18 February 2009

Pastys - where to get decent ones?

| Pommy bastard
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Ok, following on from the “good sandwich” thread, I’ve been inspired to put in a request of my own.

Does anyone know where I can get anything like a good “Cornish” pasty in Canberra?* I’ve had many things masquerading as “pastys” in Canberra, and in Aus, but nothing has come close to a real “Cornish” pasty. One had mashed spuds in it! One even had the whole contents mashed together. I used to live on the blooming things back in Blighty, and must admit the best I had, apart from those I make myself, were in the Duchy itself

So any tips?

For those of you who have not tried this culinary delight, here’s a description;

    A pasty (Cornish: Pasti, pronounced (the ‘a’ pronounced as in ‘cat’), less commonly as tiddly oggy or tiddy oggy, and sometimes as pastie in the United States, is a filled pastry case, commonly associated with Cornwall, United Kingdom. It differs from a pie as it is made by placing the filling on a flat pastry shape, usually a circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge to form a seal. The result is a raised semicircular package. The traditional Cornish pasty is filled with diced beef, sliced potato and onion, and baked. Pasties with many different fillings are made; some shops specialise in selling all sorts of pasties.

* Replying; “yes, in Cornwall,” will not earn you any brownie points I’m afraid.

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Pommy bastard7:53 am 03 Mar 09

Thanks to both, will check them out next time I’m in that neck of the woods.

Over in Homeworld.

PB for what is worth “The Brothers Oven” won the Best Pastie category at this years Canberra Show but I am not sure how many entries they were up against.

I think they are down at Tuggeranong somewhere.

And the cry “Oggy Oggy Oggy” supposedly the root of our “Aussie Aussie Aussie” chant

Speaking of all this fantastic South Australian stuff, where in Canberra can you regularly get Vili’s pies? I’m just fanging for a ‘normal’ or potato pie from Vilis. Mmmmmmm…

Pommy bastard8:10 am 22 Feb 09

In a move of blinding stupidity, blinding even by H&S standards of blatant stupidity, the pasty is under threat in Cornwall;

Civil servants are talking about imposing a health regime on food, which could ring the death knell for pasties and place strict limits on other savoury snacks, fizzy drinks, crisps and confectionery sold in canteens and via vending machines and trolleys.

The Department of Health is planning to test “healthier food marks” to encourage caterers to offer smaller portions.

Mr Valentine said Ginsters’ pasties already met the highest nutritional standards because ingredients were sourced locally.

Independent pasty maker Ann Muller, of The Lizard Pasty Shop at Helston, Cornwall, said she was bemused by the news.

“I’d like them to come and analyse one of our pasties, because I don’t think there is any hidden salt content,” she said.

http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Pasty-producers-reject-health-watchdog-plans/article-716638-detail/article.html

Anne’s pasty’s are amongst the best in the Duchy.

I first mentioned the pie floaters (mmmmm)

buggered if i know what happened there, didn’t put in the comment about pie floaters…

Furry Jesus said :

Adelaide has several home-made specialities – the most-available pasties in Australia for one. Every bakery sells them. Here the bakers that can be bothered with making them seem to think flaky pastry is somehow value-adding. And I agree about Cornucopia – everything they make seems to be overloaded with butter, and I hate that feeling of oiliness that you get on your fingers if you’ve been holding one of their bags for too long.

Another Adelaide special – the spinach roll. Thick pastry covered in sesame seeds, and two ingredients – spinach and thick melted cheese. Canberra’s spinach rolls are pale imitations for the dietically faint-hearted.

there is a list of delicacies from sth aust, some of which you can get here….
yoyo biccies are in iga stores. wanniassa bakery does spinach rolls, so does the brother’s oven. there are a few things that you can’t get outside of SA, pie floaters are one.

fritz is the main one….

Cornish pastys are around, as are proper pork pies. try edelweiss deli at woden, they may have some as well.
Pie floaters? If you’ve ever seen the congealed pea soup that gets brought in from the factory and reheated to make a pie floater, you might think again…

Furry Jesus said :

Pie floaters? If you’ve ever seen the congealed pea soup that gets brought in from the factory and reheated to make a pie floater, you might think again…

I don’t think the ‘congealed pea’ part of a pie floater are as much of a concern as the dubious contents of most meat pies …. floaters (pie variety of course) still taste fabulous!

Adelaide has several home-made specialities – the most-available pasties in Australia for one. Every bakery sells them. Here the bakers that can be bothered with making them seem to think flaky pastry is somehow value-adding. And I agree about Cornucopia – everything they make seems to be overloaded with butter, and I hate that feeling of oiliness that you get on your fingers if you’ve been holding one of their bags for too long.

Another Adelaide special – the spinach roll. Thick pastry covered in sesame seeds, and two ingredients – spinach and thick melted cheese. Canberra’s spinach rolls are pale imitations for the dietically faint-hearted.

Pie floaters? If you’ve ever seen the congealed pea soup that gets brought in from the factory and reheated to make a pie floater, you might think again…

Pommy bastard1:23 pm 19 Feb 09

Oh, but just to rub salt in, I’m just about to have my first home made one of the day 🙂

Pommy bastard1:16 pm 19 Feb 09

Without wanting to fan any flames here;

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Enriched doughs and pastries aren’t greasy if they’re made properly. Same for fish and chips.

Proper pasty pastry should be short crust, and therefore not greasy at all.

Kitty7 said :

I am counting down the days till I have a holiday in Adelaide. Then I will be feasting on them daily, and flying home with a freezer full of them from the bakery around the corner from where I will be staying.

quote]

You can keep your Adelaide pasties Kitty; my Adelaide cravings all involve their amazing ‘pie floaters’ …. mmmm pie floaters … mmmm … best. thing. ever!

tylersmayhem11:37 am 19 Feb 09

petty agro

JB, my comments were not directed at you 🙂 (is that better). Dunno if I’d call it agro either. Just differing opinions, which I know you encourage.

Woody Mann-Caruso11:36 am 19 Feb 09

Enriched doughs and pastries aren’t greasy if they’re made properly. Same for fish and chips.

Oh you two.

God it’s been a while since you’ve unleashed your petty agro on me TM.

I like pastry made with butter.

I don’t like pastry leaking so much oil the whole paper bag goes clear before you can put it in the car.

I know many real pastry chefs who can manage the balance.

tylersmayhem10:15 am 19 Feb 09

Greasy pastry in everything

Yes JB, becuase they ACTUALLY use butter instead of shortcutting and using all kinda of other cheaper oils that most bakeries do to cut down on costs. Have you ever tried pastries in France for instance. By the sound of your tastes, I suppose you wouldn’t like them.

The troubles with Cornucopia are:

1) Greasy pastry in everything

2) No matter what time you try and go there, it’s always closed.

tylersmayhem9:03 am 19 Feb 09

Thanks Peter, they sound great, and I’ll be giving them a go this weekend (great excuse to cook a lamb roast too).

For PB: Cornucopia is in Braddon 😉

Kitty7: I’ve always found the bakeries at Garran, Hughes and Yarralumla are “good”. Depends on what you’re after though. Had a nice Italian sausage role from Garran the other day (it’s a sausage role with other herbs and stuff). Didn’t think to check out pasties though..

I am counting down the days till I have a holiday in Adelaide. Then I will be feasting on them daily, and flying home with a freezer full of them from the bakery around the corner from where I will be staying.

A few years ago Woolies had the Balfours footy pasties in the frozen section, didn’t last long even though they were regularly sold out. The last good ones I had here in Canberra were at Floriade, the Villi’s version. Jabal’s fruit and veg at Mawson and Kippax sell the Halal version (vegetarian) which is not too bad, better than the ones I have tried at any bakeries in Canberra.

Everytime I hear about a good bakery, I try them but have always been disappointed. If anyone does happen to find a good bakery in Canberra, please please please put it on here so I can go check it out ASAP.

True, Vili’s, they were after I left Adelaide, must try them.

sexynotsmart7:36 pm 18 Feb 09

The Oven Door in Civic has the best pasties in the CBD, but they’re missing a certain je ne sais quoi.

Several places in ACT (Phillip Pool, National Zoo and Aquarium) sell Vili’s. Vili’s may also still do warehouse-door sales out at Mitchell.

South Australia, especially the York Peninsula – old Cornish mining towns.
The only decent pasty I’ve had in Canberra in over 20 years was a weird ham and cheese one, it had the vitsl NO PEAS, something that the easterners just don’t get.
I’ve seen frozen Balfours pasties in the supermarkets here, when, no idea – worth trying.

Pommy bastard7:14 pm 18 Feb 09

Someone had to be the first to say it, I suppose…

I so noticed that, PB! And my grandfather ate one!! No wonder he went to an early grave ….

How did thos burlesque dancers get them to stick to their nipples?

Pommy bastard7:05 pm 18 Feb 09

Thanks for the tip peterh.

Granny,
Cooked flying rat? It’s a Cornish delicacy.

You should head over to Kadina in SA for the Cornish Festival, PB. My grandparents took us over back in the 70s. They were selling cooked pigeons too, ewwww!

PB, try the bakery in townsville street in fyshwick, they may do them…

or the wanniassa bakery.

Pommy bastard5:15 pm 18 Feb 09

As I said, it sounds good.

Pommy bastard said :

peterh said :

Lamb? Parsnip? celery? carrots? peas? In a pasty?????

Skirt beef, spud, swede and onion, bit ‘o salt and pepper. (parsley if you are a ponce)

I use an unpowered mincer (hand operated), and mince the lamb first, set aside, then everything bar the peas,

[

You mince the ingredients? Burn the witch, burn the witch!!!!

I then cook the veg in a saucepan to a state of half cooked.

***faints***

(only kidding it sounds good, if not at all traditional)

sigh. it isn’t traditional for you, but the family have had the same recipe for over 80 years, so it is a sort of a tradition…. especially considering that we are all from english stock, ancestors were free settlers on the buffalo, so I will let my granny off from deviating from the original recipe…

Pommy bastard4:59 pm 18 Feb 09

peterh said :

pretty easy. standard pie dough recipe with a pinch of salt added, look anywhere on net for that, filling is 1-2 sticks celery, 2x small parsnips, 2x onion (or 1x leek), 2x small swede (forgot), 2x small carrots, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Lamb from last night’s roast, with a bit of the dripping…. (optional)

Lamb? Parsnip? celery? carrots? peas? In a pasty?????

Skirt beef, spud, swede and onion, bit ‘o salt and pepper. (parsley if you are a ponce)

I use an unpowered mincer (hand operated), and mince the lamb first, set aside, then everything bar the peas,

[

You mince the ingredients? Burn the witch, burn the witch!!!!

I then cook the veg in a saucepan to a state of half cooked.

***faints***

(only kidding it sounds good, if not at all traditional)

using last night’s roast has two benefits, if you have the dripping, instant gravy, and the wife doesn’t get to remove the fat from the lamb… oh, and the occasional deep fried crunchy bit…

tylersmayhem said :

when this massive seagull landed on Ms Thumper’s head

It’s amazing how bi seagulls are in the UK. they look exactly the same as the ones here in Aussie, but about a half to 2/3’s bigger! I’ve seen one take of with te ice cream from a cone when I was in Cornwall.

PeterH: please share your recipe, it sounds unbelievably good!

pretty easy. standard pie dough recipe with a pinch of salt added, look anywhere on net for that, filling is 1-2 sticks celery, 2x small parsnips, 2x onion (or 1x leek), 2x small swede (forgot), 2x small carrots, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Lamb from last night’s roast, with a bit of the dripping…. (optional)

I use an unpowered mincer (hand operated), and mince the lamb first, set aside, then everything bar the peas, I then cook the veg in a saucepan to a state of half cooked. Helps the flavor come out. Mix in with the meat, and sauce. No seasoning apart from a pinch of salt and pepper. I use a saucer to make the rounds in the pastry, after rolling it out to about between half an inch to an inch thick, on a floured board, with a floured rolling pin. I then use a serving spoon to dole out the mixture, then crimp with my first 2 fingers and thumb. coat crimp with egg mixture (1 egg, beaten) and into oven (200c) for about 10-15 mins. check to ensure that you see it going brown… and remove.

enjoy!

Pommy bastard4:37 pm 18 Feb 09

Thanks astrojax.

cornucopia is on mort st, braddon, by the round-a-bout.

and damn you, danman – i was going to show my erudition by discoursing on the history of this delectable repast…

haven’t really had a good pastie to write home about from sunny canberra – adelaide on the other hand…

Pommy bastard3:48 pm 18 Feb 09

The two filling (mains and desert) is a bit of a myth, there’s no record of one.

However the crimps were traditionally thrown away, due to the high levels of arsenic in tin mines!

OT I know but…

Little known fact that pasties were originally miners food, with 2 sections, and the crimping on the edge was a handle to hold on to so as to not dirty the part of the pastie being eaten….

Pommy bastard3:33 pm 18 Feb 09

Where is cornucopia?

Pommy bastard3:11 pm 18 Feb 09

Which do you call the proper crimp Gobbo?

tylersmayhem3:04 pm 18 Feb 09

Cornucopia

This place rules man – soooo bloody good. Rather rip-off expensive, but I still can’t help myself! 🙂

I have never found a pasty in Australia that has been made in the ‘right’ pastry … or crimped properly.

Woody Mann-Caruso2:30 pm 18 Feb 09

Beef, onions, potatoes, salt and pepper. If I wanted carrots I’d eat my own vomit.

Cornucopia

and Pork Pies!!!

Braidwood Deli sell em…

I occasionally pickup a pasty or two from teh Hall markets which are made locally, I think, at the Weetangera Bakery. I could be wrong about the bakery name but the pasty’s are always great.
Admittedly though, I’ve not had an authentic one from ‘Blighty’.

tylersmayhem12:50 pm 18 Feb 09

when this massive seagull landed on Ms Thumper’s head

It’s amazing how bi seagulls are in the UK. they look exactly the same as the ones here in Aussie, but about a half to 2/3’s bigger! I’ve seen one take of with te ice cream from a cone when I was in Cornwall.

PeterH: please share your recipe, it sounds unbelievably good!

Four and Twenty used to make good ones, but deleted the line years ago. I like the ones from the Hotline bakery in Sturt St Mall, Ballarat. No peas or carrots, but very yummy.

American Gods-inspired attempts at making or finding good pastys around Canberra were universally unsuccessful in the MSG-free household.

Grew up on these things in Broken Hill. (might have been the cornish mining community influence). One any visit back I get a pack of 50 or so pack them on ice in an esky specifically taken for the purpose and then keep them in the freezer for a quick snack…

Although they seem a lot smaller than when I remember as a kid and now give me indigestion…but its still worth it 🙂

Pommy bastard11:19 am 18 Feb 09

Lovely place Thumper, beautiful.

I’m not surprised: I’ve never had an edible pasty in my life! The Italian equivalent, the calzone, is a masterpiece though. Not that I have ever had a good one in Australia that wasn’t homemade my someone’s mum (yes, motherhood is a prerequisite for making good calzones).

I make my own pasties too.

Agree with Peter, although mine must have swede or turnip in them. Resisting the urge to prissy them up with herbs and extra ingredients is difficult, but ultimately worthwhile.

Shamefully, I even make chicken turnovers and refer to them as pasties.

Pommy bastard10:40 am 18 Feb 09

I’m surprised, what with the Cornish connection to Aus, that good pastys are not more widespread.

make my own cornish pasties, family recipe. lots of Worcestershire sauce, leftover lamb roast minced, veges – potato, onion (or leek), carrot and peas. they never seem to last long, especially if my granny or mother are in town.

the best pasty I have ever had was in woodville park, at a little bakery tucked out the back of a corner store. nothing compares to the Sth australian pasty. closest thing to cornwall, my granny tells me.

Pommy bastard10:37 am 18 Feb 09

Thumper; “Looe” surely?

http://www.looe.org/

Haven’t found decent ones in Canberra.

I was in Tasmania last October, and they do know how to make pasties there (Launceston).

I think we should refer to them as a tiddly oggy from now on. I love that name 🙂

neanderthalsis10:31 am 18 Feb 09

Unfortunately yet to find a decent pastie in Canberra. If you find yourself in Ipswich, in QLD, try one from Billy Macs bakery. A truly solid pastie with sizable lumps of beef, potato, carrots and peas. Like a true pasty it could survive a fall from a 20 story building intact.

Pommy bastard10:31 am 18 Feb 09

Oh god, I’m drooling just typing that lot out. I’m going to get a batch of them in the oven now. Luckily I’ve got some pastry ready in the fridge.

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