The Cornish Pasty – the golden rules

This series may seem a tad long winded but these culinary masterpieces should not be rushed!

The filling is always raw and is baked at the same time as the pastry. The pasty is a meal in itself and in Cornwall it's actually considered an insult to serve them with anything else.

The meat content should be diced, never minced. The beef should be either chuck steak or skirt – also known as blade. A pasty should contain 12.5% beef. The vegetables should be finely sliced of a similar size so they cook evenly and the potatoes should be an “old variety” which will “fall”. Use strong plain flour – the sort used in bread making. As you can see, this is not an expensive meal – at it's roots the pasty evolved from humble ingredients that were plentiful and nutritious. The meat element was the most costly which is probably why the percentage of meat is as small as it is.

Think of the pasty as a pressure cooker – you need to release steam – place a small hole in the top of the pasty. Don't be tempted to tuck into your pasty straight from the oven – trust me – the inside stays hot for a long time.

Pasties are usually personalised with initials – top left, others say top right – who knows! It does however date back I think to the miners when some owners provided large ovens at the surface to keep the pasties hot for the men. A useful tip for today if you're tweaking the filling to suit your family and friends' preferences!

You'll read all sorts of “do's and don'ts” about pasty pastry and to be fair, there's no right or wrong way, all I can tell you is what follows works.

Recipes up next!

The Cornish Pasty

Cornish tin miners eventually had to search elsewhere for work when the mines closed. They moved around the UK and all over the world too – for example, between 1861 and 1901 it's estimated that 250,000 Cornish migrated to Australia. It's not surprising therefore, that you'll find pasties, or versions of them, all over the world. There's a very successful company in Australia “Cousin Jacks Pasty Co.”. In case you were wondering where “ Cousin Jacks” comes from – it's an affectionate nickname for Cornish people – “Cousin Jennies” too.

Legend has it that there are “Knockers” or “Knackers” - mischief making leprechaun like creatures who lived deep in the tin mines, knocking on the walls and supports. They could be good or bad depending on your point of view. To some, the knocking served as a warning of impending disaster and so protected the miners, to others these mischief makers caused cave-ins. Which brings me to the “end” of the pasty. The miners would save, literally, the last bite - the end of their pasty and throw them deep into the mine to either appease the bad knockers or thank the good. A help or a hindrance?

Not to be confused with the “end” of a pasty - there's also a “corner”. A “corner”, is said to be a portion of a pasty saved to eat later on in the long shift – larger than we'd call a corner, probably about a third of a pasty.

The iconic crimped crust of a pasty isn't there for decoration. Mining was a dangerous occupation and arsenic poisoning was not unusual. There were no bathrooms – you couldn't just pop off and wash your hands before lunch, the miners' hands were ingrained with dirt and chemicals, arsenic being one of them. The miners held their pasty by the thick crimped crust to prevent being poisoned. How smart is that.

Iconic is the word – a delicious, complete meal in a pastry blanket.

Coming next – the golden rules for the contents and the making of the pastry!

Portable Summer food …

… it could be for a picnic, a survival kit whilst travelling, part of your al fresco summer parties or an impromptu get together. In other words, food that is easily or conveniently carried or moved around. Some may say that packing a survival kit whilst you're on the move is not worth the effort. For me, I've been disappointed and ripped off at Services for poor food and expensive snacks – the coffee has improved but that's about it! I take a “kit” for a long journey – 4 hours plus. Similarly if you holiday in the UK and choose a self catering option, unless you want to spend your holiday in a supermarket – that you have to search for – the more you think ahead, even in a small way, the better. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you cook up a storm and spend your holiday serving it all, far from it.

My plan is that if I'm away for seven days I take the basics, condiments, staples, breakfast bits, a few treats and the wherewithal for two meals – ish.

The ideas and recipes that follow are all portable and suitable for any of the above occasions!

On that note - have you ever made a Cornish Pasty?

They've been around “recently” for about 200 years but history says that they were with us well before in some form. A Cornish pasty has to be the ultimate in “portable” food. Cornish tin miners took a pasty to work every day – it's hard to comprehend that they walked long distances to the mine, then down the shaft for a long shift. It was hard, gruelling work and the pasty provided sustenance.

There are loads of stories and superstitions and golden rules too for the contents of a pasty and the making of the pastry itself.

It's difficult to know where to begin – some of the stories are based on fact, some fiction and others somewhere in between – I'll give it my best shot and hope you enjoy the read – who knows you might have a go at making a pasty!

Granola Gravel – a post script

Whatever Granola Gravel you have left, box or bag it and add it to your treasure chest. An instant supply for a sweet hit – perfect with British strawberries – I had some yesterday and they were delicious, the best I've tasted in a long while.

Finally, I made the Gravel again, this time adding 200g of hazelnuts to the original recipe, it worked like a charm, as they say!

Take a look :

Thinking about it there's a use for the soft version or with extra hazelnuts. Since we're embarking on “portable” food, take a box of Gravel from the freezer – bash it smaller if you wish. Prepare a box of strawberries or other seasonal fresh fruit. Pack individual yogurts of your choice – an instant portable dessert.

More portable food ideas up next!

Granola Glacé

Out of every recipe that you aren't satisfied with, there is always a silver lining, here's mine :

If you wanted a fun idea for a picnic or a BBQ I think this makes the grade.

I love it when a plan comes together and the moral of the story is – never give up!

Granola Glacé – and another idea

… which requires a visit to another of my favourite shops, local to me, SCS Packaging, Units 1 & 2 Orchard Road, Finedon, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN9 5JG to be precise! In addition to the packaging business they have a small shop which is an Aladdin's cave of all things related to cake decorating and other stuff too.

I was on a mission for ice cream pots – if you're old enough to remember going to the cinema back in the day you'll also remember you could buy small individual tubs of ice cream with a tiny “spade-shaped” spoon.

My efforts were rewarded – have a look :

Rainbow and Hot Pink

7cms diameter x 4.5cms deep or

2¾” diameter x 1¾” deep in old money

Exactly what I wanted!

These little beauties are actually baking cups so no more need for muffin tins.

These little pots are so useful, they are sturdy and as well as baking or filling with ice cream they are ideal for sweet or savoury treats – an absolute must for all those summer parties or picnics or BBQs.

They have a range of colours and you'll want all of them! How good would the aqua colour cup look, filled with mint chocolate chip ice cream! You don't have to live in the area - check out their website for the full range www.culpitt.com.

Have a look at the photos coming next to see what you can do.

Granola Gravel … nil desperandum

For those who aren't familiar - “never say die”

I'm going to make a batch of vanilla ice cream, cut the gravel into smaller pieces and fold it through to make a Granola Glacé – ta dah!

The transformation :

A quick recap of the recipe :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff, like pipeable whipped cream.**

2. Spoon the mixture into a lidded freezer-proof container and free for at least 6-8 hours or until firm.

** My variation – make a batch of sticky toffee sauce and fold 260g through the ice cream. For the sticky toffee sauce recipe see Sauce label – The ultimate … sticky toffee sauce. You can buy a ready-made version but it's nowhere near as good!

… and then I had another idea