CORNISH pasties are one of the most famous UK foods along with the likes of Melton Mowbray pork pies, Yorkshire puddings and Lincolnshire sausages.
There’s even a dedicated week from February 27 to March 2 to pay homage to the delicacy and promote it across the country.
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The humble dish originated in mines in the south west of England, but is now worth over £300million to the local economy in Cornwall and is without doubt one of the nation’s favourite foods.
A Cornish pasty much be made of at least 12.5% meat and 25% vegetables.
Pastry can be shortcrust, rough puff or puff, but must be strong and not easily broken.
Ingredients must go into the pastry uncooked and slowly baked for flavour.
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The pasty must also be baked west of the Tamar river, which divides Devon and Cornwall.
Whilst we’d all love one from a Cornish bakery, many supermarkets now produce their own. But which is best?
I gave them a go to find out…
Tesco Cornish Pasties
- £2.35
- 45p per 100g
- Per pasty: 364 calories, 23.3g fat, 2.6g sugar, 0.98g salt
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Tesco‘s pasty comes with a generous filling but the majority of it was meat and potato.
They were not as peppery as Ginsters and the pastry was light and nicely baked.
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Note if you like them warm, you cannot heat these in a microwave, though they cooked well in an air fryer.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 7/10
Asda Cornish Pasties
- £2.25 for 4
- 43.3p per 100g
- Per pasty: 364 calories, 23g fat, 2.3g sugar, 0.86g salt
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Asda‘ take on the pasty is cheaper than Tesco, but virtually identical – I struggled to tell them apart.
This had a good filling, light, flaky pastry. They looked a little paler in colour than most.
Definitely better eaten warm than cold, but made for a nice snack.
These were the best price out of all the pasties I tried.
- Taste: 7/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 8/10
M&S Cornish Pasties
- £3.50 for
- £1.17 per 100g
- Per pasty: 413 calories, 24.8g fat, 2.9g sugar, 0.95g salt
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You can eat M&S‘ cold but they best warmed in the oven for 20 minutes.
The balance of flavours is nicer and there was a generous helping of minced beef – 18% according to the packet.
The pastry was thick and buttery, too.
The downside is the price, with M&S charging £3.50 for two.
They are over double the cost per 100g of most the others so will have to remain a once in a blue moon treat.
- Taste: 10/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 9/10
Morrisons Cornish Pasties
- £2.39 for 4
- 46p per 100g
- Per pasty: 364 calories, 23.3g fat, 2.6g sugar, 0.98g salt
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These pasties from Morrisons looked appetising.
But the filling was mostly potato and onion and there wasn’t enough seasoning.
They definitely needed more mince and more swede. Plus they were a little pricier than other supermarkets too.
- Taste: 4/10
- Value: 3/10
- Overall score: 4/10
Sainsbury’s Cornish Pasties
- £2.75 for 4
- 53p per 100g
- Per pasty: 344 calories, 20.6g fat, 2.6g sugar, 1.21g salt
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Sainsbury’s bake had puff pastry and a delicately balanced filling of potato, minced beef, swede and onion.
They had a very salty aftertaste so I wasn’t surprised to look at the packet and see they contained a lot more salt than most rivals.
There were fewer calories though and on the whole, and were very enjoyable.
These were probably my pick of the bunch.
- Taste: 10/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall score: 10/10
How to save on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Ginsters Cornish Pasties
- £1.99 for 2
- 54p per 200g
- Per pasty: 472 calories, 27.5g, 3.3g sugar, 1.65g salt
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Given the price on top of the shocking calorie, fat and sugar content, I didn’t want to like these. But I did.
There was a good filling with 15% British beef as well as the traditional potato, swede and onion.
It was big and very filling – definitely a meal as opposed to a snack.
The salt content was shocking though at 1.65g and there was a strong flavour of black pepper, which I found a bit off-putting.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall score: 7/10
Lidl Chef Select Cornish Pasty
- £1.19 for 1
- 59.5p per 100g
- Per pasty: 551 calories, 31g fat, 2.4g sugar, 1.44g salt
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This from Lidl was a whopper. It was very filling and tastier than many of the others.
The pastry was nicely baked and there was lot of filling with swede, potato and onion in with the beef.
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It was at least as good as Ginsters if not better. I’d have one of these again any day.
- Taste: 9/10
- Value: 8/10
- Overall score: 9/10
