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But what was once a nourishing treat of beef, potatoes, onions and turnips is said by purists to have become over commercialised with people not being prepared to pay out for a decent pasty. So were these the pits or the pot of gold?
Supreme Cornish Pasty (£1), Greggs (countrywide)
The crust: Flaky. This is unusual in a Cornish which, given its distinctive shape, is more often made of sturdier shortcrust to cope with the weight of the filling. Those miners might have had a bit of a problem, and this, as our pic shows, was not holding together too well.
The filling: A mix of minced beef and diced vegetables with a distinctive pepperflavour, says the blurb. A 10.5 percent meat content, apparently, the one we tried was an unappetising pink colour whipped up in a mush of moist mash with just the odd fleck of diced carrot and potato here and there.
Overall: Bought lukewarm, it was the cheapest and the smallest. Fill-a-hole food for those on the run.
Cornish Pasty (£1.03), Waterfields (branches around Merseyside)
The crust: Shortcrust all right, a little heavy but non greasy and with good golden hi bake look to it and solidly holding its contents.
The filling: Again, minced beef, and this makes up 10 per cent of the content. The filling was moist, if a little stingy in proportion to the pastry, but this time a much darker, meaty colour. More carrot and onion in evidence, a very piquant taste, given a kick by the use of “flavour enhancers”.
Overall: Served at just the right temperature needed to bring out the pleasant aromas and taste of both the filling and the pastry, this looked like a northern version of a Cornish pasty, although the miners would be starving if they threw this crust away.
The crust: A huge expanse of flaky-shortcrust hybrid pastry, but very solid and thick, firmly holding its contents in a flattish purse-type shape.
The filling: Tender little chunks of beef, seasoned in coarse black pepper sit in between generous layers of potato, turnip and red onion in a light gravy. On the face of it there was nothing mechanical about the way this had been prepared. Gave off a great aroma and had a nice texture and homemade flavour.
Overall: A good third bigger than the others, and massively more expensive, you could say that's railway station prices for you. On the other hand, you could say this is a substantially filling meal in itself, which proves the purists right....
8/10: ....You get what you pay for.
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Ray's bakery in Prescot. Winner of the prestigious Prescot Pie final silver rosette award 1956. Unmissable.
Can you still get a decent pastie in Pimblett's in St Helens? Why is it that all the great pastry savouries are in other parts of the area, like Wigan and Rainford? I also agree with Ray's in Prescot having a top pastie.
The ingredients of the pasty at the Pasty Shop are correct but the Cornish pasties should have a crimped top and should not be flat. I know. I am Cornish.
I yearn for the days of a Poole's steak and kidney pie.
crap pasties?
Oystercatcher: Do you know your name is an anagram of mine?
The absolute best pasty ever - and that includes the so-called originals emanating from the floury hands of softy southerners - was from a bakery near the corner of Lord Street and Coronation Walk in Southport. Flatter than your average pasty and shaped like a box, this was a meal in a crust alright. The shop's closed now but the memories live on. Slather!
I think of nothing more disgusting than eating a cornish pasty cheap meat wrapped in oily pastry disgusting - even worse when a toothless child in a pram is sucking on the contents of a pasty hanging out of a paper bag with all flaky bits on their front - uggggghhh
I see Sayers didn't make it into this list. Now why would that be.