There’s not a Cornish person on the planet who isn’t exceptionally proud of their heritage, and that means the renowned Cornish pasty too. The pasty is intrinsically linked with Cornish heritage, as they were originally created and enjoyed by Cornish miners.
You may have previously read our posts on the history of the Cornish pasty or the faux pas associated with these tasty treats, but today, we’re sharing a feast of facts that you probably don’t know!
Take a look, and the next time you enjoy a pasty while you’re visiting one of our Truro holiday cottages, you can share your new-found facts on the Cornish delicacy.
Miners exported the idea of the Cornish pasty over with them to the United States of America, and even today, you can find lots of Cornish pasty shops in the mining towns of Michigan.
A Cornish pasty has the crimp on the side, whereas our Devonshire neighbours crimp theirs on the top.
Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, first performed in 1600, contains the line: “Come! We have a hot pasty to dinner”.
As legend would have it, the Devil wouldn’t dare attempt to venture across the River Tamar into Cornwall, for the fear of being put in a Cornish pasty as the filling.
Originally, tin miners used the crimp you find on Cornish pasties as a makeshift ‘handle’ which they would then throw away. They had to discard the crust due to the fact that their fingers were contaminated with arsenic dust.
Drilling experts from Cornwall took the Cornish pasty with them to the silver mines of Mexico. You can now find a museum telling the story of this fact. During the same period, these miners introduced Association Football, or traditional football as we know it, to Latin America for the very first time.
Arguably the cutest of all the facts, a miner’s wife would carve her husband’s initials in his Cornish pasty so that he was able to distinguish his from all the others.
In the Cornish language, a Cornish pasty is known as an ‘Oggy’. When the Cornish pasties were finished cooking and ready to be eaten, the wives would head over to the mineshaft and shout down: “Oggy, oggy, oggy!”, and the men would shout back: “Oi, oi, oi!” to let them know they were on the way.
Remember, a pasty can only be considered a ‘Cornish’ pasty if it was created in Cornwall! So, if you fancy one of these tasty treats, then you’ll need to pay a visit!
THE VALLEY is proud to be the only 5 Star Gold Self Catering holiday village of its size in the whole of Cornwall
