South Australia’s Cornish Pasty

South Australia’s Cornish pasty is an icon and part of the South Australian State heritage.

I tasted my first pasty when I moved to Australia. I liked it more than pies. Hence this post.

Early Cornish migrants to South Australia brought the pasty along with them. They were miners who came to work the newly opened mines of the state staring from 1836.  Over  185 years ago.

27th July 1836 marked the first landing of those from Cornwall. And the trend  continued for the next few decades.

The Pasty outside of South Australia

Most Australians outside of South Australia have little idea of the pasty’s association or its long history with the State. Though it is sold all over the State it never seemed to have crossed the borders.

Cole’s Curtis Stone did a nice YouTube presentation on the Cornish pasty but did not mention the State. Both in term of popularity here or its long established history. I could not help but think that he did know about its link.

Thankfully Adam Liaw a fellow chef who grew up in Adelaide covered the association well.

Now a snack and smaller

The pasty is odd in one way.  It started life as a complete meal rather than a snack or light meal.

Miners of the years gone by did not surface from the  mines for their meals. It took time and just too hard to bring them up. They ate the pasty that they brought along within the confines of deep driven shafts.

Cubed beef, chopped potatoes and onions with slices of turnip or swede formed the filling.  Placed on a rolled flat circular dough it was folded over and oven cooked close to an hour. Things have changed since, carrots for instance have been added..

The pasty’s thicker crimped crescent shaped side had a distinct purpose. Miners held this side with their sooty and dusty hands and discarded it when done to avoid contamination. The crimped side is now less pronounced.

What’s inside?

An equal mix of meat and veg combination spoke of it being a complete meal. With the pastry crunchiness, meat texture, soft veg and gravy it was good. Had the right taste and texture.  

Unlike other snacks where raw washed salad is placed on cooked meat or just meat in heavy gravy or sauce. The pasty was different. I found it balanced.

The family however prefers meat pies with me being the exception. They and I wondered why.

For some reason, I like it in the day but not at night. I have no idea why. When the family do their occasional past-midnight forays to Villi’s off South Road, its always a meat pie for me.

The Copper Triangle

Now for a little bit more of this early migrant history.

“Little Cornwall” in South Australia is made up of the towns of Moonta, Wallaroo and Kadina. All  in the Yorke Peninsula and well known as the Copper Triangle where the mines were.

Their past culture and heritage is celebrated yearly to this day. Kernewek Lowender Coast Cornish Festival is another one for the Festival State.

They brought along the traits of their Cornwall past – mining know-how and the making of the enduring pasty. And the State was better for it.