authority than the Cornish Pasty association they clearly state a real Cornish Pasty is D-shaped and crimped ONLY on the side a fact which all genuine Cornish pasty makers are certain of. My family recipe dates back to the 19th century so I am confident of the accuracy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.229.248.77 (talk) 12:13, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Clearly state where? Do you have a source? Your crimp assertation is very suspect, in my view - any meaningful research suggests there are no hard and fast rules regarding where the crimp should be. It seems very unlikely to me that in the 18th / 19th century and earlier, simple pasty-making folk would have engineered "rules" as to how to make a pasty. The idea that a "real Cornish pasty" has to be D-shaped is just not true. I have seen dozens of very old Cornish photos in which pasties are have no flat edge at all, rather both sides are curved - with the crimp along the top, I might add. Any recentism towards what a "real Cornish pasty" should or shouldn't be like has no place in the article. Bretonbanquet (talk) 00:48, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

There is in fact a real split-filled pasty, but it's not a Cornish pasty. They are called Bedfordshire Clangers. Here are some refs: [2], [3], and the Wikipedia article here--H-ko (Talk) 02:57, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Photo

The picture with a caption on top of it is rather ugly that way imho. I'm sure there must be a Wikipedian with a camera who can photograph a Cornish pastie and upload it? --kingboyk 17:00, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

You might want to check out the discussion about the photo above. -- dcclark (talk) 19:24, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

"Oggy"

There has been a bit of editing going on with regard to the term "oggy" being used / not being used / said to be used for a Cornish pasty. I haven't edited that myself, but I'm fairly sure that term is never used IN Cornwall. Maybe if we can establish where it is used (if anywhere), we could adjust the sentence accordingly. Bretonbanquet 19:33, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

The article at Oggy Oggy Oggy clearly says that Oggy is a Cornish slang term for pasty. It also says that Oggy Oggy Oggy is a cheer used in Britain. If that's wrong, it should first be corrected at the primary article. I edited the Pasty article to more accurately reflect the use (in Britain) vs. the origin (in Cornwall). -- dcclark (talk) 19:50, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
Having now read that article it does clearly say that, but with no verification or reference - obviously that doesn't mean it's not true. But I wouldn't like to say for certain that the "Oggy Oggy Oggy" phrase / chant originates in Cornwall - it might be Welsh, for example. The cheer is certainly used in Britain and in Cornwall, especially at rugby union matches - no doubt about that - but whether it originated here or was "imported" from elsewhere would be hard to verify. I've never seen any real evidence either way to be honest - it's another instance of something with really murky origins. There is a pasty-shop chain in parts of Cornwall called "Oggy Oggy", but it's modern, and you really don't hear local people here readily refer to pasties as oggies. We need a bit of help to clear it up really, as there are so many half-truths and inventions concerning Cornish traditions that one has to be very careful to sort the wheat from the chaff.
The edit you've just done is pretty much spot-on as far as we can prove and as far as is commonly believed, I think :o) Bretonbanquet 23:37, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

My father was born in Cornwall and refers to them as "tiddy oggies" or something like that. I assume it's Cornish. Thedarxide 10:06, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

As a West Cornwall lad, we always used to call them "teddy oggies". On doing a bit of research I found out that "oggy" comes from dial "hoggan", in itself derived from the old Cornish word "hogen", meaning a pie or pastry bake. You could argue that "teddy oggy" is more Cornish than the word "pasty" which has a Latin origin.Brythonek (talk) 21:31, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Yeah Oggy is Cornish, although its more of an historic term, so we don't use it that much (except as a cheer) but we all know what it means. In the Cornish language a pasty is also referred to as a 'hoggan' you can see how Oggy can be derived from that. Outside of Cornwall I believe oggy is just seen as a cheer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.229.248.77 (talk) 12:08, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Bill Bryson

He mentions pasties in one of his books - perhaps Notes from a big country? He talks about how they have entered into certain areas of Michigan but not others... could be worth looking for that and noting any thing that might be of interest for the article. --Robdurbar 12:45, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Pasty tongue

I have just read a reference to "pasty tongue" as an indicator among other signs of ingesting narcotics like "white desidue around lips", "constant burping" and "bloodshot eyes".

I would like to get a better or more explicit explanation in order to get a better idea of the real meaning of the expression....I only understand the reference considering just the shape of the pasties.

Almost certainly meaning a paste-like feeling of the tongue (Paste-y Tongue). Not related to this pastry. -- dcclark (talk) 20:51, 14 July 2006 (UTC)


Pasties (nipple covering)

I added a disambig link to the page on pasties, the nipple coverings, because I accidentally ended up here when looking for them, as many people might. It was removed as vandalism, which it was not. I have readded it; if you think it is inappropriate, please discuss here. Remember, Wikipedia is not censored. Mgcsinc 21:50, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

What's with the Wikipedia is not censored line? Rsm99833 22:01, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Rsm99833, it looks like you reverted Mgcsinc's addition of "for the nipple covering, see pasties" here. Not sure if it was accidental or not. That's the reference, anyhow. -- dcclark (talk) 22:06, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
Looks like it was accidental on my part. Probably because of the "Two other uses" wording. My bad.Rsm99833 22:22, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

DUPE!

This article needs to be combined with "Pastie." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 152.216.11.5 (talk) 17:35, 29 March 2007 (UTC).

Not a dupe, those two articles discuss two very different foods with different spellings. Ben W Bell talk 17:48, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
I agree with Ben. The distinction between these two articles needs to be maintained. Poltair 20:12, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
What nonsense - a pastie and a pasty are completely different things from different places - why on earth should they be merged? You might as well merge them both into pie with that logic Mammal4 08:45, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
  • The OED lists quite a few spellings and in Australia pastie seems to be the more common these days. The OED does not list the completely different thing from the different place. Are you able to provide us its completely different origin please. — Hippietrail (talk) 10:31, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Cornish pasties, the only type?

Why is this article soley about Cornish pasties? There are all kinds of fillings available in pasties.--Jcvamp 01:09, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Read the article. It covers all types of fillings. -- dcclark (talk) 01:32, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

It found it unclear, and at the top of the page it says the article is about 'Cornish Pasty'--Jcvamp 02:11, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

It also specifies that this is the name for a pasty with traditional ingredients. Additionally, do not call a revert 'vandalism' when it clearly references the wikipedia precedent -- read WP:CORNWALL, Cornwall, and the talk at both of these sites. -- dcclark (talk) 02:16, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

What are you talking about calling a revert vandalism?--Jcvamp 18:06, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Apparently I got you and Jellery mixed up. You two edited back to back and Jellery was causing some problems. Sorry! -- dcclark (talk) 21:46, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh. I forgot that you put a note on my talk page about that.--Jcvamp 22:39, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Ok here goes -- Samuel Pepys mentions the word 'pasty' several times in his diary (1660–1669). He makes many references to a 'venison pasty' which is totally different to the Cornish version. How can a page titled "Pasty" refer only to the Cornish version? Venison pasty references from Samuel Pepys diary

Saturday 1 December 1660 -I dined with my Lord and Lady, and we had a venison pasty. Talskiddy 08:40, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Wonderful Article

A stellar article. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. I just had a pasty the other day (around here, they spell it "pastie", and I doubt they are about to change). A great Cornish contribution to the world. Isaac Crumm 01:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Plural - pastys vs. pasties

I have added a {{fact}} tag on the claim that the plural is pastys. I grew up in Cornwall and have never heard it claimed that pastys is the correct plural - pasties is AFAIK correct. DuncanHill 08:42, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

I took that out. "Pastys" is not the plural of pasty by any stretch, and where found, almost always in the US, it is a trademark name. Bretonbanquet 20:34, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Cornwall vs. Devon, again

Given the latest information on the Cornwall/Devon origins, shouldn't the introduction read either "generally believed to originate from Cornwall" or "originating from Cornwall or Devon"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pastiesrock (talk • contribs) 11:56, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

What latest information? Do tell. I am getting extremely sick and tired of this Cornwall-Devon bickering. From my (admittedly distant and American) viewpoint, it seems pretty clear that the Devon folks don't actually have any evidence to support the repeated changing of this article. Give a source. -- dcclark (talk) 15:21, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1945876,00.html [4] Hope this helps. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pastiesrock (talk • contribs) 22:39, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

The linked article was directly copied into this article a while ago (and removed for that reason). Feel free to add it in to the History section. But remember -- it's just one guy, and even the article doesn't agree with him. I think this sniping will probably never be settled. -- dcclark (talk) 23:24, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
The person who "discovered" that pasties originated in Devon is in about as biased a position as can be imagined. He is the chairman of the Friends of Devon's Archives. His opinion is exactly that - an opinion - and hardly an objective one. It doesn't even come close to being a reliable source. Bretonbanquet 00:34, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Could someone clarify what is meant by the section saying that ancient references to pasties in decon were areas that used to be part of cornwall... BM 86.139.85.63 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 20:51, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Cornish version only?

This page seem only to refer to the Cornish version. There are several early examples of recipes for pasties that predate the earliset Cornish reference.

  • Rare and Excellent Receipts by Mary Tillinghast (1690)[5]
  • To Make a Venison Pasty from The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet by Hannah Wolley dated 1672 [6]
  • Lamb and vennison Pasty recipe in Edward Kidder's Receipts of Pastry and Cookery (London:ca.1720). [7]
  • Mary Swanwick's `Her Cookery Book', written in 1742 [8]

I think the page should reflect that the pasty has English origins and that the Cornish version has developed its own traditional style in the county and remains popular in Cornwall.
To summerise.. Pasties or various kinds have been around for hundreds of years but Cornish version is unique and distinct to the county of Cornwall. Talskiddy 12:52, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

My recent edits

Just some notes to explain my recent edits (or at least, those that are potentially controversial).

  1. I have removed the incorrectly written as pastie bit - who says which spelling is correct? Pasty seems to be the most common spelling, but pastie can be seen frequently in Devon and Cornwall.
  2. I removed The ingredients are uncooked before being placed in the unbaked pastry case since I don't think it's useful; no meat pie is made with cooked ingredients.
  3. I have re-written the two-course pasty section somewhat. I appreciate that this may be controversial, but it is generally accepted in Devon and Cornwall that such pasties existed. I think the new text is correctly balanced and represents a neutral point of view.
  4. I've placed a {{fact}} tag after sweet pasties with ingredients such as apple and fig or chocolate and banana, which are common in some areas of Cornwall as I've bought pasties from many a shop in Cornwall and have never seen such pasties. Possibly they're common in shops catering to tourists, but either way it needs a reference.

—David Johnson [T|C] 18:13, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Just to clarify some slight adjustments I have made to the above edits:
  1. I have clarified that the spelling "pastie" is less common, as acknowledged by David Johnson. Personally I believe it to be incorrect, but it is hard to verify.
  2. From the section on the infernal two-course pasty, I have removed the phrase "generally believed", which is woolly and is a bit weasely, and also not verified; I can't raise the story in the reference anyway. The whole thing needs a better reference. I believe it is important not to lend too much weight to the theory of the two-course pasty when no real evidence for it is provided at all. Any "general belief" is largely irrelevant here if it can't be verified, which of course it can't be since a two-course pasty of the nature described is impossible to make. If it was possible to make, someone would be making it commercially.
  3. With regard to the point about pasties with sweet fillings - I have never seen them either, and if they existed, I would question their description as "pasties" anwyay. Bretonbanquet (talk) 20:02, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
  1. I think it's not actually that important which is correct - people do spell it that way, so we need to mention it in the article. I think it's impossible to say that any given spelling is correct - people spell it different ways. I would agree that 'pasty' seems most sensible to me, but as you say it's hard to verify. It's certainly less common, anyway.
  2. Hmm, the whole two-course issue irritates me really... it's impossible to either verify or disprove due to a lack of surviving written records from the period in question. The idea of the two-course pasty seems to persist pretty much in folklore, which obviously isn't a verifiable source. There are plenty of sources for it, but none are verifiable. I don't buy the argument that they're impossible to make though - I'm sure it could be made to work with the right ingredients, or a jam or similar could be injected part-way through the cooking process. See for example this article about the Parys Pastie, a sweet-savoury pasty from Wales. I imagine they're not commercially produced because they would be difficult to make, and probably not terribly popular with customers once the novelty wears off - I certainly wouldn't want to find something sweet at the end of one of my favourite steak and parsley pasties!
  3. I'm sure sweet pasties do exist (with fillings such as apple, cherry etc.) but I'd be very surprised to find 'chocolate and banana' in a Cornish bakery... in fact I may just go ahead and remove the claim, since they certainly aren't common as suggested.
In any case, this is good stuff. If we can attempt to clear up the sweet/savoury debate a bit more and get it fully referenced, I think I'll go ahead and nominate this as a Good article candidate - Pasty is already assessed as B-class, and I think it's better than that. —David Johnson [T|C] 21:02, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
Good idea about the GA nomination, I agree that it's better than a B-class. You're right that the two-course pasty debate may prove to be an issue though; people may raise the verification debate which, as you say, is proving troublesome. The problem I have with the two-course pasty is, as you say, it's difficult to make. We're looking at this being a traditional delicacy, made 200-odd years ago with extremely basic kitchens / ovens, and even now, this thing appears to be too difficult to make for commercial bakers to bother. I just have trouble accepting that 18th century Cornish housewives had the time or the will to faff about making something so technical. Cooking from scratch with raw ingredients, I just can't see how both fruit and meat could be edible. If you start with partially-cooked meat and potato, you're looking at something other than a pasty. Injecting fruit or jam into the thing part-way through is a possible way, but again I imagine it to be more trouble than the worth of it. You'd have to break the seal to insert the fruit, letting the gravy escape and making an unholy mess when you complete the cooking and you have burnt gravy everywhere... Also, pastry shrinks during cooking, so the "partition" will shrink, mixing the fruit and the meat and creating something truly vile. The Welsh delicacy in that article certainly looks similar, but doesn't explain how to make the thing - we will need evidence of a recipe that works in order to verify its existence, preferably someone who makes and sells these things, and is willing to explain the process. Certainly something to work on though! Bretonbanquet (talk) 21:33, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

What exactly constitutes an external link relevant to this page? The only thing I can think of is one link to a good recipe page. The list is currently a bit spammed. --Joowwww (talk) 19:46, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

I think it's basically anything that has a decent recipe, history, or really anything of value. What we absolutely don't need is links to sites that exist solely to make money from advertising, with a token recipe or pasted bit of information. Incidentally please revert-on-sight any addition of links to pastymuncher.co.uk - someone (presumably the owner of the site) keeps repeatedly adding them, despite repeated warnings, when the site has no relevant content. —David Johnson [T|C] 20:10, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

Cornish Pasties Vs Devonshire Tiddy 'Teddy' Oggys (Pasty)

                           How can you tell the Difference

The difference is the Crimp as for the ingrediance everyone to there own. I come from Devon and now living in Cornwall having seeing the changes over the years a lot of traditions have been alter and changed due to manufactoring (easy way to produce at a low cost) products.

The Cornish Partie was shapped for easy putting into a round circular tin to lower down to the miners which was home made more like the Cornish tradition Rugby Ball and could be said used as a land mark in that the main towns in Cornwall run down the center. It was first produce as to legend as a Fish (Pilhard) and fruit from the local bushes supplied with a small tin of single cream (Where pilchard and Cream, not clotted cream, come from)plus the cream which the miners carried could be used with there brew. I learn't about making Cornish Pasties in the Army Catering Corps.

The Devonshire Tiddy 'Teddy' Oggy (Meaning something which has been squashed) Pasty was shape with the crimp on it side so that when the farmer workers had finish with there pasty the pastry what was left would be thrown down to the small creatures in return for the crops taken. You could say that the pasty picture the main towns of Devonshire which are coastal towns. Plus it you put to side by side you have the meat and potatoe pie.

Clotted cream back in those days was produce by taking the milk from the churn into a large pan and warmed up then let to cool leaving a skim of cream on the top, this was cloted cream. In one of Devonshire high teas traditional dishes called Thunder and Lighting. Where you got a piece of Farm house bread use diary butter spread over it then put clotted cream on top of then and to finsih added syrup. This just melt in your mouth leaving you with a taste for more.

I went on the All Rise for Julian Clary in relation to this subject. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.74.223.69 (talk) 13:43, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

I saw that episode - would you say your pasties are 'proper Cornish'?

I am Cornish and like most Cornish families have a pasty recipe passed down for generations, real Cornish Pasties contain potato, swede, skirt and onion. The pasty is Cornish if the crimp is done at a 45 degree angle or on the side. Devonians crimp their pasties so that the crimp sits on top of the filling. If you are unclear about my description please feel free to look at this website http://www.cornishpastyassociation.co.uk/ which clearly details information about Cornish pasties and corroborates my statements. Sorry if this is what you were saying above but it really didn't make a lot of sense to me and hopefully this link will be useful to clear up any further discussions.


How is this discussion related to improving the article? --Joowwww (talk) 13:48, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
It is explaining the difference between Cornish and Devonian Pasties, something which the title claims to do but the main body of this section fails to do adequately in my opinion. Us Cornish people feel very strongly about the representation of our Pasties.
I am Cornish too and I'm not aware there is even such a thing as a "Devon pasty", apart from the attempts by some Devon people to claim the Cornish pasty as their own. In fact the article doesn't mention such "Devon pasties" at all, so I'm not sure why there's a need to explain the difference. --Joowwww (talk) 10:02, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

The title of this section is "Cornish Pasties Vs Devonshire Tiddy 'Teddy' Oggys (Pasty) " Hence I am discussing the difference. Yes a true Pasty is Cornish, however, a way of telling the difference between a pasty of COrnish or Devonian origin is as I have described above, thus ensuring people know when they are given a true Pasty. I was only responding to the beginning of the article which is unclear and I wanted to clarify, unless I have misunderstood the first poster in this section suggests that a Cornish Pasty is top crimped but changes were may due to ease of mass production, my family recipe (over 100 yr old) calls for side crimping. Do you disagree? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.229.248.77 (talk) 11:02, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Cornish terms for "pasty"

It seems there is more than one Cornish term for "pasty". While "pasti" is listed in the article, the terms "hogan" and possibly "hoggan" can be found elsewhere and are claimed as the origin of "tiddie oggie". But which is older? "Pasti" looks like it could be borrowed from the English term, which itself can be traced back to French. Is "hogan" older and does it have any other senses or reflexes in other Celtic lanuages? — Hippietrail (talk) 16:58, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Only "pasti" is in my Cornish dictionary. "Pasti" was also the word taught to Cornish bakery staff recently. If anything I would guess "hoggan" is (today) a nickname, but I don't know which is older. --Joowwww (talk) 09:26, 4 June 2009 (UTC)
Pasties today are often known as 'oggies', but A.K. Hamilton Jenkin in his book 'Cornwall and its People' suggests that a 'hoggan' is slightly different to the pasty. He says....Maybe the dough which was left over made "the 'hoggan'" or lump of unleavened dough, in which was embedded a morsel of green pork.. It says herethat a hoggan was a good poverty indicator that reappered when wheat prices where high. (Hoggans where often made from cheaper barley bread). Maybe the article should explain the difference between a pasty and a hoggan, but mention how the term 'oggie' developed?
So far I've been unable to locate any old Cornish dictionaries in my nearby public libraries and Irish and Scottish Gaelic words for pasties seem to be the same as for "pie" and unlike "hog(g)an". Breton dictionaries have also proven hard to come by. The search will continue however (-: — Hippietrail (talk) 05:18, 5 June 2009 (UTC)


Have a look here. Personally, I thinks pasties have been knocking around in the UK for years, its just that they were perfected in Cornwall!Talskiddy (talk) 15:07, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
Thanks for that link Talskiddy! — Hippietrail (talk) 23:52, 6 June 2009 (UTC)


I found a Breton word for pastry "kwignoù" which at a long shot could be connected, and there is also the word "gachen" which means cake/pie. I think there is a case for "hogen" being the older word, also because pasty is inevitably derived from a Latin root. Brythonek (talk) 22:16, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

think this is a wild goose chase - most likely there is no Cornish (i.e.Kernewek) word for pasty because they became popular in the period after the Cornish / Devon people adopted English. I understand from my (East) Cornish (now departed) forebears that 'Tiddy' was the local word used for potato - 'tater' elsewhere in England - though i'm prepared to accept 'hoggan - oggie' may be an older remnant. Also given that a key ingredient - the potato - was not available until the Early Modern period (and introduced by either Walter Raleigh or Francis Drake; bothMen of Devon]] no less !!) its unlikely that the modern version was eaten in the pre modern period.

mass-produced?

Quoting the current article: "Pasties in these areas are usually hand-made and sold in bakeries or sometimes specialist pasty shops. Mass produced pasties, quite different from traditional Cornish pasties, are sold in supermarkets throughout the United Kingdom. Several pasty shop chains have also opened up in recent years, selling pasties better than the mass-produced ones with a variety of fillings. Pasties are often eaten on the move like other fast foods."

I've eaten pasties in the UK for 30 years or so. I've had pasties in several places in Cornwall, supermarket pasties and those from the recent "baked fresh" chain stores as well as bakery chains like Greggs. I like pasties. Pasties sold in the small high-street bakeries whilst nicer aren't that different to, say, Ginsters or Greggs or local Tesco ones (Tesco buy from local bakeries). Those I've had in Cornwall haven't been noticeably better than anywhere else. To say mass produced (eg "baked fresh") pasties are "quite different" is a bit of a stretch. A good pasty compares to a poor one like a kettle chip to regular crisps - but many people make excellent mass-produced kettle chips and many make excellent mass produced cornish pasties. Pbhj (talk) 19:52, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Pasties in Cornish high street bakeries such as Warrens, Berrymans, Rowes, Choaks etc are nothing like the kind of pasty you get in a supermarket, or in Greggs, and nothing at all like Ginsters. I think that's what the article is alluding to. I can honestly say I've never had an "excellent" mass-produced pasty, in fact I can't remember ever having a "good" one. I've certainly never eaten a Ginsters pasty without some godawful piece of gristle in it. Also, I have eaten pasties in just about every county in England, and I'd say it is nigh on impossible to find proper Cornish pasties outside Cornwall. In Topsham recently I had the most un-Cornish pasty you could ever wish to see, £2+ from a high street bakery. Reasonably pleasant, but a different recipe entirely. Admittedly, I am a pasty fascist. Bretonbanquet (talk) 20:04, 13 July 2009 (UTC)
I'm in South Wales, there are pasty shops in my two nearest cities - both produce pastys that are near identical in filling and pastry to those I've had on holiday in local bakeries (ie not recognisable national chains) in Devon and Cornwall. Both these local stores cook on site from pastys which are mass-produced elsewhere. Tesco sell two local companies pasties here, one top crimped and the other side-crimped : neither is as good as a fresh cooked pastie but the side crimped one compares to cold pasties you can buy in Cornish bakeries. Anyhow - it's almost a truism, do we really need to note that the drive to increased profits encourages larger retailers to substitute lower cost ingredients, this is a pasty article and not an article on economics of food retail. I applaud the efforts to suggest that only Cornish folk can make pasties properly, but it is wrong. Pbhj (talk) 13:07, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
I'm not surprised that Wales can produce decent pasties, food of that nature is generally of a pretty high standard there. That said, I had a dreadful pasty in Newtown once. I have also had bad pasties in Cornwall, that's for sure. I have not tried to suggest that only Cornish people can make a decent pasty, but it is certain that a pasty true to the traditional Cornish recipe is not the norm outside Cornwall. Why would it be? Most regions have their own ways of making pasty-type products, so why should they try and follow the Cornish way? However, a large number of these items are passed off as "Cornish pasties", which they are not, however you dress it up. Bretonbanquet (talk) 13:49, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Devon 'origin' reference not reliable

I have a problem with the biased statement that: "Some archivists and individuals in Devon have claimed that the pasty originally comes from Devon" .
How can claims like this be allowed into the article? - Yes, there is a reference but it is clear from the article that recipes for pasties have been around for a lot longer than the document that is held in the Devon Records Office. Many people have 'claimed' to be Jesus, but sadly they are very deluded.--Talskiddy (talk) 18:01, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

You should redact the crudity in the section head, right away.- sinneed (talk) 23:51, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
NM. I did it for you. On to the content. If someone makes a claim, and convinces the BBC to do a bit on it, that makes it (very generally) wp:notable. One need not agree or even wp:LIKE it. Wikipedia cannot determine truth or falsehood, and does not care what you or I like. It can only determine what is or is not found in generally wp:reliable sources. Further, WP has specific rules about things that can be included. In this case, the content is notable, though I argue that the subsection gives it wp:undue weight, and cut the subsection. It is relevant. It is sourced to a generally reliable source. Is there an objection to its inclusion?- sinneed (talk) 23:57, 6 September 2009 (UTC)
Further, the claim is clearly wp:BALANCEd by the strong countervailing argument. The content seems to match the article well. If one wishes to argue that the BBC should not have published it, then one would need to take that up with the BBC. If the BBC retracts the article, then the statement might then be struck as unsourced. As it is, it is clearly neutral... some people claimed x, but this was refuted by y.- sinneed (talk) 00:09, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
If you read further into the Devon claims. The original claim was made here by the chairman of the Friends of Devon's Archives (an American) during a pubicity stunt at a one day conference to 'highlight' Plymouth's archival heritage and just before proposals for a 'new Plymouth History Centre'. The 'stunt' worked as it was reported first by the Western Morning News on (Saturday 11 November 2006), the story was then picked up by the worldwide media and has spread ever since. However the recipe was for a pasty of 'venison', and not a Cornish miners type pasty. An earlier recipe for a pasty exists here in 'The Goodman of Paris' which was written in 1393. Should I wp:BALANCE the section even more by quoting from the (reliable?) BBC reference here that says There are caves at the Lizard in Cornwall with line drawings of men hunting a stag and women eating a pasty dated from 8,000 BC! --Talskiddy (talk) 08:32, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
Referring to the prehistory art would certainly be better than the strongly PoV edit just offered.- sinneed (talk) 18:52, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
You are missing the point totally here! there are 'NO' cave paintings- they are a JOKE that plays along with the whole story! Mr Todd made some remarks about pasties being from Devon for maximum publicity and he certainly got it. It is 'he' who made the Pov remarks deliberately to wind up the Cornish. "Cornish pasty" - the clue is in the name! Can I also add that the BBC article is very badly worded. The Guardian article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/nov/12/foodanddrink) is much clearer. --Talskiddy (talk) 19:30, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
"You are missing the point totally here!" - No. I am not. Again, if you are unhappy with the BBC, please take it up with the BBC. Perhaps the BBC should retract the bit or update it to say it was a joke, but that would be between the BBC and someone attempting to get that or some other result. The BBC is allowed to be PoV... we aren't. wp:BALANCE. Maybe propose wording from the guardian to balance the "PoV" remarks from the BBC.- sinneed (talk) 19:44, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
Reviewing the guardian source, I don't see anything that contradicts the BBC.- sinneed (talk) 19:46, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

(outdent) Current text is: "Some archivists and individuals in Devon have claimed that the pasty originally comes from Devon, although this was refuted by Cornish historians claiming that evidence for the pasty's roots in Cornwall go back millennia.[6] Outside Britain, pasties were generally brought to new regions by Cornish miners, and as such contributes to the perception of pasties as a Cornish invention."

  • In removing much content, the edit summary was:"No Devon recipe was ever found just account records showing costs of a venison pasty. The BBC report confims this."
  • This seems very likely true, yet has nothing to do with the content being removed.
I do suggest a change from "contributes to the perception" to "strengthens the argument that"- sinneed (talk) 19:52, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
I also would support the change from "Some archivists and individuals in Devon" to "A researcher in Devon" or similar wording.- sinneed (talk) 19:56, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
For a start, the BBC headline says Devon invented the Cornish pasty. Mr Todd only claimed to have found a mention of pasties, he never claimed that they were invented in Devon. Venison pasties were mentioned in cookbooks since the 1400's so his discovery is not even the earliest reference to pasties......(I could go on). You also deleted the fact that the Cornwall Records Office holds the earliest recipe of a Cornish pasty. This fact is not disputed and is not 'my' Pov...why did you delete this from the article? --Talskiddy (talk) 21:18, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
  • "Headline" - Headlines are generally not useful in encyclopedias. There is an entire argument that using them in references is bad, because they are so often misleading. I would certainly oppose using the headline in the article. Has someone proposed that?
  • I reverted the entire edit, and that was in fact, lazy. I apologize.
  • Any thoughts on the proposed changes?
  • I would support the earliest known recipe addition as well.- sinneed (talk) 21:25, 9 September 2009 (UTC)
The Devon researcher bit has no value in this article as earlier references to pasties are well known. --Talskiddy (talk) 12:07, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
I think we have been here before. If you think the BBC should not have covered it, please take it up with the BBC. This is relevant (even though as you clearly and stongly argue: WRONG), it is from a generally reliable source. If this is something you feel the community would want left out despite that, you might pursue an RfC. Wikipedia cannot determine truth or falsehood, and does not care what you or I like. It can only determine what is or is not found in generally wp:reliable sources. Further, WP has specific rules about things that can be included." I understand you don't wp:LIKE it and that you argue it is wrong.- sinneed (talk) 12:13, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
I am confused :\ do you think that the earlier references for pasties don't exist? I have tried to point this out several times. The BBC article is clearly tongue in cheek and not to be considered a definative history on the origins of the pasty. --Talskiddy (talk) 13:09, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Two-course pasty

Can someone produce a recipe for the supposed two-course pasty? Otherwise it looks a lot like something someone just made up. Also, one of the pictures of the pasty being made shows an enormous quantity of what looks like carrot. Can anyone clarify? Bretonbanquet (talk) 22:39, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

  • There are a number of references to the pasty with afters in the literature, notably, for example in The Cornish Pasty by Stephen Hall, Agre Books, Nettlecombe, UK, 2001 ISBN 0 9538000 4 0, and a number of literary rather than technical references mentioned in the article. It's certainly true that they don't have a commercial presence, but that's not the same as not existing Nasier Alcofribas (talk) 23:06, 12 September 2009 (UTC)
That may be true, but they are undeniably modern and anecdotal. No older published recipe is apparent. Anything exists if someone invents it, but that does not make it notable. I can declare that my family have always eaten pasties with soap in them, but that doesn't make it widespread or notable. The fact that they have no commercial presence whatsoever suggests very strongly that they are extremely limited in their existence. They would be a commercial pasty-maker's dream if they actually worked, but they don't. The pastypedia site is stretching Wikipedia:Reliable sources to breaking point - it seems to be the rusty memories of one person, arbitrarily deciding that because his mother made pasties with apple in them, and they called them "pasties-with-afters", therefore that's what they "WERE" called. It's extremely shaky. Regarding the picture, I mean this one [9]. Bretonbanquet (talk) 23:28, 12 September 2009 (UTC)
I have heard this tradition spoken of, but the earliest reference I could find in print dates from 1979. In "The epicure's book of steak and beef dishes" ‎ - Page 129 by Marguerite Patten (1979)..here she quotes "The miner used to have his complete meal in one large pasty. At one end of it was the meat mixture, as given in this recipe, and at the other end a fruit" (found on Googlebooks search). I sure someone has an earlier refence to this? I agree that the photo looks very much like CARROT, perhaps the contributor could clarify.--Talskiddy (talk) 08:28, 13 September 2009 (UTC)
You can find a working recipe for a 2 course pasty in "Great Old-Fashioned American Recipes" (page 22) By Beatrice A. Ojakangas (here). The pasty was taken to the mining regions of Upper Michigan by the Cornish mining families. --Talskiddy (talk) 08:52, 13 September 2009 (UTC)
There seem to be quite a few references of this type, i.e. the "this is what miners used to eat" without there being any contemporary evidence for it. With that I'll lump in the "miners holding the pasty by the crimp so as not to poison themselves" myth. The recipe says it's old-fashioned, but again, it's not a historical source, and I've yet to find a recipe that didn't result in a vile mixture of gravy and massively overcooked apple when the wondrous pastry partition shrank. If ever a decent contemporary source turns up then that'll be great, but otherwise I don't really accept that this was historically widespread in Cornwall, and I suspect it may have risen up from folklore and more recent home-made experiments. Maybe America is different and an older source exists - if so, we should imply in the article that it's more of an American concept. Bretonbanquet (talk) 11:04, 13 September 2009 (UTC)
I have added a 2 course pasty reference that shows evidence of a 19th century recipe. --Talskiddy (talk) 20:59, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
It's good enough to put in, as you have done, but the claim that it has anything to do with Cornwall is based on apparently nothing. It's just as likely to have been developed in Wales. I'd be interested to see that recipe though. Funny how it's such a struggle to get commercial pasty-makers interested. Bretonbanquet (talk) 21:02, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
The fact that Cornish miners went to work in the Copper mines of Wales in not disputed, nor is the fact they introduced their pasties to Wales and the many mining districts around the world. --Talskiddy (talk) 21:53, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
Those aren't the facts we're talking about though. There's still nothing to say that the Welsh didn't develop two-course pasties themselves. I'm not just talking out of my hat here, I've done a considerable amount of research locally and come up with precisely nothing so far. Bretonbanquet (talk) 22:07, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I dont think anything in the BBC article claims that the pasties were a Welsh invention or tradition, it says... "The idea was adapted from an old recipe which the copper miners at Parys mountain used to eat," . Many of these miners at the Parys and Mona copper mines were Cornish. A good webpage here: (http://www.angleseymining.co.uk/parysmountain/Cockshutt/Cockshutt_1960.htm) says.... Shaft sinking followed Cornish practice closely. Indeed, the mine captains were often Cornishmen,. --Talskiddy (talk) 22:38, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

That is an interesting page :) I agree, I'm not claiming that the Welsh invented two-course pasties, but it's all circumstantial evidence - it's not right to say that just because many of the miners were Cornish and that two-course pasties were eaten in Welsh mines, that it follows that they brought the two-course pasty with them. Bretonbanquet (talk) 22:50, 21 September 2009 (UTC)
Also, the images need to be rearranged as they do not fit on the page as they are. Bretonbanquet (talk) 22:41, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Association with Cornwall

This seems to me much overstated. It needs reduction and citation. Pasties and pasty-like foods are very widespread indeed. Suggest discussion of origins (including dispute) be confined to a single section, and all further gustatorial patriotism deleted; the point of the association can be effectively made without becoming unencylcopedic. DavidOaks (talk) 16:40, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

This article is not about, or rather should not be about, "pasty-like foods". It is about the pasty, which is undeniably associated with Cornwall. That could be cited more clearly though. Bretonbanquet (talk) 20:52, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

The Cornwall-Devon thing is a nonsense. I grew up in Plymouth in Devon eating pasties many days a week - our family recipe is from the Tamar Valley (Cornish side) but i have perfectly good and identical 'pasties' (as they are less selfconsciously known) in Devon - Tavistock, Okehampton, Exeter etc. The side crimping vs. top crimping is a modern fallacy artificially invented to differentiate the Cornish product and obtain its designated origin status. Clearly this is a north - western European culinary tradition dating back from the middle ages that retained its particular popularity in the golden tin-mining era of the eighteenth & ninteenth centuries.

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