HPB’s holiday booking service has been rated 4.7 out of 5
based on 14748 customer reviews on Feefo.
Feefo Platinum Award Feefo logo

Cornish pasties: get ‘em while they’re hot!

Posted by Jonathan Broom on 14 March 2018
Related property: Duloe Manor
Cornish pasties: get ‘em while they’re hot!

And still Cornish.

Holidaymakers head for Cornwall for many things: to marvel at majestic sea cliffs and explore secluded coves; to get a serious horticultural fix at the Eden Project or the Lost Gardens of Heligan; to enjoy our westernmost county’s somewhat milder microclimate; and of course to sample some of the finest provender available anywhere in the UK. Glorious fish and seafood, and award-winning ales and ciders. Guests at Duloe Manor are particularly well placed to enjoy the latter, as the Cornish Orchards cider-maker is just a stone’s throw away.

But all visitors will want to try the tasty treat for which the county is most famous: the Cornish pasty.

A little history

The pasty has existed, in one form or another, since at least the 13th Century. Back then, it was very much posh nosh – filled with venison, beef, lamb and seafood like eels, and flavoured with rich gravies and fruits. It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th Centuries that the pasty went ‘downmarket’; adopted by miners and farm workers in Cornwall as a means for providing themselves with easy, tasty and sustaining meals while they worked, the humble Cornish pasty was born.

Photo courtesy of Cornish Studies Library Collections

There are as many variations and opinions on what makes the perfect Cornish pasty as, yesteryear, there were Cornish mining and farming families. Every housewife (yes, there was a clear gender divide, back then) would send her man off to work with a pasty cooked to her own, often secret, recipe, in her own way. Typically, a recipe would be passed on by word of mouth from mother to daughter, but some women guarded their recipes so jealously that they took the secret to the grave.

Nonetheless, many survive – and while there are degrees of difference (to mix, or not to mix, the ingredients? Carrots, or no carrots?) all Cornish pasties have basic components in common: potato, onion, swede and beef, the whole wrapped up raw and cooked in a sealed, crescent-shaped pastry crust, to keep the filling warm until lunchtime.

So: what constitutes the perfect Cornish pasty? We reckon this recipe, coming as it does from the Cornish Pasty Association, must be pretty close to the mark (makes six pasties)...

For shortcrust pastry

500g strong bread flour (it’s important to use a stronger flour than normal as you need the extra strength in the gluten to produce strong, pliable pastry)

120g lard or white shortening

125g Cornish butter

1 tsp salt

175ml cold water

For the filling

450g good-quality beef skirt, cut into cubes

450g potato, diced

250g swede, diced

200g onion, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste (2:1 ratio)

Beaten egg or milk to glaze

Method

Rub the two types of fat lightly into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs

Add water, bring the mixture together and knead until the pastry becomes elastic. This will take longer than normal pastry but it gives the pastry the strength that is needed to hold the filling and retain a good shape. This can also be done in a food mixer

Cover with cling film and leave to rest for three hours in the fridge. This is a very important stage as it is almost impossible to roll and shape the pastry when fresh

Roll out the pastry and cut into circles about 20cms diameter. A side plate is an ideal size to use as a guide

Layer the vegetables and meat on top of the pastry, adding plenty of seasoning

Bring the pastry around and crimp the edges together

Glaze with beaten egg or an egg and milk mixture

Bake at 165°C (fan oven) for about 50 to 55 minutes until golden

Recipe courtesy of the Cornish Pasty Association

But that’s for when you’re at home. While on holiday in Cornwall, you’ll be happily munching away on the real thing.

Or will you?

The Cornish Pasty Association has gained European protected (PGI) status for the Cornish pasty, which means that only pasties made in Cornwall, to a traditional recipe and in a traditional manner, can legally be called Cornish pasties.

However – let’s call this the Law of Unintended Consequences – the Cornish pasty could soon lose its protected status. Which will mean that any old interloper can start making any old pastry-encased comestible, and call it Cornish. A body blow for what is an important industry – thousands of people in Cornwall are involved in the pasty industry, from farmers, to producers, to retailers – and surely the beginning of the end of the Cornish pasty as we know it.

Your course of action is clear. For your next holiday, head for Cornwall, and Duloe Manor. And while you’re there, buy a few Cornish pasties: to eat as you travel around, and so you can bring the rest home. You’ll not only be supporting the local economy; you’ll be enjoying a foodstuff with history in every bite. Which, a few years from now, may be just a memory.

 

 

Jonathan Broom

Jonathan Broom

How can I find out more?

The Holiday Property Bond could do as much for your quality of life as it has done for many thousands of families who have already invested. That's why we invite you to get in touch with us in any of these 3 ways and please don't forget our unique 'Money back promise' and 'interest free loan' options.

Request our brochure Speak to a representative Explore one of our UK sites

Please request our fully illustrated holiday property brochure

Please read "How HPB works" and then we will be delighted to send you our brochure, including our property portfolio, and your FREE copy of Insight Magazine. See the beautiful holiday homes and magnificent locations where you can spend your holidays as a Bondholder and learn how impressed Bondholders have been by our handling of the problems caused by coronavirus.

Please complete and submit the form or, alternatively, telephone our FREE brochure request line on 0800 230 0391

Request a brochure
Title *  
First Name *  
Surname *  
Email address *
Postcode *  
Telephone number
How did you hear about us?

We will use the details you provide above to send you our detailed HPB brochure and keep you updated about HPB holiday offers. Details of how we use the information you provide are in our privacy policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

SUBMIT SUBMIT
* Indicates required fields
HPB’s holiday booking service has been rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 14748 customer reviews on Feefo.

You can speak to one of our representatives

Your local HPB representative will be happy to call or video call you at a convenient time for an informal chat. Simply fill in your details and we'll do the rest.

Most of our representatives are Bondholders themselves and all have visited a number of Bond sites.

The representative will give you all the information you need and then leave you to make up your own mind. He or she will talk to you about your holiday requirements and what level of investment is needed to secure the kind of holidays you want.

Video chat now available with a local representative

This request is for new enquiries only, if you are an existing Bondholder please contact us via myBond.

How should we contact you? *  
Title *  
First Name *  
Surname *  
Email address *
Telephone number *  
Post code *  
Preferred Date/Time
Preferred Date/Time 2
Preferred Date/Time 3
OR
Please contact me to arrange a date

Your local representative will contact you to confirm the date and time.

Date/Time *  
How did you hear about us?
Chosen date (choose above) *
Chosen time (choose above) *

We will use the details you provide above for a representative to contact you. Details of how we use the information you provide are in our privacy policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

SUBMIT SIGN ME UP
* Indicates required fields


See our stunning holiday properties for yourself

Having a Private Tour at an HPB holiday location is an enjoyable way to see the high standards of furnishings and facilities you could enjoy with HPB. One of our representatives will show you around the site and answer any questions you may have.

Alternatively, you are welcome to book a Personal Presentation at a hotel near you. You can chat to one of our representatives, ask your questions and view the complete portfolio of HPB locations.

BOOK A PRIVATE TOUR OR PERSONAL PRESENTATION

This advertisement is issued by HPB Management Limited (HPBM), the main UK agent and the property manager for HPB, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, registered at HPB House, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8EH. HPB is available exclusively through HPBM. HPB is issued by HPB Assurance Limited (HPBA) registered in the Isle of Man and authorised by the Financial Services Authority there. The Trustee of HPB is Equiom (Isle of Man) Limited, registered at Jubilee Buildings, Victoria Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2SH. The Securities Adviser is Stanhope Capital LLP of 35 Portman Square, London W1H 6LR. No medical examination is required.

HPBM promotes only HPB and is not independent of HPBA. Holders of policies issued by HPBA will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the company becomes unable to meet its liabilities to them but Isle of Man compensation arrangements apply to new policies.