What is a Cornish pasty?
A Cornish pasty is a baked pastry from Cornwall, filled with beef, potato, swede and onion, and shaped like a half-moon with a crimped edge on one side. It has protected status, meaning it must be made in Cornwall to use the name.
Pasties were popular with Cornish tin miners, who could carry them underground and eat them without a plate. The thick crust made them easy to hold.
Some stories say miners held the crimped edge with dirty hands and threw it away, though this is debated.
Protected status
Since 2011, the Cornish pasty has had Protected Geographical Indication status. To be called a Cornish pasty, it must be made in Cornwall using a traditional recipe.
The filling must include beef, potato, swede, which Cornish people often call turnip, and onion, with light seasoning.
The pastry is crimped along the side, not on top. Pasties are sold in bakeries and shops across England.
The World Pasty Championships are held in Cornwall each year. Cornish miners who moved abroad took pasties with them to places such as Mexico, the United States and Australia.