Shepards pie and cumberland pie, whats the difference?

Question

Am i the only one whose confused? i hope not! either that or im thick. im having cumberland pie tonight and shepards pie tmr! hehehehe Whats the difference? aaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggg

Answer 1

Cumberland Pie Recipe

Answer 2

Shepherds' Pie and Cottage Pie There is some confusion outside the UK between shepherds pie and cottage pie. Basically shepherds look after sheep, hence a lamb or mutton pie is called a shepherds' pie (but not shepherd's pie if you want to be pedantic). Dishes containing beef and sweetcorn are not shepherds pie, you could call them "Pâté chinois", a north American variation consisting of layers of minced beef and sweetcorn or creamed corn, topped with mashed potato in the same way as shepherds pie (said to have originated in Quebec from Chinese descendants of railway workers, but anything less like Chinese food is hard to imagine). Any British beef and mashed potato pie is called a cottage pie. The name "shepherds pie" does not appear to be old, first appearing in the 19th Century, although the dish itself must be much older. It may well be that the name cottage pie was used for all pies of this type before the term shepherds pie came into use. Dorothy Hartley does not mention shepherds pie and refers to a cottage pie made from mutton. Alan Davidson refers to a first known mention of Shepherds pie in 1885, discovered by Jane Grigson. Very interesting facts and recipes on the source link below.

Answer 3

The nuisance with Wikipedia is that it is not necessarily right -- sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. :-/

The relationship between Cumberland Pie and Cottage Pie, is parent and child.

Cumberland Pie is made up of minced beef, onion and seasoned beef stock, oven baked, eventually finished with mashed potato, browned in the oven No 'extra third layer', none of that. It is both very old and very simple.

Cottage Pie is made up of minced/diced beef, onion, root vegetables -- minimally carrots, but often augmented with a selection from parsnips, turnips, swedes etc according to taste and season -- a tomato base (paste or passata-like) and, beyond salt & pepper, seasonings like Worcestershire sauce, or Mushroom Catsup, or Harvey's Sauce, baked, and finished with a seasoned potato mash, browned in the oven.

That's the difference. :-)

(I've taken your 'shepherd's pie' as a slip of the pen, as that is made from lamb/mutton which would make the difference rather obvious... )

Answer 4

Shepherds Pie - think sheep - is lamb.

Cumberland pie is more meat and veg with the mash on top having cheese and breadcrumbs.

Enjoy

Answer 5

There are still a few shepherds about, but Cumberland ceased to exist in 1974 - Boundaries commission. Born and bred in Westmorland. We didn't speak to people from Cumberland in those days, so can't help you further.
Hey, I just put this through the spell checker and it suggested Wasteland for Westmorland. Isn't that abuse?

Answer 6

Here ya go--straight from the encyclopedia!
They are used interchangeably, in my humble opinion--correctly or not!


Shepherd's pie is a traditional English dish that consists of a bottom layer of minced (ground) meat covered with mashed potato and optionally a layer of cheese. It is a favorite dish of institutional cooks keen on feeding large groups of people.

Cumberland pie is a traditional English dish made of two layers. The bottom layer is usually some meat and vegetables (like beef and carrots) and the top layer consists of mashed potato. Moreover, there is an extra thin top layer that may consist of breadcrumbs, cheese and butter.

Answer 7

They are very similar. Shepherd's Pie usually has peas or corn in it & Cumberland Pie does not, it usually has carrots.

Answer 8

Shepherd's pie is minced lamb topped with mashed potato. Cottage pie is minced beef topped with mashed or sliced potato. Cumberland pie is pork sausage meat topped with mashed potato.

Answer 9

Nothing if the shepherd comes from Cumberland

Answer 10

fruit grows on forest or vines and fresh vegetables grow in the land.