LCpl. Matthew King with the British 20th Armoured Brigade Surveillance Company holds his pasty ready for inspection in Basra on Saturday.
Posted on 07/25/2006 3:58:21 PM PDT by SandRat
BASRA - The easiest way to describe a pasty, is a pot pie without the pot. Nobody knows for sure where and when the pasty originated, but it's thought to have been invented when the preparation of food became an art rather than roasting a hunk of meat on a stick.
The Royal Air Force flew in hundreds of the hometown specialties for British Soldiers of Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry, based in southern Iraq, for their Regimental Day on Saturday.
A generous pasty shop in Plymouth, England, shipped more than 600 of their choice meat-filled delicacies to Iraq so troops here could enjoy a genuine product from home.
On the same day in 1812, July 22, the 11th Devonshire Regiment was dubbed the "Bloody Eleventh" for their valiant efforts against the French at Salamanca, Spain, in the Peninsular War. Of the 412 who entered the battle, 341 died.
Some Basra-based troops of the regiment, a surveillance company for the 20th Armoured Brigade here at Basra Air Station, also spent the day reflecting on the recent loss of Cpl. John J. Cosby, who was killed in one of many operations the unit conducts.
Traditionally, Salamanca Day is celebrated with activities centered on the culture of Southwest England. This year, the pasties took center-stage as a reminder of home.
Soon after the pasties hit the runway in Basra, the RAF dispatched some of the tasty pies to parts of southern Iraq where other units of the regiment are based – Shaibah, Umm Qasr and Al Faw.
"The RAF were fantastic in getting them flown into Basra for our boys," British Capt. Mike Wills, the Regiment's spokesman, said.
"It's nice to know people back home are thinking of us."
Pasties are mentioned in the Robin Hood ballads of the 1300's; "Bred on chese, butre and milk, pastees and flaunes."
(Partial content for this article courtesy of www.hu.mtu.edu/vup/pasty/history.htm)
Good to see them get a taste of home.
Upper Peninsula Pasties
Introduced in the United States by Cornish miners who immigrated in the 1800's hoping to earn a good living in newly developing mines. When the Cornish came to the copper and iron mines of the Upper Peninsula, they contributed skills that were unknown to many of the other groups. Because they looked up to the Cornish miners for their skills in mining, people tended to copy other of their traditions, including the pasty.
Each ethnic group contributed its own influences in the evolution of the UP pasty. A culinary rivalry developed between miners and others of different nationalities, as each asserted its own mark on the pasty in the way of seasoning and other ingredients. A descendent of Swedish immigrants to the Upper Peninsula, I was until recently under the impression that the pasty was a traditional Swedish food.
The shape and construct of the pasty made it not only portable, but if it should get cold, it would be relatively easy to warm up. In the mine, this was often done by putting the pasty on a shovel and holding it over a head-lamp candle. In the workplace, as pasty wasn't eaten with a fork; it was eaten end to end, held upright to keep the juices in.
The pasty survived the collapse of the mining industry because it had become popular with the major ethnic groups to remain after the mines had closed - the Finns and the Swedes. In the mid-1800's, a small wave of immigrants came from Scandinavia well after the Cornish were established. When a larger wave of Scandinavian miners came 30 years later, they were probably introduced to the pasty by the older Finns and Swedes, rather than from the Cornish. This is probably why the Upper Peninsula pasty is somewhat different from its Cornish ancestor, and why a Swede like myself may have grown up believing that the pasty was a Swedish specialty.
The Upper Peninsula pasty differs from the Cornish pasty in that the vegetables are usually diced rather than sliced, there are more vegetables, and a thinner crust.
For more Pasty goodness, go to Pasty Central.
I got to love Cornish pastys when I was in London. Not all English cooking is this good, but it's not as universally bad as some would have you believe.
Those pasties are shipped with a minimum of four. I see two on the plate and one in his hand. Any bets on the fourth being in the Governor?
BTW pasties are a Finnish specialty, everyone in my mothers (Finnish) family knows that. ;)
Hear hear! Have you ever had spotted dick? Now don't laugh, it's fantastic stuff! I used to buy it at a local shop that sold nothing but all things UK. It was a kind of steamed pudding with raisins in it. I'd eat it with PG Tips.
I'd get up and go get some right but alas, the shop is no longer open. I don't know if they closed completely or just moved.
I should find out.
This really is a great story.
In all honesty (and grudgingly passing on the tempting puns) I can say I have not.
I liked Yorkshire pudding, but I found fish and chips way too greasy. I was puzzled by what they called sausage, and their scrambled eggs were runny. On the other hand, there was a place run by this Scotsman that served beef patties on a bun. Place called "MacDonald's" or something like that.
Seriously, while I wouldn't consider England a gastronome's Mecca, one can certainly find some delicious foods there.
Well, if you ever get the chance, try that steamed pudding.
The place I used to shop at moved! I'm heading there this afternoon.
Now, my experience with the fish and chips was a good one. It's been several years since I visited London, but it seems like there was a pub near Westminister abby that served a good fish and chips.
I loved London. I had a good experience with the people there. We never had to do more than look mildly confused before someone walking by on the street would very courteously help us (tourists, you know).
The worst place we visited was Paris. Ugh. Terrible hotel, hostile people....I don't care to ever go back. Loved Germany and Holland...in the countryside. Brussels had these delicious waffles being sold in the subway...instead of smelling like a stinky subway, it smelled like a bakery down there!
But Holland, Switzerland, and Germany were my favorites. Beautiful, clean, friendly ... England was a prize; it was history come to life for me.
Next up: Devonshire clotted cream and scones (which tastes a he!! of a lot better than it sounds, believe me!)
The privations these fine men must endure.
God bless 'em all.
'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
I miss MadIvan.
MadIvan never should have left. I wasn't in on his opus, but from what I understand, he was run off by the stupidity that periodically pops up around here like weeds in a garden.
That is my understanding as well.
I found the little UK store and bought some spotted dick and some Devon custard. I'll have afternoon tea tomorrow in his honor.
Have a sip for me, too. Pinky extended, of course.
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