Eating Humble Pie

Umble Pie was a medieval dish made from the "umbles" (liver, heart, brains, feet etc.) of a deer, or other animal killed in a hunt. After being topped with a layer of dried fruit the mixture was put into a pastry case and baked. This pie, however, was not for the aristocracy, who ate only the superior fleshy part of the deer, it was only considered suitable for the huntsmen and the servants. That is why the phrase "to eat humble pie" means that someone of lower rank is forced to give way to those in higher positions, and be made humble.

From my book Food For Thought: Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the World.

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