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For years, holiday makers around the UK have been treated to Cornish pasties, and in Cornwall, people have been treated to them for centuries. Depending on where you are in the country, you'll find a variety of fillings available, from traditional to dessert, but what should really go in a pasty?
I once had a friend who insisted that a real pasty should not have carrots in it. Carrots haven't got any reason to be within five feet of a pasty, according to him. He said that if somebody had the audacity to include carrots in their pasty, then it was instantly no longer a Cornish pasty. He was fervent about this to the point I would describe him as a zealot.
This friend also believed that he was a train, and that when he blew a whistle, people followed him to a pub. This is why I questioned his views on pasties.
Whilst I cannot, in good faith, say that carrots have been a staple of pasties for centuries, I can say that the tendency in Cornwall has been for a pasty to be filled with whatever is available. There is a piece of folklore that claims the devil will never set foot in Cornwall for fear of being turned into a pasty, and pickiness about food is not something that one associates with the common folk through the centuries of British history.
Of course, it is still possible to buy a traditional Cornish pasty, and maybe it is the prototypical pasty, but a pasty should not be limited to just one filling. With pasty shops, and even chains of pasty shops, spreading throughout the country, the fillings have moved away from just 'Traditional Cornish' and 'Cheese and Onion', and once again it is possible to get pasties with almost anything imaginable inside. I have eaten Banana and Chocolate pasties, and have a mind to buy and eat an Apple, Rhubarb and Custard pasty. Curry pasties, spicy chickpea pasties, even Mexican and Chinese pasties, which are as far away from Cornwall as I can imagine a pasty filling be.
So, when on holiday, or even just when buying lunch, don't feel limited to a traditional pasty; go wild.
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