I know this is a seldom-asked question: What flavour is humble pie? I got to thinking about that expression and wondered. Being that it is a forced apology with humiliation. Eating humble pie would not be a desirable thing.
The Irish Times has addressed this question.
“In Medieval times,” explains Struthers, “The Church looked after people who were ill or didn’t have enough money to look after themselves. They would take the meat that was leftover from the end of the day from banquet or from high table, and they would give it to the poor in their parish. And the poor would take it to the pie shop where it would be wrapped in pastry and cooked for them.”
What would be in the pies? Turns out it was offal, ingredients that become arguably more appetising once encased in a buttery pastry case. One particularly famous pie was made from the offal of deer, and it was known as umble pie. “The gentry would eat the venison but the servants would be given umble pie”, explains Struthers. And, yes, that is where the expression “humble pie” comes from. So, presumably, humble pie tastes rather gamey.
I had to check out Quora's answers to "What flavour would you associate with humble pie?" Usually the answers are 'sponsored links', on some other topic, or lacking in quality writing and content. But here's a great response from Nataliya Cherednychenko:
Bitter, like the taste of my own medicine that has been spoon fed to me by someone craftier than I.
Sour, like half a lemon eaten whole, causing acid reflux of my own ignorance to come up and sear my insides with shame.
Sweet, like cough syrup, the consolation of a lesson learned and applied in hopes of never repeating said mistake again, becoming someone better than before, someone humbled.
This is another images from the Mailchimp Archives. It comes from the Canada Blooms show with its wonderful floral designs.
