Paste (pasty)


A paste is a small pastry produced in the state of Hidalgo in central Mexico and in the surrounding area. They are stuffed with a variety of fillings including potatoes and ground beef, apples, pineapple, sweetened rice, or other typical Mexican ingredients, such as tinga and mole. The paste has its roots in the Cornish pasty introduced by miners and builders from Cornwall, United Kingdom who were contracted in the towns of Mineral del Monte and Pachuca in Hidalgo starting in 1824.

Differences with empanadas

Unlike empanadas, the filling ingredients for pastes are not cooked before they are wrapped in the pastry casing. Additionally, while empanadas are a light, flaky, leavened pastry containing several layers of dough, pastes use a firm and thin layer of dough.

Festival

The Festival Internacional del Paste is held in Real del Monte for three days each October.