雖然現在這道菜名字跟康沃爾關係密切,但其確切起源仍然不明。英語中的「pasty」這個字是由中世紀法文演變而來(paste,出自拉丁文pasta[2]),意指以鹿肉、鮭魚或其他肉類、蔬菜或乾酪填料的的派,不用容器盛裝烘烤。[3]肉餡餅一直以來都沒有在食譜書上缺席。例如:《Le Viandier》(古法文)最早的版本可追溯到1300年左右,記載了多種肉餡餅食譜。[4]1393年的《Le Menagier de Paris》紀載著鹿肉、小牛肉、牛或羊肉為材料的餡餅(pasté)食譜[5]。
其他關於肉餡餅的紀錄還有:13世紀由亨利三世(1207–1272)頒布一項規定,大雅茅斯鎮每年必須繳交「100條鯡魚烤成的24個肉餡餅」給諾里奇的地方官員,地方官員送給東卡爾頓大宅主人後再轉交給國王[6]。13世紀的編年史家馬修·帕里斯,記錄了聖奧爾本斯修道院的僧侶有「以鮮肉餡餅為食的習俗」[7]。1465年,約克大主教暨大法官(archbishop of York and chancellor of England)喬治·奈維爾(George Neville)的就職宴會上,供應了5,500個鹿肉餡餅[8]。皇室成員也吃過這種餡餅,一封麵包師寫給亨利八世第三任妻子珍·西摩(1508–1537)的信寫著:「……希望這餡餅送達時狀態比上次的還好……」[9]。17世紀中葉,塞繆爾·皮普斯在日記裡多次出現肉餡餅的相關紀錄,例如:「在威廉·潘爵士家用餐……一份鹿肉餡餅聞起來臭得要命。」[10]但在這段時期之後,肉餡餅這個詞在康沃爾就漸漸少用了[11]。
2006年德文郡(Devon)的學者在1510年的帳本裡,發現一張餡餅材料的清單,帳本紀載著製作鹿肉餡餅的花費[19]。此一發現取代了當時最早的紀錄,一份1746年的食譜,該文件藏於特魯羅的康沃爾檔案局(Cornwall Records Office)[20]。由於肉餡餅在當時是公認的豪華餐點,這份來自埃奇庫姆山宅邸(Mount Edgcumbe estate)的食譜使用鹿肉作肉餡[21]。德文郡普利茅斯這份記載餡餅價格的1509年文件的出現,反而引起了鄰近兩郡(德文與康沃爾)的發源地之爭[20][22][23]。但餡餅(pasty)一詞,如上所述,在英國各地都有更早的文獻紀錄。
^Cambridge Dictionaries Online. "Pasty". Retrieved 14 June 2012.
^Scully, Terence, ed.; Taillevent (1988). The Viandier of Taillevent: an edition of all extant manuscripts. Pasty mentions: University of Ottawa Press. p. 361. ISBN 0-7766-0174-1.
^Nuttall, P Austin (1840). A classical and archæological dictionary of the manners, customs, laws, institutions, arts, etc. of the celebrated nations of antiquity, and of the middle ages. London. p. 555.
^ Brayley, Edward Wedlake (1808). The Beauties of England and Wales, Or Delineations, Topographical, Historical and Descriptive. VII (Hertford, Huntingdon and Kent). London: Thomas Maiden. p. 40.
^ Encyclopaedia Britannica 1823 vol VIII. Printed for Archibald Constable and Company. 1823. p. 585.
^ Shackle, Eric (21 April 2001). "A short history of ... Cornish pasties | Life and style | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
^ "Thursday 1 August 1667". The Diary of Samuel Pepys. Phil Gyford. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
^Laura Mason & Catherine Brown (2007). From Bath Chaps to Bara Brith: The Taste of South West Britain. Harper Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-7524-4742-1.
^ Harris, J Henry (2009). Cornish Saints & Sinners. Wildside Press LLC. p. 195.
^ Devlin, Kate (25 July 2008). "The History of the Cornish Pasty". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
^ 14.014.114.2Grigson, Jane (1993) English Food. Penguin Books, p. 226
^ 15.015.1Miller, Luke; Westergren, Marc. "History of the Pasty". The Cultural Context of the Pasty". Michigan Technological University. Retrieved 13 March 2006.
^ 16.016.116.2"Cornish Pasty (PGI)" (PDF). DEFRA. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
^Mansfield, Emma (2011). The Little Book of the Pasty. Cornwall: Lovely Little Books. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-906771-28-7.
^Martin, Edith (1929). Cornish Recipes: Ancient and Modern. Truro: A. W. Jordan.
^"A pasty in Plymouth's Old Audit Book". Volume number 1/130, from the Borough of Plymouth records, dated 1510. Plymouth City Council. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
^ 20.020.120.2"Who invented the Cornish pasty?". London: Independent.co.uk. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
^ 21.021.121.2Trewin, Carol; Woolfitt, Adam (2005). Gourmet Cornwall. Alison Hodge Publishers. pp. 125–129. ISBN 0-906720-39-7.
^ "UK | England | Cornwall | Devon invented the Cornish pasty". BBC News. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
^"West Devon Record Office". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2005.
^ 24.024.1Clarke, Felicity (23 February 2011). "Ultimate Cornish Pasty Recipe". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
^Beckford, Martin (20 August 2010). "Turnip or swede? Brussels rules on ingredients of Cornish pasty". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
^ 26.026.126.226.3Ann Pringle Harris (7 February 1988). "Fare of the Country; In Cornwall, a Meal in a Crust". New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2005.
^Hall, Stephen (2001). The Cornish Pasty. Nettlecombe, UK: Agre Books. ISBN 0-9538000-4-0.
^Pascoe, Ann (1988). Cornish Recipes Old and New. Penryn: Tor Mark Press. p. 1. ISBN 0-85025-304-7.
^"UK | Wales | North West Wales | Sweet-savoury pastie back on menu". BBC News. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
^ 30.030.1Merrick, Hettie (1995). The Pasty Book. Penryn: Tor Mark Press.