New
New
Year 6

Making Cornish pasties

I can use food skills to make Cornish pasties.

New
New
Year 6

Making Cornish pasties

I can use food skills to make Cornish pasties.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Cornish pasties, known as 'Oggy', originate from Cornwall. They were traditionally eaten by tin miners.
  2. Care should be taken when handling raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.
  3. The filling traditionally includes potato, onion and swede, commonly grown in the UK, and meat.
  4. The food skills used to make Cornish pasties are rubbing-in, rolling-out, peeling, dicing, shaping and using an oven.

Keywords

  • Cornish - relating to Cornwall, its people or language

  • Pasty - a folded pastry case, typically with a savoury filling

  • Swede - a large, round yellow-fleshed root vegetable

  • Cross-contamination - the process by which bacteria are transferred from one place or to another

Common misconception

Any Cornish pasties made and sold in the UK can use the name ‘Cornish pasty’, as it is based on a recipe.

Only pasties made in Cornwall to a specific recipe can be called a ‘Cornish pasty’; it is legally protected in the UK by Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status.


To help you plan your year 6 cooking and nutrition lesson on: Making Cornish pasties, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils make the pasty and the filling, but if time is tight, pre-made shortcrust pastry could be used. Ensure pupils can wash their hands after touching raw meat - emphasise the importance of hygiene.
Teacher tip

Equipment

For ingredients and equipment see the recipe in additional materials.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - may contain allergens
  • Risk assessment required - equipment

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? Fruit and vegetables should be washed before preparation, cooking and/or eating.

Correct answer: True
False

Q2.
What food skill is this image showing?

An image in a quiz
rubbing-in
Correct answer: rolling-out
forming a dough
shaping a dough
rolling-up

Q3.
Match the ingredients to a typical preservation technique:

Correct Answer:strawberries,making jam

making jam

Correct Answer:peas,freezing

freezing

Correct Answer:chickpeas,canning

canning

Correct Answer:onions,pickling

pickling

Correct Answer:mixed herbs,drying

drying

Q4.
During cooking, food is important to follow, such as washing hands and wearing an apron.

Correct Answer: hygiene

Q5.
Match the different food production methods:

Correct Answer:eggs,hens laying

hens laying

Correct Answer:watermelon,planting, growing and picking

planting, growing and picking

Correct Answer:pork,pig, processing, meat

pig, processing, meat

Correct Answer:milk,dairy cow, milking

dairy cow, milking

Correct Answer:wheat,planting, growing and harvesting

planting, growing and harvesting

Q6.
What does this label mean?

An image in a quiz
The food has been produced in the EU.
Correct answer: The food has been made to high standards of food safety or animal welfare.
Correct answer: The food has been produced in the UK.
The food has been made to high nutrition standards.
Q6 No attribution required

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? Any Cornish pasties made in the UK can use the name ‘Cornish pasty’, as it is based on a recipe.

True
Correct answer: False

Q2.
Which of these is showing rubbing-in?

An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz

Q3.
The traditional ingredients in a Cornish pasty include:

Correct answer: potatoes, beef
celery, carrots
Correct answer: onion, swede
peas, cabbage

Q4.
Cornish pasties were traditionally eaten by for lunch.

Correct Answer: tin miners, tinminers, miners

Q5.
Washing our hands after touching raw meat helps to prevent __________.

hygiene
food safety
4Cs
Correct answer: cross-contamination

Q6.
Place this Cornish pasty recipe in the correct order.

1 - Pre-heat the oven.
2 - Make the pastry, then wrap and chill.
3 - Make the filling.
4 - Roll-out the pastry into two circles.
5 - Add the filling.
6 - Shape into pasties.
7 - Bake in the oven.

Additional material

Download additional material