Apple Crisp - Wikipedia

Apple crisp in the United States or Apple crumble as it is known in the United Kingdom is a dessert consisting of baked apples topped with a crispy crust. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar, ginger, and/or nutmeg. Many different kinds of fruit can substituted for apples, such as peaches, berries, pears, etc. One of the most common variants is 'apple rhubarb crisp/crumble', in which the rhbarb provides a tart contrast to the apples. It is an easy to make and tasty alternative to apple pie and apple cobbler.

History

Apple crisp evolved in the United States out of other apple dishes such as apple pudding, apple cobbler and apple pie. However, apple crisp is a relatively new invention. It is notably absent from the first edition of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1896), which is a comprehensive collection of American recipes. The earliest reference to apple crisp in print occurs in 1924, with a recipe in the Everybody's Cook Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery, Isabel Ely Lord [Harcout Brace and Company: New York] 1924 (p. 239). In the same year, it also makes an appearance in a newspaper article in the Appleton Post Crescent on Tuesday, December 9, 1924 (Appleton,Wisconsin). Despite its relatively recent invention, apple crisp or crumble has become an American and British tradition especially during the fall or Autumn when apples are plentiful. The dish is also very popular in Canada, especially in areas where berries and fruit are readily available. It even graces the menus of discerning restaurants in the aforementioned countries.