Dear Eric: What is the difference between a crumble and a crisp?
Marjorie
Dear Marjorie: I often forget what the difference is between these two baked items. That’s because they are quite similar and in many recipes, the names crisp and crumble seem to be used interchangeably.
After a little research, I was reminded what some say sets them apart.
According to the Oxford Companion to Food and a few other sources, a crumble is the name of a simple topping spread on fruit used in place of pastry. When baked, it creates something like a pie with no bottom crust and a crumbly top crust.
The OCF suggests that crumbles are, in culinary terms, a relatively new creation, probably first appearing in Britain during the Second World War when foodstuffs — including butter and flour — were rationed.
With only a topping, you would use less shortening and flour than you’d need to make a double crust pie.
When food rationing ended, crumbles remained a very popular dessert, which is understandable. That crumbly, streusel-like mixture of flour, butter, sugar and, sometimes, spice creates a heavenly crust when spread on a fruit filling. When baked, the butter melts and binds with the flour and sugar, creating a crumbly topping that tastes divine when it and the fruit filling meld in your mouth.
Several sources define a crisp also as a fruit-filled dessert with a topping. The topping is similar to a crumble in that it usually includes sugar, butter, flour and spice. But oats, often in generous quantities, are usually added to a crisp, and you might also find nuts, such as coconut or chopped walnuts.
These additions give this dessert a crisper topping than that of the softer crumble.
That said, you do find crumble recipes that include oats and nuts.
To confuse matters more, that trusted guide The Joy of Cooking offers an apple crisp recipe topped with a mixture of sugar, flour, butter and spice, which is what the Oxford Companion to Food calls a crumble. The same holds true for an apple crisp recipe found in the best-selling book, Canada’s Favourite Recipes.
It seems to me that when crumble made its way from England to North America, some folk decided “crisp” might be a better name for it, although I’ve found no proof of that. But no matter what you call it, it sure tastes grand at this time of the year when the filling can contain fresh and wonderful local fruit.
Apple Crumble
The simple, buttery, rich topping, and the slightly sweetened, spiced apple filling, bake up to create a splendid late summer dessert.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Makes: six to eight servings
For the filling:
• soft butter for greasing
1 3/4 lb apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges (about 5 medium apples)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp packed golden brown sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup apple juice or cider
Lightly grease an eight-inch square baking dish with butter. Place the apples and lemon juice in bowl and toss to coat. Add the remaining filling ingredients and toss to combine.
Spoon the filling into the baking dish and set aside until the topping is made.
For the topping and to bake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes and brought to room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Add the butter and, with a pastry cutter or your fingertips, thoroughly blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Spread and lightly pack the topping on top of the apple filling. (The topping might rise above the pan, but will sink down when the apples begin to cook and soften.)
Bake the crumble in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Top servings of the crumble, if desired, with a dollop of whipped cream or Devonshire-style clotted cream, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Pear and Blackberry Crisp
This dessert features two fruits that taste wonderful cooked together, especially when adorned with a rich and delicious oat-based topping.
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Makes: six to eight servings
For the filling:
3 cups fresh blackberries
3 medium ripe pears, peeled, halved, cored and sliced
1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl and spoon into an eight-inch square baking dish.
For the topping and to bake
1 cup large flake rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp packed golden brown sugar
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch each ground nutmeg and cloves
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the topping ingredients in a second bowl and work until very well combined. Sprinkle and distribute the topping over the filling.
Bake the crisp in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Top bowls of the crisp, if desired, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Eric Akis is the author of the hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
