Apple crisp

Apple crisp (name used in the United States and Canada) or apple crumble (name preferred in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) is a dessert consisting of baked chopped apples, topped with a crisp streusel crust.

Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and often oats and brown sugar, ginger, and/or nutmeg. One of the most common variants is apple rhubarb crisp, in which the rhubarb provides a tart contrast to the apples.

Many other kinds of fruit crisps are made. These may substitute other fruits, such as peaches, berries, or pears, for the apples.

History

Apple crisp is a relatively modern dish. 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 1924, apple crisp 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 autumn, when apples are plentiful. The dish is also very popular in Canada, especially in areas where berries and fruit are readily available.