A crisp is a type of American dessert, usually consisting of a type of fruit, baked with a crispy topping, hence the name. The topping usually consists of butter, flour, oats, brown sugar and usually spices, such as cinnamon and/or nutmeg. The most familiar type of crisp is apple crisp, where apples are baked with this topping. However, many other kinds of fruit can be used, such as cherries, pears, peaches, blueberries, etc. The dessert is similar to a crumble.
History Apple crisp specifically 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. Variations of this dish are much older, for example, a recipe for apple pandowdy is in Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery, 1886.
The first reference to apple crisp specifically in print occurs in Good Housekeeping in September 1915. Apple crisp also made an appearance in a newspaper article in the Appleton Post Crescent on December 9, 1924.
Although it is a contemporary creation, the overall crisp has become an American staple of food and is also popular in Canada, mostly in places where berries and fruit are readily available.[citation needed] While apple is the most eaten filling, the format allows for a broad variety of seasonal fruits, such as rhubarb in spring, soft berries such as gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries in summer, and plums and pears in autumn.
See also Apple crumble Cobbler (food) Dumpling Pie Tart List of desserts
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