England, London, Southwark, Borough Market, Pie Shop Display of Traditional Melton Mowbray Pork Pies and Cornish Pasties (Photo by: Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Food - Drink
The Strict Requirement Traditional Cornish Pasties Must Meet
By RYAN CASHMAN
Cornwall, England’s most south-western county, is the birthplace of a famous little hand-held called the Cornish pasty, which dates back as early as the 13th century. There are strict requirements in place that define this traditional food and help distinguish a Cornish pasty from other pasties, or similar hand pies like empanadas.
In Europe, a certification called Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) is given to products whose defining qualities and characteristics are "exclusively due to a particular geographical environment." True Cornish pasties from Cornwall are protected under PGI, with defined rules about the pie's ingredients and appearance.
Besides hailing from Cornwall, a Cornish pasty must be made of either rough or puff pastry that can hold up to the filling inside with breaking or bursting. The filling itself must consist of a minimum of 12.5% meat to 25% vegetables, and the ingredients must be minced beef, diced potato, turnip, and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper.
All of the previous guidelines are moot if the pasty does not meet its greatest requirement: proper crimping of the crust. The dough must be sealed by pushing down on the edge of the pasty and twisting in, creating a half-moon shape like a capital “D,” and a proper Cornish pasty needs 18 to 20 crimps on the edge to be authentic.