Monday, November 6, 2017

A Surprising Yooper Term

The term "Yooper" refers to a resident of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

Going into the northern peninsula of Michigan is an odd experience of sorts, as it's far less populated and manages to be colder than the mitten part of the state. (Which did not vote for Mitt Romney, by the way.) Anyway, this Yooper part of that northern state has some unique vocabulary and cuisine items.

In our travel across the Upper Peninsula, we were surprised to see cafes offer pasties on the menu. Needless to say, this caused us a little bit of confusion. Where we came from, a pasty referred to a paste-on nipple cover, such as worn by desnuda performers and those who want to go braless without being obvious about it.

Still, some sex shops sell edible panties; did edible pasties happen to make the menu in Northern Michigan?

Woman shamelessly flaunting her pasties.
We soon discovered that in the Upper Peninsula, the term 'pasty' refers to a meat pie: a concoction consisting of minced beef or pork, potatoes, onions, carrots, rutabaga, and other vegetables baked into a hand-held pie. It had its origins from Cornwall, in England.  Here's a sample recipe. (Kind of like a calzone.)

We tried some; they were very good, despite the strange rutabaga vegetable! 



A pasty, a mainstay of Cornish cuisine that is
also popular on the Upper Peninsula
Just a further remark: the wearable kind of pasty is pronounced "pay-stee." The edible kind is pronounced "pass-tee."

15 comments:

Elvis Wearing a Bra on His Head said...

Do Michigan girls wear meat pies on their hooters? This is an Ohio State fantasy.

Grand Crapaud said...

Pasties taste like what you would expect from northern Michigan.

Hell Hound said...

The idea of Michigan girls wearing meat pies on their tits is the funniest thing I'm likely to hear today.

Jono said...

On a clear day I can see the U.P. from my house. We have pasties on this side of the big lake, too. We can even buy them in the local grocery store, but the homemade ones are usually better. When I moved out here from the East Coast many years ago I also thought they were referring to nipple covers. Using a Yooper girl's chest as a dinner plate does have some appeal.

Mike said...

If she is in Northern Michigan something tells me that it was the warmest day ever. Maybe even 75 degrees.

Banana Oil said...

Language does have a lot of homophones.

Banana Oil said...

Pasty is an example of a homograph.

Juliette said...

A nice article.

Arlee Bird said...

I've never been to that part of Michigan, but I'd like to go someday.

I like the pastry pasties. They're kind of like the English version of empanadas. I used to find them in Montana I think it was. Somewhere at least and that was long ago.

There is also a Jamaican version they call patties. Different fillings, but same concept.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Justin said...

Both kinds sound delicious!

Birgit said...

Wow, if you showed me a close up of this girl’s face, I would think she was a grade school teacher, not kitten with a whip

Cloudia said...

oh thanks for the pronunciation guide!

John A Hill said...

You could also carry lunch for a friend, Heidi!

Bilbo said...

I will never again think of meat pies the same way.

Anonymous said...

Cuisine-wise, pasties are rough and ready, especially if the filling is bland.