Storm in a pastry shell

WE don't half get some completely loony edicts wafting down from the EU. Sneaking in under the radar is the moronic idea that to be called a Cornish pasty a pasty has to come from Cornwall which has seen the Cornish Pasty Association wetting their knickers with excitement.

Now I could understand it if there was some sort of quality control to go with with their geographical status, a sort of Pasty Appellation but no, nothing so sensible. Any old rubbish can be bunged in a bit of dog-rough pastry and as long as it is churned out in Cornwall it can be called a Cornish pasty - and trust me there are a lot of pasties from the county that do its reputation no favours at all.

Just as an aside has anyone ever managed to buy a pasty that has never won some sort of prize? Any foreign visitor must think the real name is Award Winning Cornish Pasty.

Even more stupid is the fatuous diktat that to carry the legend Cornish pasty it is supposed to be made to the traditional recipe. Traditional recipe? I suspect that there as many traditional Cornish pasty recipes as there are people who make them from Land's End to John O'Groats.

As for the idea they are some sort of Cornish delicacy unique to Cornwall . . . there are pasties of some description in pretty well every mining area of Britain. It was a simple, cheap, hearty meal full of carbohydrate for the lads at the face needing no plate, knife or fork. It could be eaten cold and even in the dark.

Ingredients were local or home grown veg and, in a good week, meat and would vary depending upon the region and the time of year.

The Cornish variety was flat, D shaped and crimped around the sides while the pasty from the Manchester area and the pits of south Lancashire was more upright - the shape people think of as a pasty - crimped along the domed top. I hope the Cornish remember that when they are knocking out their traditional pasties to traditional recipes. Hate to think they were nicking another region's design.

Giving the Cornish Pasty geographical status is as daft as anyone doing the same for Lancashire Hot Pot, Eccles Cakes, Bakewell Tart, Yorkshire pudding, French onion soup and so on. They are recipes and not even unique ones at that. No one area can really lay an exclusive claim to them although they might be associated with a town or region.

We are not talking Parma ham orBurgundies here, we are talking foods you can knock up in any kitchen in the world and they will look and taste the same. I fear Cornwall, or at least the Cornish Pasty Association could well come unstuck.

People might well find they prefer a well made plain old non-Cornish pasty to some of the cheap barely edible stuff which will carry the Cornish name in all night garages and service stations. At the moment all pasties are thought of as Cornish and good ones, made anywhere, are still good PR fro the county. Leave it to the cheap and cheerful exports to carry the name though and Cornwall could be in trouble by association.