Glazed or unglazed?

Though not as contentious as the crimping issue, the topic of glazing still raises hackles among some in the West Country. Miners as a rule aren’t rich folk. In fact, they’re often downright poor, which means little luxuries like eggs weren’t always available to them. Thus many, if not most, pasties weren’t painted with egg wash. Which is not to say they weren’t painted with anything. Several of the old recipes I brought back from Cornwall (oh, so long ago) call for a glaze of saffron and milk. Did you know that saffron has been cultivated in England (to one extent or another) for hundreds of years? It’s true, and I expect a little saffron-tinged milk painted on the outside of a pasty gave it a nice, healthy golden glow. Real purists would probably insist that a pasty not be glazed with anything, but pretty much every pasty I ever bought (or was served) in Britain had some sort of glaze applied it. So I’m going for it.