Golden, flaky, delicious - the iconic Jamaican patty: Jasmine Mangalaseril

There have been a fair amount of food fights throughout history.

Sultan Selim II attacked Cyprus to control a particular wine. The Pastry War of the 1830s started with the looting of a bakery. Mahatma Ghandi led the Salt March in 1930.

And of course, 40 years ago the Patty Wars erupted here on Canadian soil.

It was a David-and-Goliath battle over the definition of a beef patty.

It started when an inspector said Canadians would be confused if, instead of a hamburger, they received the iconic Jamaican food simply called "patty" which is spiced meat wrapped in flaky, sunshine-yellow pastry.

Fines were threatened. Journalists descended. Lawyers, politicians, and officials with the Jamaican consulate weighed in.

On Feb. 19, 1985 a compromise was struck at the "Patty Summit" between government representatives and patty makers: the flaky hand pies couldn't be called "beef patties," but they could be called "Jamaican patties."

Four days later, Toronto celebrated its first Jamaican Patty Day.

Jamaican patties reflect the island nation's complex history.

The hand pie can be traced to Spanish empanadas and English Cornish pasties. The beef filling's flavours combine Indigenous cayenne and scotch bonnet chillies, spices from India, and Indian and African cooking traditions.

Petite Patties

According to Rochelle Williams, owner of Kitchener's bakery The Dessert Artist, patties are a quick, inexpensive snack.

"I would say it's definitely like a street food, snack food. You get it on the go," said Williams.

In Jamaica, beef patties are flavoured with an array of herbs and spices, including garlic, onion, curry powder, and thyme, as well as sugar and chillies. Other patty fillings can include chicken, ackee and saltfish, as well as mixed vegetables. Turmeric and curry powder give the pastry its signature yellow hue.

Williams said a traditional way to eat Jamaican patties is sandwiched between coco bread, a lightly sweetened bun made with coconut milk.

Williams' business focuses on cakes, cookies and cupcakes, so her initial Jamaican patty thoughts ran to sweet, not savoury.

"I'm just like, wouldn't it be cool to have like a dessert Jamaican patty? That's so unheard of, but very easy to do because a patty is just a pastry with a filling."

Inspired by her mum Ordel's love of mangoes, the dessert patty features cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger-spiced mango jam with mango chunks. Concerned it was too out-of-the-ordinary, she also developed two savoury patties (beef and curry potato and chickpea).

Since Ordel was born in Jamaica, Williams relies on her mum's taste buds to help capture the island's flavours.

WATCH | Jamaican patties come together layer by layer at Kitchener bakery

Jamaican patties come together layer by layer at Kitchener bakery

8 hours ago

Duration 1:43

CBC K-W's food columnist Jasmine Mangalaseril caught up with Rochelle Williams from The Dessert Artist in Kitchener to learn about the traditional techniques behind creating a delicious batch of Jamaican patties.

Rather than cooking fillings on the stovetop, Williams mixes meat, aromatics, spices and sauces before roasting them in the oven. After trying her first savoury patty, she realized she needed to be bolder with flavours.

"It's like the dough just eats up all the flavour and now I have this bland patty. So, I have to over-season my filling to the point where I'm just like, 'Oh, that's a little bit strong,' just so it works."

Most larger commercial makers use pie pastry for the casing, but Williams uses rough puff pastry, which is similar to croissant dough but without yeast.

"Croissants have a million and one layers. My patties also have a similar layering effect. That is why it has to take two days, because you cannot do all the folds and have the dough cooperate to get it done in one day."

Rough puff goes through a series of rolling, folding and resting. Resting the dough makes it easier to roll out, which is important since Williams rolls and folds by hand.

While some patties can be light on filling, Williams places a generous scoop on portioned pastry before sealing and baking.

"It needs to be filled. I don't want to bite into it and feel like I'm just eating air…to me if I'm buying this as lunch, I want to be full by the time I'm done. I don't want to have three or four and still kind of be hungry."

LISTEN | Celebrate Patty Day with a golden, flaky Jamaican patty: Jasmine Mangalaseril

The Morning Edition - K-W7:18Celebrate Patty Day with a golden, flaky Jamaican patty: Jasmine Mangalaseril

There have been a lot of food fights in history. The Boston Tea party of 1773. The Salt March of the 1930s. The Cod Wars of the 20th Century. And, of course, The Patty Wars that took place on Canadian soil, 40 years ago this month.