1 . The pasty (馅饼) has been a recorded part of the British diet since the 13th century, at that time being enjoyed by the rich upper classes. The fillings were different and rich. It wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that the pasty was popular among miners and farm workers in Cornwall as a means for providing themselves with easy and tasty meals while they worked. And so the Cornish pasty was born.
Traditionally, the pasty fillings are beef with potato, onion and swede! As meat was much more expensive in the 17th and 18th centuries, its presence was rare and so pasties traditionally included much more vegetables than today. The presence of carrot in a pasty, although common now, was the mark of a poor pasty at first.
Filling ideas are endless however, and can be as different as your taste will take you. There is much discussion as to whether the ingredients (原料) should be mixed together first or lined up on the pastry in a special order. However, there is agreement that the meat should be cut into pieces, the vegetables sliced and none should be cooked before they are sealed (密封) within the pastry. It is this that makes the Cornish pasty different from other similar foods.
It was such a commonly used method of eating amongst the miners that some mines had tools down the mineshafts (井筒) specifically to cook the pasties. If they were cooked in the mornings, the pastry could keep the fillings warm for 8-10 hours and, when held close to the body, keep the miners warm too. It was also common for the pasties to provide not only a main course lunch, but also a sweet or fruity dessert course. The salty filling would be cooked at one end of the pasty and the sweet course at the other end. Hopefully these ends would be marked on the outside too!
1. What do we know about the pasty in the 13th century?| A．It was enjoyed in Cornwall only. |
| B．It was popular among miners and farm workers. |
| C．It had few and simple fillings. |
| D．It was widely eaten by the rich upper classes. |
| A．be more expensive | B．be sold out very soon |
| C．be seen as one of bad quality | D．be made without other fillings |
| A．Its fillings can’t be very different. | B．Its ingredients should be mixed. |
| C．Its ingredients should be put in the correct order. | D．Its fillings shouldn’t be cooked before they are sealed. |
| A．To show how to make pasties. | B．To introduce the basic information of pasties. |
| C．To compare different pasties. | D．To encourage people to taste pasties. |
