Lesson video

Hello, thanks for choosing this lesson.

My name's Mr. Balam.

And today this lesson's all about making Cornish pasties.

Shall we get started? So what are we going to learn today? Well, by the end of this lesson, you're gonna use different food skills to make Cornish pasties for yourself.

But before we get started, there are a few key words which I want to go through which we're going to pick up in the lesson today.

The first one is Cornish, and this relates to Cornwall, its people or language.

The second one is pasty, and this is a folded pastry case, typically with a savoury filling.

The next one is swede, and it's a large, round yellow-fleshed root vegetable.

And lastly, cross-contamination.

And this is the process by which bacteria are transferred from one place to another.

So, we're going to pick up on these keywords throughout the lesson today.

So let's get started with the first part of the lesson, all around recipe history.

Now, there have been different varieties of pasty since about the 13th century in the UK.

However, pasties become very popular around about the 18th century in Cornwall.

And the pasties are now known as Cornish pasties.

You can see them on the screen just down the bottom there.

And Cornish pasties are also known as Oggy in the Cornish language.

Now, Cornish pasties were a popular lunch for tin miners in Cornwall.

And the pasties consisted of vegetables, such as potato, onion, and swede.

And meat was added now and again because it was more expensive.

And often the miners' initials were carved in the pasty so they knew which pasty was theirs.

That's quite clever, isn't it? And sometimes fruit was also cooked into one end, giving them a sweet treat.

Imagine that, lunch all in one pasty.

Now, Cornish pasty have two main parts: the outer part, which is made from shortcrust pastry, and then the inside, which is the filling, and that's made from the vegetables and sometimes the meat.

And round the edge of the pasty, you can see in the photo there, is the crust, or the crimp, and that acts as a handle.

And it allowed the miners to eat the pasty without touching the food directly because they had dirty hands.

How clever was that? Now, the filling ingredients include the following: potatoes, onions, swede, and often beef.

And these vegetables were used because they're commonly grown in the UK.

And traditionally, they were used because they were cheap and plentiful.

Now let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? What are the traditional filling ingredients for a Cornish pasty? A, B, C, D.

Yes, that's right.

First one is beef and onion.

Anything else? Yes, well done.

Swede and potato.

So these four ingredients are the traditional filling for a Cornish pasty.

Brilliant work, well done.

And as I've mentioned, Cornish pasties traditionally contain beef.

And when handling the raw meat, we need to do the following: We need to keep it chilled until needed, and it should be covered in the bottom of the fridge.

We need to cut the meat on a separate chopping board.

Often, people use a red chopping board.

And we always need to wash our hands.

And this is really important to prevent cross-contamination of bacteria, which could cause food poisoning.

So these three things are absolutely essential when you're handling raw meat.

So from humble beginnings, Cornish pasties are now made, sold, and eaten throughout the world.

And the Cornish pasty name and recipe are legally protected in the UK.

And this means that only pasties made in Cornwall to a certain recipe can be called Cornish pasty.

And here's Cornwall, just on the map, just in case you didn't know where it was in the UK.

Just down the Southwest.

Okay, let's have another quick check, shall we? So, Cornish pasties can only use the Cornish pasty name if they are made in Cornwall.

Well done.

Yes, that's true, isn't it? And why is that? Well, only pasties made in Cornwall to a certain recipe can be called Cornish pasty, as it is legally protected.

Brilliant work, well done.

So let's have a quick task now, shall we? And what I want you to do is help these pupils create modern versions of Cornish pasties for their school friends.

So first of all, Sofia, "Let's make a vegan version." Mm! I bet that's nice.

Or Andeep, "I love cheese from the UK!" How about Izzy? "Something spicy with beans." Or Alex, "I don't know.

What do you think?" Mm! You can be creative there.

So come up with four great ideas based on what the pupils are saying here.

So, good luck to you.

Pause the video, and we'll come back very soon to see how you've got on.

Okay, so how did you get on? Have you come up with some great ideas? I bet you have.

Well, let's look at the first one, Sofia.

"Let's make a vegan version." So, no meat, but lots of seasonal vegetables.

And she's gonna use leeks, spinach, and broccoli.

Oh! I bet they're delicious.

And she's gonna call it the green pasty.

That's a great name, isn't it? And how about Andeep? He says he loves cheese from the UK.

So what type of pasty could you create for him? Well, perhaps he's gonna be using cheddar cheese and perhaps some Red Leicester too.

And also maybe some chutney.

Oh, I bet that works really well together.

And he's gonna call it the cheese monster.

That's a great name too, isn't it? And how about Izzy? Something spicy with beans.

Well, she's inspired by Mexican food, and she's gonna have beans, peppers, chilli, and tomatoes.

And she's gonna call it the so, so hot pasty.

That's a good name too, isn't it? And lastly, how about Alex? He didn't know what to do, so I'm gonna come up with an idea, but I'm sure you've come up with some brilliant ideas too.

So, thanks for your ideas.

But they're gonna do a chicken and mushroom pasty with extra sweetcorn.

Oh, and one end has apple, too, for pudding, just like the tin miners.

Do you remember? Well, whatever you've done, I bet you've come up with some great creative ideas for modern versions of a Cornish pasty.

Brilliant work.

Now let's move on to the second part of the lesson, all around making your Cornish pasties.

So we're gonna use a number of different food skills today, and a really important one is measuring.

And when we're using the weighing scales, we need to make sure it displays zero before we weigh anything so we get the right weight.

We're also going to be measuring using a measuring jug.

And it's always important to put the jug on a flat surface so we measure the right amount of liquid.

And we're also going to be using measuring spoons.

Make sure you use the right spoon.

Read the recipe carefully.

So let's have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So looking at the screen here, looking at the weighing scales, look at this display, how much flour is being weighed? A, B, C, or D.

That's right, it's 100 grammes, C.

Brilliant work, well done.

You looked very carefully.

An accurate weighing is absolutely essential when you're cooking.

Great work.

Also, we're going to be rubbing-in.

And here's rubbing-in in action here.

And we're gonna be rubbing-in the butter, or the baking block, into the flour.

And we're gonna use our fingertips to rub-in the butter, or the baking block, into the flour.

And we're gonna keep on rubbing until it looks like breadcrumbs.

And we can gently shake the bowl, and it means any big bits of butter, or baking block, come to the top so we can rub that in too, just like in the photo here.

We're also going to be forming the dough.

And this is when we add the water to the flour and the butter mixture and we mix it together to form the dough or the pastry.

And if it's too sticky, add a little bit of flour using a spoon.

And if it's too dry, add a little bit more water, again, using a spoon.

And we're using a spoon just so we don't add too much and we can control the amount that we have.

So, have a quick check for understanding, shall we? So if the pastry is too sticky, extra water should be added.

That's false, isn't it? And why is that? Well, if the pastry is too sticky, we need to add a little flour with a spoon.

If we added more water, it'd become even more sticky, wouldn't it? Brilliant, well done.

Also, we're going to be rolling-out.

And we're gonna be using a rolling pin.

So we're gonna divide the pastry into two, first of all, and then we're gonna roll out each piece of pastry into a circle, just like you can see on the screen here, about 15 centimetres across.

You might want to have a ruler handy just so you can check.

And we need to make sure that the work surface or the table where you're rolling-out has flour on it so that the pastry doesn't stick.

We're also going to be peeling, and we're going to be peeling the onion by hand.

But we don't need to peel the potato, but we need to make sure we wash it first.

Plus, any peelings that we have, make sure you compost them.

We're also going to be dicing, and we're going to dice the onion.

So we're gonna slice the onion, leaving the root intact, and then we're gonna cross the onion, making the slices into a dice.

And we're gonna use the claw grip to do this.

Let's have a look together, shall we? They're making a claw with one hand, and then with the other hand running the knife down, carefully slicing.

And then with the claw, they just push back a little bit, using their fingertips as a guide so it's lovely and safe.

Other dicing we're going to do is dicing the potato.

We're gonna dice the potato and the swede.

And we're gonna cut this into slices, first of all, and then we're gonna cut across the slices to dice.

And if we don't want to dice these, we could also grate the potato and swede too.

And this helps it cook quicker too.

We're also going to be mixing.

And we're going to mix the onion, potato, swede, and beef mince together.

We're gonna use a spoon, not our hands.

Now, this is our filling mixture.

It's what we're going to put into our pastry.

But it's gonna be absolutely delicious when it's cooked.

And it's always important to wash your hands after touching raw meat.

Let's have a quick check, shall we? So after handling raw meat, we should something our something.

Good luck.

Well, yes, the first one is wash, isn't it? So after handling raw meat, we should wash our hands.

Brilliant work, well done.

We're also going to be shaping.

And we're going to be shaping the pastry into the pasties.

And we're gonna put half the beef mixture onto the bottom half of each pastry circle.

Then we're gonna brush the edges of the circle with milk.

Then we're going to pull up the opposite side of the pastry over the filling.

And then we're going to pinch or crimp the edges together all the way along, just like in the photo here.

Then we're gonna place the pasties onto a baking tray and brush with milk.

We're also going to be using the oven for baking.

Just like in the photo here, you can see.

And it's really important to preheat the oven before you start so it's the right temperature when you need it.

And we're going to bake the pasties for about 35 minutes until they're cooked a lovely golden brown.

And as always, it's really important to use oven gloves when you're putting food into the oven and taking food out of the oven too.

Okay, so now I want you to go and make your Cornish pasties.

Before you cook, I want you to get ready to cook.

So that means tying up any long hair, removing jumpers, washing hands, and wearing an apron, for example.

Also, I want to make sure you've got your ingredients and your equipment ready.

Plus, as you prep and cook, I want to make sure you're safe and hygienic and also you use your food skills too.

So here's the recipe, and these are the ingredients that you need.

And here's the equipment.

So you might want to pause the video now while you go and get these ready.

And here's the first part of the method.

And here's the second part of the method.

And here's the last part of the method.

So, good luck to you.

I'm sure you're gonna do absolutely brilliantly today, and we'll come back very soon to see how you got on making your Cornish pasties.

Good luck! Remember to pause the video.

Okay, so how did you get on? Did you do well? How did the Cornish pasties taste? I bet some of you eaten them, haven't you? I bet they're absolutely delicious.

So let's go through the recipe to see how you were successful in making your Cornish pasties.

So, first of all, you would've preheated the oven, lined the baking tray, and then you would've made the shortcrust pastry.

Do you remember things like rubbing-in so it looks like breadcrumbs and forming the dough by adding the water? So, I bet you did really well there.

Then you would've peeled and diced the onion, diced the potato, diced the swede, and also you would've mixed the onion, potato, swede, beef mince, and black pepper together.

Then you would've divided the dough into two and rolled out each piece into a circle, about 15 centimetres across.

Then you would've put half the beef mixture on the bottom half of each pasty.

You would've brushed the edges of the circle with milk.

Then you would've pulled the opposite side of the pastry over the filling and pinched the edges together all the way along.

Then you would've placed the pasties onto a baking tray, and then you would've brushed them with milk.

And lastly, you would've baked them for about 35 minutes until they're cooked a lovely golden brown.

Brilliant work, well done to you.

Well, that's today's lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it, all about making Cornish pasties.

We've learned so much.

Let's have a quick summary of what we've learned today.

Well, the first thing is that Cornish pasties became a popular lunch in the 18th century in Cornwall by tin miners.

And also, Cornish pasties are made from pastry, which is a shortcrust pastry, and a filling, which is potato, onion, swede, and beef.

And we should really give great care when handling raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.

And also, only pasties made in Cornwall to a certain recipe can be called Cornish pasty, and it is legally protected.

And also, we've used lots of different food skills today.

Things like measuring, rubbing-in, rolling-out, peeling, dicing, mixing, shaping, and using the oven, baking, too.

Brilliant work.

Well, I really hope you enjoyed today.

I hope you enjoyed making your Cornish pasties and you come back very soon for another cooking and nutrition lesson with me.

Thanks a lot.

Bye!.