back to article Cornish pasties awarded protected status

Aficionados of the Cornish pasty will in future be assured that their pasty is the real deal, following a European Commission ruling that only pasties prepared in Cornwall in the traditonal way can be labelled "Cornish". Cornish maiden bearing platter of genuine Cornish pasties. Photo: Cornish Pasty Association The …

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  1. Robert E A Harvey
    Thumb Up

    Hurrah!

    The Stilton listing has done nothing but good, with other cheeses being sold as 'British blue' or (better yet) finding their own identity, like the superb Blackstones.

    We already have the 'west country' company selling generic pasties, and no doubt someone will come up with a Somerset name soon, like 'Somerset duffs'

    This is good news, except for Ivor Dewdney, although I just checked their web site, and they already comply.

    1. SuperTim

      Traditional, Farmhouse, homemade....

      All generic terms that can be applied in place of "cornish" to denote a pasty with "stuff" in it.

      While i appreciate the sentiment, there is nothing special about a cornish pasty, it is just something we are accustomed to associate with pasties.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Still not going to improve Ginsters

    Since they already Cornwall based.

    Though how the Proper Pasty Company in Sheffield will fare?

  3. John Ruddy
    FAIL

    More EU lies!

    But doesnt the pasty originally come from Devon?

    1. Marvin the Martian
      Dead Vulture

      Thanks for saving the article

      The article seriously lacks in the official editorial stance, i.e., pervasive anti-EU vitriol. You sir keep up the good work!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Pasty is Cornish

      The pasty is a miner's food tradionally. Not so many mines in Devon as Cornwall!

      1. Kernow
        Thumb Up

        Pasties

        Should be policed better to prevent rubbish ingredients.

        1. John Bailey
          Boffin

          Which is...

          Kind of the idea. Specific ingredients, specific shape, specific place. And the permission to label your pastie as a Cornish one is not handed out for just setting up a packing plant in Cornwall.

    3. Libertarian
      Go

      Devon pasty

      Not only did the pasty originate in Devon (where the crimped edge allowed arsenic miners to grip it by the discardable pastry edge whilst eating to avoid (minimise?) excessive arsenic intake), but also the commonest "meat" ingredient was mackerel, which was cheap and locally abundant.

      Still, nothing to stop an enterprising entrepreneur from selling "Devon pasties".

      The "traditional" Cornish pasty is simply a myth, and usually underseasoned due to the current hyponatraemia-risking obsession with eliminating the consumption of salt.

  4. Dayjo
    Thumb Up

    Great news

    I'm fed up of getting disappointed with all these crap so called 'Cornish' pasties. I had a couple shipped up to me last week from Philps in Hayle... just delicious!

    1. Robert E A Harvey
      Thumb Up

      You can still make yer own.

      Under the new legislation I'd better call these 'YellowBelly pasties'

      Case:

      150g lard

      100g beef suet, finely grated

      450g strong plain flour, perhaps a touch more

      30ml cold beer (Batemans?)

      rosemary leaves, chopped

      chive leaves, chopped

      Filling:

      400g beef skirt

      medium onion

      half a swede

      600g main-crop potatoes

      small garlic clove

      1 egg whisked with splash of milk

      Butter

      fresh lime

      salt, black pepper, dried ginger

      Dice the vegetables into bits about 4mm cubed. Crush the garlic and mix in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

      Cut the meat into similar size bits

      Sift flour,salt,ginger into a mixing bowl.

      dust the meat in the flour and remove.

      Finely chop the lard and mix roughly into the flour. Add the suet, and work into a pastry with the beer. Work in the chives and rosemary. if too wet, add a little more flour

      Divide into 6 pieces and roll each out into a circle, on a floury board. You can scrub the beer bottle to use as a rolling pin.

      Put a layer of onion and swede bits onto one side of each circle. Then a layer of the meat, then a layer of potato. put a few tiny knobs of butter around the top. squeeze a little lime juice over each one.

      brush some beer glue round the edge, fold the top over and crimp it down. Use a fork or something to make a pattern. I use my wedding ring.

      make a tiny hole in the top for the worst of the steam to escape - not too big as you want to steam the veggies, this is just a pressure relief valve.

      Glaze the outside with egg/milk. If you want a pattern, score the pastry surface slightly.

      Put on a greased tray and put in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at gas 6/200C then reduce to gas 2 for about 40 mins. Fan ovens should have a small bowl of water and the pastry covered until the last 15 mins.

      Variations:

      Paprika or Nutmeg instead of ginger.

      Oysters in the beef.

      Venison. Omit the garlic, marinade in red wine & olive oil. Dry off before dusting with flour

    2. Chris Parsons

      Pedant alert

      Fed up WITH, not of....

      1. Spot the Cat
        Headmaster

        Pedant alert ll

        Well said, sir! And it cannot be said too many times. And the same applies to bored.

  5. Peter Ford

    Devonshire Pasties FTW

    I seem to recall that one of the most famous brands of pasty (Ginsters) is actually based in Devon. Time for a new manufacturing facility across the Tamar, perhaps?

    1. Marvin the Martian
      IT Angle

      Or transport a lorry load of cornish soil to present factory?

      That's the technique Dracula follows: import a load of soil from the motherland... so suddenly Ginsters could be Cornish pasties, no need for a ferry cross the M..Tamar.

    2. Kernow
      Thumb Down

      Pasties

      Ginsters should be in Devon but sadly not. Just sneaked in over the border and put mushy filling in pasties!

    3. Libertarian
      FAIL

      Ginsters location

      Callington, Cornwall!

  6. lglethal Silver badge
    WTF?

    Honestly...

    Would someone please stop the world, I'd like to get off...

  7. Tegne
    IT Angle

    Well done you authentic pasty makers.

    Except Ginsters which although officially made in Cornwall taste like mechanically reclaimed mush. Give me a cornish 'style' pasty from my local bakers in the midlands any day.

    1. MJI Silver badge
      Alien

      Still better than a lot

      Of the mass market, mass produced pasties I am afraid that Ginsters is the best you will get.

      If you don't believe me try a Pork Farms.

      Alien as I think Pork Farms make pasties out of them.

      1. DrXym

        Pork Farms?

        I how Pork Farms also do beef.

        1. MJI Silver badge

          Pork Farms Pasties

          They are just disgusting hence my Alien quip!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        re: Ginsters is the best you will get

        Ginsters steak pasties aren't bad, ASDA also do some reasonable cheap ones. But why worry when real ones are easy to make anyway?

      3. Libertarian
        Alien

        Unusual ingredients

        I seem to recollect that Ginsters was fined £20,000 a few years ago for putting a whole mouse in one of their pasties (accidentally, I am sure!). Grinding the contents to a slurry might have solved such accidents.

  8. Danny 14

    I thought

    I thought they were welsh. I bet pretty much ANY mining town had the rolled pastry grip to throw away.

  9. Tom Mason
    FAIL

    That's rubbish

    I don't think this is a good idea. This protected status makes sense for things which have long shelf lives and travel well, but a good cornish pasty has to be freshly baked, which makes it impractical to even buy one outside of cornwall, except for the crap mass produced ones. In this case protected status will reduce peoples experience of cornish pasties to the dross, and harm the image of the cornish pasty in general.

    1. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
      Stop

      Frozen...

      ...and *carefully* warmed through (so that they don't go soggy on the bottom), they're still OK.

      BTW, agree with commenters elsewhere - Ginsters are evil, and should in no way be seen to be representing a typical pasty. They're (only just) Cornish based (about 5 miles from the border) and I used to have to drive past their factory every day - God it stank!

      Give me a Philps, Rowe or Lavender's pasty any day! Damn, I'm hungry now, and it's not only not lunchtime, but I'm a long way from Cornwall or the nearest pasty shop (about 600 miles)!

      1. MJI Silver badge

        Rowes are nice

        Had a lot last holiday.

        How about relative made pasties?

        Or Cornish owned chain bakers like the late lamented Falmouth Pasty Co?

      2. Kerry Hoskin
        Thumb Up

        mmmmmm

        I think I might have to have a Rowes for my lunch, trouble is I have already had one this week, but I can feel a large steak coming on!

        1. MJI Silver badge

          Don't depress me

          Not down to Falmouth until end of May.

    2. Mike Tree
      Thumb Up

      @ Tom Mason

      No so...

      I recently purchased some fine Cornish Pasties from Morrisons in Bridlington (East Yorks), produced in Crantock.

      The annoying thing is they were significantly cheaper than the ones I bought direct from the bakery in Cranock a few months earlier.

      As a person of Cornish decent, I must approve of the ruling.

      1. Libertarian
        Thumb Up

        Supermarket pasties

        Lidl's are up there with any supermarket (ie: slurry as opposed to lumpy ingredients-filled) pasty.

  10. Debe
    Thumb Up

    Yay

    Thank god, I bought a “Cornish” pasty in London the other day… tasted like god damned ash in my mouth. I went back and complained and was promptly told it was genuine Cornish. I pity people from the capital if they think that is what a pasty should taste like… blegh!

    I realise that London is not Cornwall but surely even people in London can tell the difference between a Cornish Pasty and brick dust wrapped in pastry.

    I left the “genuine” pasty on the counter. It was an offence against my taste buds.

  11. Matt 21

    Seems a little too late

    I've been buying Cornish Pasties made outside of Cornwall since the 70s. How can they reverse that now? Seems a stupid decision to me, far too late to change now.

    In my experience the best pasties do come from Cornwall or Devon but to put a law in place like this is about as sensible as deciding Pizzas can only be called Pizzas if they come from Italy!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: How can they reverse that now?

      Easy - make it illegal to call a pasty "Cornish" unless it is. What's that, they have already? Job done then. I look forward to the first prosecution of a purveyor of disgusting mush in a pastry pocket.

      1. Some Beggar
        Thumb Down

        Except the nation's most infamous and ubuiquitous purveyor of disgusting mush

        is based in Cornwall and will still be able to purvey its disgusting mush with the "Cornish" label.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          re: Except

          They may be infamous and ubiquitous but they're far from the worst offenders when it comes to purveying inedible crap that is purportedly a Cornish pasty. When I eat Ginsters I know it's not a patch on real pasties, but at least I don't want to puke.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Thumb Down

            Except

            You were obviously not the customer who bit into a whole mouse inside one a few years ago!

      2. Piri Piri Chicken
        Coat

        I couldn't agree more, but..

        The only thing that sprang to mind after reading your post, was using the last bit as a euphemism.

        "I dumped my disgusting mush in your pastry pocket".

        It's just got a fantastic ring to it.

  12. Some Beggar
    Troll

    Am I allowed to become a Cornish Nationalist if I'm not Cornish?

    Only they're clearly desperately unhappy and insecure down there. We should give the poor souls a break and let them sulk in their own little country.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  13. Conrad Longmore
    Thumb Up

    Except..

    Except a lot of the pasties actually eaten in Cornwall are nothing like like.. from veggie versions to Chicken Tikka and everything in between.

    BTW, IMO the best pasties are from Phelps in Hayle. None of this Ginsters rubbish.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      everything in between

      A bakery in Truro, the name of which escapes me, used to do fish pasties on Friday - most excellent they were too.

      1. Kernow

        Pasties in Truro

        Could you be thinking of Blewetts?

  14. MrWibble
    Thumb Down

    why?

    What difference does it make where something is made? Surely quality is a better thing to be protecting that some arbitrary geographical boundaries.

    1. Some Beggar

      Absolutely.

      It's farcical regional protectionism. It does precisely nothing to protect the quality of the product as all the Ginsters comments demonstrate.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: What difference does it make

      Nobody is stopping people from making excellent pasties anywhere they want, any more than the Harris Tweed people are stopping anyone else from weaving woollen fabric. Why do you want to call them "Cornish" if they're not?

      1. Some Beggar

        Because it's a commonly understood term

        that describes (however broadly) a type of pasty. It has almost precisely bugger all to do with the geographic origins of the pasty.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          re: it's a commonly understood term

          But what other sorts of pasty are there that might cause confusion?

          1. lglethal Silver badge
            Go

            @AC

            A cornish pasty is defined as being a pasty filled with Beef, Onion, sliced (or diced) Potato and Swede (rutabaga). There are plenty of other pasty varieties available (steak and ale being my personal fav), just like you can get all sorts of different pies. But a Cornish Pasty is specifically the one filled with the ingredients listed above.

            Beef, Onion, Potato and Swede Pasty doesnt quite have the same ring ot it that Cornish Pasty does, does it?

      2. Jolyon

        Nish

        You might want to call them 'Cornish' so that people understand what type of pasty they are buying.

        Presumably they were only originally called 'Cornish' outside of Cornwall and this was meant in the sense of 'like they make in Cornwall' rather than 'Made in Cornwall'.

  15. Will Godfrey Silver badge

    eltiT

    I've had to put up with fake mush for so long I've almost forgotten what a real Cornish pasty tastes like :(

  16. mhoulden
    Thumb Down

    Not all good news

    Ginsters are made in Cornwall.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not sure how to feel about this.

    As someone who could probably have savouries as their mastermind specialist subject. On the one hand I'm glad that it means that there will be shitty pasty makers shut down, but on the other ginsters still lives.

    Also, I only recently discovered that Asda make pretty reasonable pasties as far as supermarkets go, much better than ginsters etc anyway.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: pasty makers shut down

      Why would they be shut down? All they have to do is start calling them something apposite like "Vile Mechanically Recovered Mush Pasties" instead of "Cornish Pasties".

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Vile Mechanically Recovered Mush Pasties

        That would be the ones served in the Republic of Ireland, then -- the best I've had there are far worst than the worst I've had in the UK.

  18. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    That's why

    Because the businesses are increasingly run by lazy lawyers. They think they will make more money quicker by imposing their artificially made-up "intellectual property rights" on everybody, than by spending time, effort and capital on making a quality product.

    It is just the same in the food industry now as in the music, movie and software business. And it will fail in the food industry just like it fails elsewhere.

    And while they are at it, the Chinese and other people who still don't mind to roll up their sleeves work properly will outcompete them into oblivion. Pathetic schmucks.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Not a good idea

    So Cornish Pasties can only be made in Cornwall. It's doesn't say anything much about the quality.

    It's a restrictive marketing practise and all it does is ensure that the existing companies in Cornwall can make pasties and no one well can. Cuts out the competition in one fell swoop.

    Why can't a local butcher or shop make their own perfectly delicious Cornish Pasty and call it that because customers know what it means. Instead you'll get all sorts of pasties (Devon Pasty, Sheffield Pasty, etc) which will confuse customers for a while till they realise that good pasties can be made anywhere in the UK (or world).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      re: will confuse customers for a while

      Really? In Cornwall they just call them pasties and everyone knows what they are. What other sorts of pasty are commonly available that require differentiation?

    2. Tegne

      I suspect your local bakery will still call them what they always have.

      And if push comes to shove they will end up calling them Cornish 'Style' Pasties.

  20. JaitcH
    Pint

    Cornish Pasties: Cooked anywhere but only made in Cornwall

    As long as the Cornish Pasty is assembled within Cornwall, it can be called genuine even if it is cooked elsewhere.

    Makes my mouth water for a Ploughman's lunch washed down with genuine Somerset cider!

    Remember when the French tried to knock Greek feta cheese, now that's protected (for the Greeks), too?

    1. Tempest
      Unhappy

      Ploughman's lunch is only REAL with Pan Yan Pickle

      Why the manufacturers ever discontinued Pan Yan Pickles is beyond me.

      I managed to buy a box of it when they announced it's demise.

  21. Schultz

    Aaarg...

    British food. And I though you had progressed to curries and such.

    I'll go with the antipasto, boeuf Bourguignon and a creme Catalan with the espresso, thanks a lot!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      British food is better

      You can't beat someone to death with antipasto - a pasty on the other hand, wielded correctly is a lethal weapon.

      1. MJI Silver badge

        Antipasto

        Or anti pasty

        Sorry Pasty beats Antipasty

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      You sir, should

      Be coshed round the back of the head with a jam rol-poly into a great vat of custard.

      The rest of us will watch on amused with bacon sandwiches made with doorstep thickness slices of white loaf (HP sauce optional) and steaming mugs of tea.

      1. John Pike
        Thumb Up

        Re: You Sir,...

        Why ,when reading that, did Dads Army pop into my head???

  22. Juillen 1

    Steak pasty..

    I've seen quite a few shops in Cornwall selling the "(Original Cornish) Steak Pasty".

    This would work quite nicely for anything that's not a "Made in Cornwall, Cornish" pasty, same as you have a sparkling wine that's not a real "Champaigne".

    You know exactly what you're (supposed to be) getting with the "Steak" moniker.

    1. kissingthecarpet
      Headmaster

      Champagne

      Not Champaigne (or is that the septic spelling?)

  23. Kerry Hoskin

    nope

    nope they're Cornish, based in Callington, but to call them a pasty is a travesty to decent pasties everywhere. If you want a decent pasty and are down in Cornwall try Rowes they have a few bakeries they also one Plymouth and I think in Exeter.

  24. Admiral Grace Hopper
    WTF?

    Plug compatibles

    Dear Heavens, what a load of misdirected griping!

    A Cornish pasty must, by definition, be made in Cornwall. The xeno-pasty that you prefer may well be a superior product but if it's not made in Cornwall, then it's not Cornish.Why is this a problem? When Compaq started to make better, cheaper PCs than IBM did we gripe that they weren't IBM machines? Hell no, we bought the better, cheaper machine with the funny name on it that did the better job. If you prefer your pasty made in Devon, Somerset, Wales or Belgium then get in, enjoy it, but don't gripe that it doesn't say, "Cornish" on it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Oh well done...

      ...you managed to cram an IT angle into the story.

  25. Aquilus
    Thumb Down

    ... minced?

    Did I read that right? Did that marketing association claim an authentic Cornish pasty can contain MINCED beef? No it bloody well can NOT! Fresh baked with hunks of chuck steak or gtfo.

    1. kissingthecarpet
      Pirate

      Funnily enough

      They were originally made from mutton - which makes far more sense than beef.

      http://www.cornishpasties.org.uk/origins/pasty-3-historical/pasty-Barriball-1746.htm

  26. mmm mmm

    Re; ginsters

    They're terrible. Who would honestly buy and eat one if there was a better alternative?

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Often no alternative available.

      This is why they sell. They are in all the garages.

  27. copsewood
    Thumb Up

    I'm all in favour of quality control

    Combined with brand control in reclaiming regional names and quality reputations for traditional British food specialities that is. The French producers make a fortune by protecting their food brands associated with quality taste, and I don't see why our own local producers of fine food and drink items should not do also. If you want a sparkling white wine it's easy enough to get one, but if it is described as Champagne it should be Champagne.

    Cornish pasties have now reclaimed from the generic knock offs, and I can't see any reason why they can't safely be cooked outside Cornwall if made there. I'd like to see genuine Cheddar cheese back as well, with producers outside Somerset not qualifying to misuse the name. Your best bet is now to look for "farmhouse Somerset" Cheddar, but even these terms are subject to misuse.

    I'm all in favour of quality control when it comes to fine food.

    1. Pypes

      title required etc etc etc

      Except this legislation says nothing about quality or content, just that a Cornish pasty has to come from Cornwall, ginsters can continue to pump out it's soggy bags of fag ash and pig fat under the label "Cornish."

      Also cheddaring ins a step in the cheese making process, thus cheddar cheese properly describes "a cheese that has been cheddared" rather than a cheese physically made in Cheddar (which, if protected under the same none sense could be a soft blue goats cheese so long as it was made in the right place)

  28. Richard Porter
    IT Angle

    Smoked salmon?

    Sorry, but what's the geographical indication in smoked salmon?

    1. mmm mmm

      @Richard Porter

      A river.

  29. Just Thinking

    Too far

    Its just meat and vegetables wrapped in pastry. Doesn't make any difference whatsoever where it is made.

    They will be telling us next that Yorkshire pudding has to be made in Yorkshire. No, its eggs, milk and flour, and getting the oven hot enough.

    If regional name relates to the manufacturing process rather than the quality of the local ingredients, the the "style" tag is implied.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nope

    I can understand some of this protected status stuff. Take, for example, Champagne. The whole of the production has to take place in the region and is subject to control by an organisation. So it has to be made with certain local grapes, by approved processes and to approved standards. So it's not just about saying something should be made in a particular place.

    I doubt the ingredients of every Cornish pasty will come from Cornwall and I also doubt there will be any such strict controls on their production. Probably the worst pasties I've ever eaten were from a bakery in Cornwall so it's not in any way a gaurantee of quality.

    Oh and finally, Shirley a proper Cornish pasty is meat and one end a a sweet pud at the other?

    1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
      Boffin

      Indeed,

      and also probably covered in a fine dusting of cassiterite or chalcopyrite, given their original intended use. Probably best not to eat the pastry then...

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    not

    It's not a authentic cornish pasty if you can eat the pastry and don't keep it down your pants for warmth in my opinion.

    I don't really understand about the whole place name thing, if the recipe used comes from Cornwall and the item is called a cornish pasty then it's a cornish pasty wherever you make it. If however the recipe is for pasty then it's just a pasty.

    The fact that it's made in any one location doesn't make it better (re ginsters) but the quality of the products, recipe and, cooking process. A Thai dish is still a Thai dish if it's cooked in my kitchen using a Thai recipe.

    1. Dave 15

      as I recollect

      This whole mess started with the French being upset that someone else could call a drink champagne. Indeed as I recollect they even stamped on someone in the UK that made 'elderflower champage' which was (as I recall - and my memory is known to be dubious) a non-alcoholic drink.

      As normal its the EU finding jobs for itself and our weak willed paper shufflers thinking its a good idea to bend the whole of the UK over, grease its collective **** and wait for 'jonny foreigner' to give it a right royal rodgering

  32. Some Beggar
    Happy

    On the positive side

    it's deeply reassuring to see that people care more passionately about the provenance and quality of their savoury pastries than they do about the latest server technology or iGizmoid.

  33. Big_Boomer Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    British Pastie

    Stuff the Cornish if that's their attitude.

    I'll buy a British Pastie from a British Pastie maker based in Britain. :-)

    Now a Paris Pastie, that would be tasty but not a lot of meat and far too many preservatives.

    Never mind, I can provide the meat! :-P

  34. Vometia
    Troll

    Carrots

    I love pasties with carrots* in, so this is definitely good news.

    * this should be pointed out to handy Cornishmen at any opportunity, since they appreciate it so much.

  35. Michael Bukva

    Exemption should be allowed for Cornish pasties from South Australia !!

    Cornish pasties have been made here since the migrations of the 1840s, and we have the worlds largest Cornish festival here every year, in a region of the state known as Little Cornwall. What next, Margherita pizza only available from Naples ?

    1. Wyrdness
      WTF?

      Since when has AU been in the EU?

      @Michael Bukva - South Australia doesn't need an exemption as it isn't in the EU. So they can safely continue call them Cornish Pasties, so long as they don't try to export them to EU countries.

      1. Cpt Blue Bear

        Oh good

        Does that mean we can go back to calling our fizzy white wine Champagne then sport?

  36. SImon Hobson Bronze badge

    Err ...

    Wasn't that official description all wrong ? IIRC a "real" Cornish Pasty originated as a convenient "self contained meal" for the miners and had at least two 'courses' in the filling - and presumably some way of knowing which end to start from.

    And as someone else already said, it won't change anything - you'll just see "Cornish style pasties" everywhere.

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yorkshire Puddings

    It's time to get the same status for Yorkshire Puddings...

    That'll stop the Cornish from making our puddings.

  38. Bernard Mergendeiler
    WTF?

    Cornish Pastry is People?

    For your readers who live a bit beyond Land's End, what is "swede" in this context? I keep picturing tall, blond people and a Muppet chef.

    1. spiny norman
      Go

      Swede

      Is a large, root vegetable, kind of purple skin and orange inside. Bit like a large, orange turnip and almost as tasteless. Usually eaten cubed or mashed and needs to be boiled for a long time to be edible. Access to a chain saw is quite handy when cutting before cooking, as knives bounce off it and chop off your thumb instead. Called Rutabaga in the US, according to some veggie site I just found. My pseudo-Scottish friends habitually eat something called neeps and tatties, which is swede and potatoes with some herbs to make it palatable. Served with oats and the less edible parts of a sheep on Burns Night.

      1. Pypes

        The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

        Many an argument has been had between my southern mother and northern father over which is a swede and which is a turnip. It would seem the two terms get transposed at some point as you travel further north.

      2. Just Thinking

        Grow your own

        The stuff from the supermarket is probably months old and has lost almost all of its original flavour. And probably a variety chosen because it grows quickly, rather than its taste.

        Swede and turnip straight out of the ground is completely different, delicious. Swedes are still just as difficult to cut though.

    2. Robert E A Harvey
      Headmaster

      what is "swede" in this context?

      What the English call Swede, the Scots call neeps and the Cornish call Turnip. And often the other way around. It is a good question.

      Away from the celtic fringes, Swede (once 'Swedish turnip') is the faintly orange root vegetable, not the white one with a green scalp. Known in some places as Kohlrübe and others as rutabaga it is properly Brassica napus

      Astonishingly, oil-seed rape is Brassica napus subsp. rapifera and the rape and swede crops have been hybridising happily in the margins of European farms, presumably trying to turn into something that can fry itself.

  39. Wommit
    Coat

    This ruling doesn't go far enough

    All pasties should be made in Cornwall. It should be forbidden on pain of death to make them anywhere else.

    And then we should ban the export of pasties out of Cornwall.

    That alone will increase the standard of British food by a measurable amount.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      But only in Cornwall

      Everyone else would drop

  40. Kernow
    Unhappy

    Pasties report on Sky news

    Looked at report and their description of a proper Cornish pasty - they have a full colour picture of a Gregg's bakery pasty crimped over the top, stuffed with mush containing diced carrot and peas. Thought they might trouble to get a correct illustration!!

  41. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Erm....

    As I'm writing this there are 78 (moderated) comments on fricking cornish pasties on an IT site.

    Please see icon.

    1. Efros

      What do you think

      we stuff our faces with at every opportunity? Certainly not a salad!

  42. Efros

    One awaits

    The the elevation of Forfar Bridies to similar distinction. would be great to see the demise of the horrible pastry encased meat pureee that passes for a bridie these days. Might also put Greggs out of business, no bad thing... perhaps with the exception of their cream apple turnovers.

  43. tardigrade
    Thumb Down

    Doesn't make sense in this case.

    They are protecting a process rather than the quality of ingredients. This is a bonkers as trying to get protected status for a Devon Cream Tea or Yorkshire Pud. All that will happen is that all the small local bakers that have made a name up and down the country with their own Cornish pasties will have to rename and still do well, maybe even better if they can find their own identity. Whilst the only company that has the scale to produce "real" Cornish pasties across the UK from now on will be Ginsters.

    End result anyone who doesn't go on holiday to Cornwall every year (most people) will come to regard Cornish pasties as being shite, because their only experience of it will come from Ginsters.

    Well done.

    1. MrWibble
      WTF?

      Don't joke!

      "Devon cream teas":

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8692662.stm

  44. Dave 126

    A Devon bakery

    was recently reckoned, by some awarding group, to have the best pasties in the SW, and its based in Barnstaple.

    It's become a tradition amongst the residents of my local's beer garden in Gloucestershire for anyone visiting Cornwall to bring back two-dozen-odd pasties for the rest of the regulars. In the past they have been sourced from Bude, but a recent social trip only took me as far as Barnstaple. I had been planning on nipping further West just to get some genuine Cornish pasties, but a Google Search for Best Cornish Pasty in N Devon saved me some diesel.

  45. spiny norman
    Badgers

    Where's the logic?

    The test surely should be if the place of origin makes a discernible difference to the outcome. The argument for champagne presumably is that the soil and climate in that region uniquely affects the quality of wine that is produced. Similarly, beers and spirits are affected by local water, but nobody seems inclined to ban Guinness from being brewed outside Dublin.

    Perhaps this is a clue. If a large conglomerate had trademarked the name "Cornish Pasty" and was churning them out all over the world, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

  46. Peladon

    Boo. Yea verily, and hiss also

    I hate this article.

    I hate all these replies.

    Why?

    Because I used to live in Bodmin, and now I live... well, somewhere with more Maple trees. And now I have to go all day pining for Cornish Pasties and Saffron Cake that I can't get shipped to the land of the Maple. Sigh.

    1. Some Beggar

      I realise this isn't an instant solution to your problem

      but if you are really in despair you could always ... you know ... make some.

      Despite all the passion on display here, making a pasty is hardly rocket science.

  47. Tegne
    Black Helicopters

    I wonder how much financial input Ginsters had into this campaign.

    Eliminating any alternate mass produced competition in one fell swoop.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Ginsters

      When the Ginster's company was first sold its new owners allegedly had a clause written into the contract barring the founder from making pasties in Cornwall. So if that's true then you can bet they've been after protected status since they bought the company.

  48. MJI Silver badge

    Crimping

    I have ate loads crimped along the top and they were definately the real article. Both cooks were Cornish born (Helford River area).

    BTW carrots are a no-no

    1. Robert E A Harvey
      Happy

      this is not a title

      my young relatives refer to that variant as a "Dinosaur pie"

  49. shoesday
    Coat

    Am dreading when yorkshire pudding follows suit

    Where will this all end? I'm quite fond of Yorkshire pudding but guess its only a matter of time before i'll have to start eating "baked northern pancakes" for my sunday lunch to avoid being sued by the European PGI

    1. Grease Monkey Silver badge

      Fair Enough

      If the Cornish pasty can have that status then there's absolutely no reason why the Yorkshire pudding can't.

      Besides some of the stuff I've been served as Yorkshires when outside gods own county have been nothing like a proper Yorkshire pud. The weirdest ones are the stuff I was once served in Cornwall of all places. It was a slice of something that had been baked in a big flat tray. Kind of like a very thick, soggy, pancake, overcooked on the outside, undercooked on the inside. Not only do many people cook them wrong but their ratio of ingredients is the same as a pancake which means they don't rise properly.

  50. Dave 15

    Devon pasties are better

    Well they were last year as they won the prize for best 'cornish' pasty - maybe this is why we now have yet another waste of time/money/expense/investigation rule for our friends in Brussels which I have no doubt will be enforced in the normal heavy handed whitehall manner.

    I wonder whether you could take devon filling and somerset pastry crimp it in cornwall and sell it in wiltshire as a cornish pasty? probably.

    1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Devon pasties are better

      I don't understand the problem. Surely if your pasty is akin to a Cornish one but not from Cornwall it is a corn*ish* pasty.

      1. Robert E A Harvey
        Headmaster

        Yes, Sarah!

        But we are talking Devon and Cornwall here. Imagine "ASBO neighbour hell" and extend the garden fence across the peninsula and have it go on for two thousand years. That might give you half an idea.

        My old navigation tutor used to say that the reason the cartographer's office was in Portsmouth was that it was as far as possible from the Tamar as possible. He used to say "Cornish fishermen get it through the titty that all the waters from the Needles to Scilly were created by the almighty for the exclusive use of the men of Cornwall. Snag is, Devonians have a similar Blind Certainty that they are theirs and theirs alone."

        The buggers even have the whole of St George's Channel to disgree about as well.

        You didn't REALLY think this was about pasties, surely?

        1. MJI Silver badge

          That's me stuffed

          Grand parents are a mix of Cornish and Devonish.

          Ancestors include Brixham trawler crews, Cornish gardeners, Coastguards, and we are still investigating a few.

      2. Cpt Blue Bear

        As Basil Brush would say...

        BOOM! BOOM!

      3. A K Stiles

        Re: Re: Devon Pasties are better

        Surely that would be Cornish-ish? Mmm - Need to get me one of those now-ish!

  51. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    w*nkers

    GET A LIFE, it's a pastie for god sake!

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Yes it is a pasty

      So it is VERY serious.

      Do not diss the pasty.

    2. Francis Boyle Silver badge

      Don't diss

      Pastyfarianism!

  52. Neil Stansbury
    Coat

    As every Devonian knows....

    Pasties "crimped on one side, never on top" aren't in fact ever Cornish pasties but actually Devonian Oggies....

  53. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Smoked salmon

    Obviously salmon that comes from "Smoked" then?

    Is that really a place?

  54. hayseed
    Boffin

    What Happens to Traditional Derivatives?

    http://kenanderson.net/pasties/michigan.html

    Maybe other people copying the pasty will say that it is a "Michigan UP Style" pasty instead?

  55. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Badgers

    Vile Mechanically Recovered Mush Pasties

    I have a sneaking feeling that pasties so designated would probably sell rather better than the rest

  56. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    FAIL

    Obviously!

    We're big boys and girls here. You're allowed to say wankers.

    ... It's b*nkers people take exception to.

  57. Irony Deficient

    Re: Devon pasties are better

    Sarah, are you suggesting that “cornish” (uncapitalised) should refer to the style, and “Cornish” (capitalised) should refer to the geographic designation? If so, how should “CORNISH” (all capitals) be understood? (I presume that all-capital text is not unknown in product packaging in the EU.)

    To the person who asked about the salmon, the protected geographic indicator is “Scottish Farmed Salmon”. Ith gu leòir!

  58. tony trolle

    should of increased the area

    to 10 miles of the border that's were the best pasties are.

    Of course the border was at one time farther west; think there is a pub called the Halfway House Inn at Kingsand, Cornwall which once was the border between Devon and Cornwall

  59. Ugotta B. Kiddingme
    Go

    hard to believe

    two and half pages of comments and I'm the first Yank to think of strippers? If the item in question had included an "R", I would not have been confused. Here I was thinking "what does it matter if the nipple covering is was made in Cornwall or anywhere else?"

    http://www.boobybling.com/ - almost certainly NSFW, but gets the idea across.

  60. The Infamous Grouse
    Alien

    Far reaching powers

    Blimey, the European Commission clearly packs some serious legislative muscle when it comes to stuff like this. Parma ham can only be made in Parma. Cornish pasties must come from Cornwall.

    I can't wait for the ruling on Mars bars.

  61. Trev 2

    How about - "Pasty formerly known as Cornish"?

    Would it be allowed to call it a "Pasty formerly known as Cornish" since that accurately describes exactly what it is and lessens the confusion?

    As for quality - never had a decent one down there and Ginsters are just peppered rubbish but Gregg's do a pretty decent one that's mashed up inside but that makes it a lot more edible than something with great wads of chewy meat in it.

  62. Tim Alakia

    Tim Alakia

    As a (half-) Cornishman in Scotland I yearn for that familiar smell and delicious taste . I found it once at the far end of the departure area in Edinburgh airport where the West Cornwall Pasty Company had a stall - delicious . I would love to find saffron cake or 'heavy' cake - but Scotland has its own enticing compensations ...

    Pasties are not just beef - they are an economical way of using up last night's meal for tomorrow's 'crib' (your lunch-box ) . The meat would have been any - if at all .

    I welcome the protected status of any traditional food . Up the coast is the home of the Arbroath smokie - and properly so - they are a real treat that cannot be faked .

    God rot Ginsters and all their travesties !

  63. Jwadmin

    For all you up country folk

    If you have a West Cornwall Pasty Company near to you then you can still buy Cornish as they are all supplied by Rowes in Penryn.

    Whilst I agree with comments that Philps bakery do have pretty good pasty (especially the special order Breakfast Pasty), Helston or Porthleven's Horse & Jockey's standard flakey is a clear winner.

    The large is easily the biggest pasty known to man and care has to be taken whilst holding it as the pastry can be put under enormous load due to the weight of the contents. It has been know for the pastry to just let go.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Last holiday

      Got some last year from the factory - not far on from Asda towards Penryn.

      Asda pasties were nice as well I found in Cornwall - well it was from a Rowes counter.

      Came back home laden with cider as well.

  64. David 45

    Get a life

    These folk in the EC obviously have nothing better to do. What a load of twaddle. Cornish pasty is a term for a particular food item and could be made anywhere. Where are brussel sprouts grown? Who makes French onion soup? German sausage? Could go on.

  65. Martin Budden Silver badge
    Joke

    Mr

    The picture shows a "Cornish maiden bearing platter of genuine Cornish pasties" outside the Chough Bakery. Well, it doesn't show all of her, mainly just her head.

    So that is a picture of... a Chough's maiden head.

  66. Paul Freeland
    Headmaster

    Wiltshire Paul

    What about Warrens pastys - fresh from the pasty shop in St Just .... mmmmmm Cant get more cornish than that, me ole ansome!

  67. Drumstix
    FAIL

    And What About THE ORIGINAL!?

    The only genuine and 'Original Cornish Pasty' that I ever purchased on my visits to Cornwall, used to be called a 'Tiggy Hog' and it was a complete meal. Meat and veggies in one end and pudding in the other.

    So this whole EU definition thing seems out of order in more ways than one.

  68. Graysonn

    It's a bad idea.

    I'm in Ireland. They make a pretty good Cornish pasty here. I would assume that the recipe would be protected. i.e. only a pasty that's made to a strict recipe can call itself a Cornish pasty. And location be damned.

  69. Spot the Cat
    Pint

    Seven weeks and counting

    Ann's Pasties in Lizard Village, best in the world, and go down very well with a pint or two of Doom Bar.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Ann's Were

      Last year had some from there - were not very good.

      Rowes were a lot better.

      Had them before and were nice so don't know what happened.

      My dad is from Lizard.

  70. Kelticfox

    It nice to see....

    As a Manx man, we've had protection of origin on a few traditional foods for a few years now (Manx Kippers, Loaghtyn Sheep etc). However it doesn't stop the 'Style' imitators.

    I expect to see 'Cornish Style Pasties' within the next few weeks. And legally, there's not a damn thing anyone can do.....

    1. Robert E A Harvey

      oh?

      Never seen 'stilton style' cheese.

      Which reminds me. Heron foods have large boxes of Boursin at 3 for a quid. Must go shopping.

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