Cornish Pasty

Originating in Cornwall, Southwest England, the Cornish pasty dates back to the 1200s. It became a staple among tin miners during the height of Cornwall’s mining industry. Wives and mothers would bake pasties with a thick crimped edge, allowing miners to hold their lunch without touching the food—important in an era when their hands were often contaminated with arsenic. These crust "handles" were discarded, sometimes left as offerings to mythical mine spirits known as “knockers.”

Traditionally, pasties featured two fillings: savory meat and vegetables on one end, and a sweet dessert on the other, marked to indicate the correct eating order. Today’s classic Cornish pasty is filled with steak, potatoes, swede (rutabaga), and onions.

As Cornwall’s mining industry declined in the late 1800s, many Cornish miners emigrated to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to work in the copper mines, bringing the pasty tradition with them. The pasty remains a beloved cultural symbol in both regions to this day.