Apple crisp facts for kids
Apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
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| Alternative names | Apple crumble |
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| Region or state | Everybody's Cookbook: US |
| Main ingredients | Apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon; often oats, brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg |
Apple crisp is a yummy dessert that often has a crunchy, sweet topping. It's sometimes called an apple crumble. This tasty treat is made with baked apples and a topping that can include rolled oats and brown sugar.
In countries like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, people usually call both desserts 'crumble'. But in the US, they often use 'crisp' and 'crumble' to mean slightly different things. In Canada, both names are used, and it can be a bit confusing!
The main ingredients for apple crisp are cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Sometimes, people add oats, brown sugar, ginger, or nutmeg for extra flavor. A popular twist on this dessert is apple rhubarb crisp. The rhubarb adds a slightly sour taste that goes well with the sweet apples.
You can make many other kinds of fruit crisps too! Instead of apples, you can use fruits like peaches, berries, or pears.
Contents
History of Apple Crisp
Apple crisp is a fairly new dessert. You won't find it in older cookbooks like the first Fannie Farmer Cookbook from 1896. That book had lots of American recipes, but no apple crisp.
The first time apple crisp was mentioned in print was in 1924. A recipe appeared in Everybody's Cook Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery by Isabel Ely Lord. It also showed up in a newspaper, the Appleton Post Crescent, in December 1924. This dessert became even more popular during World War II. At that time, food was rationed, so it was harder to get ingredients for apple pies. Apple crisp was a simpler, easier option.
Even though it's not very old, apple crisp (or crumble) has become a tradition in America and Britain. It's especially popular in the autumn when apples are ready to be picked. It's also a big hit in Canada, especially where lots of berries and fruits grow.
Some desserts similar to apple crisp are much older. For example, a recipe for apple pandowdy was in Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery from 1886.
Other Apple Desserts
There are many desserts that use apples with sweet toppings. While they are related, they are not exactly the same as apple crisp. Here are a few:
Apple Brown Betty
Apple Brown Betty is a dessert made with layers. It has apples mixed with sweetened, buttered bread crumbs or crackers. It often has a sauce too.
Apple Cobbler
Apple cobbler is an old recipe. It's also known as apple slump, apple grunt, or apple pandowdy. For this dessert, baked apples are topped with a special crust. This crust can be made from batter, pie crust, or baking powder biscuit dough. The topping is often dropped onto the apples in clumps. These clumps look like cobblestones, which is how it got the name 'cobbler'.
- Apple pandowdy usually has a pie crust. Before serving, the crust is broken up, or "dowdied."
- A grunt is a cobbler cooked on top of the stove.
- A slump is fruit with biscuit dumplings. After baking, it's turned upside down so the fruit "slumps" into the dumplings.
Apple Crumble
Apple crumble is a British dessert. It's very similar to apple crisp and became popular during World War II food rationing. The crumble topping is made by rubbing together butter, flour, and brown sugar. This makes it look like breadcrumbs. It's important to have the right amount of crumble so the fruit doesn't soak through the crust. Traditionally, crumble is served with custard. But today, people also enjoy it with cream or ice cream. Apple crumbles are also common in Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Eve's Pudding
Finally, Eve's pudding is a British dessert. It's basically a sponge cake baked on top of apples. The name might come from the biblical story of Eve and the apple in the Garden of Eden.
See also
In Spanish: Crujiente de manzana para niños
