# Cornish Pasty in England. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954 "2018-11-03T23:53:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/61 "2018-11-06T16:26:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > They mined both. So much so that a traditional toast to the county’s prosperity was (in Cornish) “_Pysk, sten, ha kober!_” (“Fish, tin, and copper!”) I did not know that. No wonder the Romans liked Cornwall so much – bronze in one location. > [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > It always seemed like a back-formed story to tell tourists/people you want to impress with little known facts. “In the days before awareness of hygiene had developed, incredibly hungry people would throw away food because they’d touched it with their own grubby hands.” Yeah, that works. Well, as I said in an earlier post, it wasn’t just grubby they were worried about, but being poisoned, even 200 years ago. Doesn’t mean the handle story was true, but there were motivations. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/62 "2018-11-07T02:51:35Z")
Just in case there are any non-Brits here who didn’t know, pasty, in this context is pronounced with a short A: like past, not paste. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/63 "2018-11-07T11:55:19Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > It always seemed like a back-formed story to tell tourists/people you want to impress with little known facts. “In the days before awareness of hygiene had developed, incredibly hungry people would throw away food because they’d touched it with their own grubby hands.” Yeah, that works. Yeah, I always thought it sounded like a load of rubbish too. Why would a hungry miner throw away a perfectly good and tasty bit of pastry? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/64 "2018-11-07T12:00:21Z")
> [@Tempe\_Jeff](#): > > Are Cornish Pasties a relatively easy thing to find or, are they an American invention only? Did anyone actually give you a straight answer to your question? They are not an American invention, they are from Cornwall in England, and you can find them everywhere in the UK. There are many dedicated high street brands, and you’ll find them at pretty much every major train station. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/65 "2018-11-07T13:14:43Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Just in case there are any non-Brits here who didn’t know, pasty, in this context is pronounced with a short A: like past, not paste. Pasty, to my ears, doesn’t rhyme with _either_ of those words. More like ass-tea. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/66 "2018-11-07T13:54:22Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Pasty, to my ears, doesn’t rhyme with _either_ of those words. More like ass-tea. Agreed. Although I pronounce ass ‘arse’, so that wouldn’t be right, but I get what you’re saying. Like Hat. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/67 "2018-11-07T14:28:41Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Pasty, to my ears, doesn’t rhyme with _either_ of those words. More like ass-tea. Note that ass-tea is also readily available at UK railway stations. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/68 "2018-11-07T15:07:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Pasty, to my ears, doesn’t rhyme with _either_ of those words. More like ass-tea. Sorry, I was presenting the American pronunciation of “past,” not the British “pahst.” I should have thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/69 "2018-11-07T16:31:11Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Sorry, I was presenting the American pronunciation of “past,” not the British “pahst.” I should have thought of that. Even the British pronunciation of past is region specific, to be fair. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/70 "2018-11-07T16:32:30Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Even the British pronunciation of past is region specific, to be fair. The British pronunciation of everything is pretty region specific. Not least “Pasty”. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/71 "2018-11-07T17:20:02Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > The British pronunciation of everything is pretty region specific. Not least “Pasty”. Indeed! ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/72 "2018-11-07T18:49:16Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > . > > - There’s also suggestions that some pasties had meat and potato in one end and apple or pear or some sweet in the other, as a complete meal in one, but I think this is also discredited. That’s not a pasty, it’s a [Bedfordshire Clanger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedfordshire_clanger). Might still be a myth that it was often sweet and savoury in the past, but I like to get my mistakes accurate. Pass-tea and pasty are virtually the same for me. In Cornwall it’s short ‘a’, not pah-stie, if you want to be authentic. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/73 "2018-11-07T19:40:11Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > That’s not a pasty, it’s a [Bedfordshire Clanger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedfordshire_clanger). Might still be a myth that it was often sweet and savoury in the past, but I like to get my mistakes accurate. You’re quite right, although I’m sure I’ve heard it said about pasties before. Interesting that the wiki page for the Clanger also mentions the suggestion that the pastry was just to hold the filling and wasn’t eaten. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/74 "2018-11-07T20:54:42Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > It’s like corn, but not exactly. You know, cornish. Actually, _Cornwall_ is an English corruption of the Celtic _Kernow_. A lovely place, not to be missed on a trip to the UK. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/75 "2018-11-07T21:49:10Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A lovely place, not to be missed on a trip to the UK. 🙂 There’s enough traffic on the A30 without you encouraging them! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/76 "2018-11-07T22:08:59Z")
Pasty-fact! One of my first jobs out of school was working in a butchers and bakers. I was in charge of many variations of the pasty. Cornish, mince and potato, cheese and onion, corned beef and potato. Side crimp, top crimp, wavy crimp (my own little flourish), short crust, flaky, rough-puff. square, crescent, semi-circle. All pastry and fillings made from scratch. I was pretty darn good at it though I say so myself. Even though I was 16 they pretty much just told me how many they needed and let me get on with it and they seemed to sell like…like…er…they sold very well is the point I’m making. So good indeed that the future Mrs. Novelty Bobble to-be, though oblivious to my existence, would call in on her way to work and pick up a pasty for her morning snack. At this point you may care to think up your own smutty variation on the theme of “she always liked my hot, steamy meat products of a morning” ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/77 "2018-11-07T22:11:22Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > Interesting that the wiki page for the Clanger also mentions the suggestion that the pastry was just to hold the filling and wasn’t eaten. I misread that as > [@](#): > > the pastry was just to hold and the filling wasn’t eaten which made me think of Pratchett’s take on dwarf-bread. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/78 "2018-11-07T22:24:52Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > There’s enough traffic on the A30 without you encouraging them! That’s because it goes right past Stonehenge. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/79 "2018-11-07T22:34:13Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > So good indeed that the future Mrs. Novelty Bobble to-be, though oblivious to my existence, would call in on her way to work and pick up a pasty for her morning snack. Sounds like your many stuffings left her wonderfully satisfied. :o ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954/80 "2018-11-07T22:52:43Z")
Speaking of Pratchett, isn’t the A30 the one that has the demonic runes planned into its interchanges? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cornish-pasty-in-england/823954.md?page=5)