[Sca-Cooks] Pasties article in the new T.I.

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jul 27, 2007, at 6:29 PM, David Friedman wrote:

> Adamantius writes:
>
>> For example, I see Chiquart translations using the term "pasty" (also
>> le Menagier, IIRC).
>>
>> I'm wondering what a French pastez (isn't that the original Fench
>> term?) really is..
>
> Chiquart provides a recipe. Whatever it is--he doesn't specify shape
> beyond saying to make them high--it's fried, not baked. No evidence
> that it's a short crust. Medieval not modern spicing.

Well, if they're fried, they can become crisp and somewhat bubbly  
(like a Cantonese egg roll wrapper, when fried, for example), and  
they soak up a little fat, keeping them moist, so a flour-and-water  
or flour-and-egg paste might be more palatable than it might  
otherwise sound.

I guess what I'm asking is, is it valid to translate some of the  
terms that may simply denote a doughy casing, as pasties, which, to  
persons of English-speaking heritage, can have certain connotations  
as to filling, shape, etc.

Now, it does seem kind of likely that the venison pasties, or some of  
the other references in English texts, aren't much like modern  
Cornish pasties. The question then becomes, what should they be like,  
and how justified are we calling some of the chewet-like pastries  
found in French sources, pasties, even when a French word structured  
similarly, is used in the French sources?

Just tossing ideas around...

Adamantius