Shepherd's pie when the potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (cf. "cottage", meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers). The term "shepherd's pie" did not appear until 1854, and was used synonymously with cottage pie, regardless of whether the meat was beef or mutton. In the United Kingdom, the term "shepherd's pie" is now commonly used when the meat is lamb. In early cookery books, the dish was a means of using leftover roasted meat of any kind, and the pie dish was lined on the sides and bottom with mashed potato, as well as having
Game pie than in later times, often containing fruit as well as meat, game and spices. The Tudor Christmas Pie was a rich pie of traditional birds such as partridge, chicken and goose with a recent addition, the turkey, which had been introduced to England from the New World in 1523. Game pie was not restricted to the rich. Until the 1816 Gaming act, country people had the right to catch small game such as rabbits and pigeons to supplement their diet. More valuable game were reserved for the rich, but perhaps not entirely successfully. Shakespeare in "The Merry Wives of Windsor"