A State-by-State Guide to the Most Iconic Foods in America

23/51 Previous Next

© Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Michigan: Pasties

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has a special food heritage, and it gifted the entire state with its most iconic dish: the pasty. Pronounced “PASS-tee,” this is a handheld meat pie that Cornish miners brought to Michigan in the 1800s. In those days, miners needed a durable, hearty lunch they could take into the copper and iron mines. The pasty fit the bill perfectly – a sturdy pastry crust filled with a mixture of diced meat (often beef), potatoes, onions, and sometimes rutabaga or carrots, then baked to golden perfection. Michigan’s miners, many of whom were immigrants from Cornwall, England, made pasties a daily staple, and the tradition stuck. Today, pasties are ubiquitous in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and have spread statewide as a beloved comfort food. Each flaky turnover, with its savory filling of meat and root vegetables, is like a time capsule from the state’s mining era. Locals might enjoy them plain or smothered in gravy or ketchup, depending on family tradition. Michigan is so devoted to pasties that you’ll even find pasty festivals celebrating this humble pie. It’s a true taste of Michigan history – warm, filling, and carried with pride from one generation to the next.