Pies are the perfect comfort food to warm you up on a chilly winter day, but what flavour do Brits tend to choose? Classic sweet and savoury recipes such as apple pie and shepherd's pie are popular options on a regular day, let alone when the nation is in the middle of a coronavirus lockdown.
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According to experts at OnBuy's Food Department, searches for "pie recipe" has increased by 70% in the last seven days.
Looking for inspiration for your next homemade meal? OnBuy surveyed 3,308 Brits to find out the top ten most popular pies in the UK, and several of them are loved by members of the royal family.
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First on the list was cottage pie, which racked up 305,900 searches in the past 30 days – more than any other sweet or savoury recipe. Prince William is likely among those looking up how to make the classic winter warmer after former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed it was one of his favourite dinners as a child.
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"Whether they were at Buckingham or Kensington, William and Harry’s meals would consist of traditional, English food. A few favourites included Wills’ favourite cottage pie and peas, poached chicken and rice and fish cakes," Darren wrote on his website. Perhaps it is a staple in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's household?
Prince William and Duchess Camilla both love cottage and shepherd's pie
Fish pie was the second most popular savoury pie, followed by Shepherd's pie, which is a very similar dish to cottage pie but made with lamb instead of beef.
The latter is one of the Duchess of Cornwall's go-to dishes, former royal chef Carolyn Robb revealed. Speaking of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' food preferences, she told Racked: "They were always very thrifty and economical. If we made roasted lamb and there were leftovers, we’d probably go and make shepherd’s pie the next night."
At the top of the list for sweet recipes was apple pie with 295,400 searches, followed by cherry and pumpkin pies. Known chocoholic the Queen is not alone with her sweet tooth, though, since chocolate pie also made it into the top ten.
The Queen loves dark chocolate
Darren told HELLO! Online of the Queen's: "She is absolutely a chocoholic. Anything we put on the menu that had chocolate on, she would choose, especially chocolate perfection pie." We can relate to Her Majesty!
Britain's favourite savoury pie recipes
1. Cottage pie - 305,900
2. Fish pie - 320,700
3. Shepherd's pie - 239,200
4. Pork pie - 96,800
5. Mushroom pie - 79,700
6. Meat pie - 69,200
7. Chicken pot pie - 39,700
8. Sweet potato pie - 32,500
9. Tomato pie - 3,400
10. Vegetable pot pie
Britain's favourite sweet pie recipes
1. Apple pie - 295,400
2. Cherry pie - 58,300
3. Pumpkin pie - 44,300
4. Banoffee pie - 27,100
5. Key lime pie - 19,400
6. Lemon meringue pie - 19,200
7. Pecan pie - 13,700
8. Buttermilk pie - 12,900
9. Chocolate pie - 8,000
10. Blueberry pie - 3,800
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