Apple dumpling

Anapple dumplingis a baked or boiledpastry-wrappedapple. To prepare apple dumplings, apples are peeled, cored and sometimes quartered and placed on a portion ofdough. The hole from the core may be filled with cinnamon,butterandsugarand sometimes dried fruit such asraisins,sultanas, orcurrants. The dough is folded over the apples and sealed. Sometimes a spiced sauce is poured over thedumplingswhich are then baked until tender; the sugar and butter create a sweet sauce. Apple dumplings can be served hot, cold, or room temperature for breakfast, dessert, or as a main dish.
Boiled apple dumplings are among the earliest of fruit puddings.They were eaten "at all social levels".In 1726Nicholas Amhurstcomplained about apple dumplings at Oxford, saying "nothing can be expected from only rot-gut small beer, and heavy apple-dumplings, but stupidity, sleepiness, and indolence."Two recipes for apple dumplings were published inHannah Glasse's 1747 cookbook.In 1749–1750, when botanistPehr Kalmtraveled from New Jersey to Quebec, he reported having apple dumplings at every meal.In 1754 English agriculturalistWilliam Elliscalled them one of the most common foods among farmers, along with bacon and pickled pork.
A print calledLesson in apple dumplingsorLearning to make apple dumplings, variously attributed to British caricaturistsJames Gillrayin 1792orRichard Newtonin 1797, shows a woman making apple dumplings, watched by a man, possibly King George III.The 1801 domestic encyclopediaOeconomische Encyclopädie oder Allgemeines System der Land-, Haus- und Staats-Wirthschaftincludes instructions for makingApfelklöße,"small apple dumplings."In 1810 English caricaturistThomas Rowlandsoncreated a colored etching calledPuff Pastewhich shows a footman and cook cuddling while the cook makes apple dumplings.In 1838 American physicianWilliam Alcottin his book of advice for young wivesThe Young House-keeper: Or, Thoughts on Food and Cookerysaid that "apple dumplings are not very objectionable, except for the crust" as long as no spices were added, but goes on to say, "But why should we have the apple dumpling at all? Few would prepare it, or eat it after it was prepared, were it not for the crust, and above all, for the butter, the sauce, or the sugar added to it; but all of these are objectionable."American cookbook authorEliza Leslieincluded a recipe for baked apple dumplings in the 1851 edition of her cookbook, in a section called "New Receipts."In 1870 an apple dumpling dinner was given by the Bethel A.M.E. church in San Francisco.In 1879Mark Twainincluded baked apple dumplings on a list of American foods "unmatched by European hotel cuisine".In 1946George Orwellwas commissioned to write an essay on British Cuisine for an overseas audience, later rejected by the British Council "amid anxiety about postwar austerity", and called out boiled apple dumplings as an example of the "greatest glories of British cookery."
Apple dumplings wereThomas Edison's favorite food.Louis Hughes, born a black slave in Virginia in 1832, recorded an account of aFourth of Julybarbecue for the slaves with roasted pigs and sheep, but apple dumplings andpeach cobblerwere still the favorites "relished by all the slaves".A young pioneer's diary entry for July 4th, 1859 onOregon Trailrecords having apple dumplings for supper that evening.
Food historian Bruce Kraig speculated that apple dumplings were popular in the United States because they were "enormously practical in a country where apples grew well and could be dried for year-round use, few individually portioned foods were available, and large boiled dinners required the least tending."
Apple dumplings are typically made by wrapping a pastry crust around a peeled, cored, and sometimes quartered apple, sometimes stuffing the hollow from the core with butter, sugar, sometimes dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, or currants, and spices, sealing the pastry, and pouring a spiced sauce over the top before baking or, in the case of older recipes, boiling.The earliest recipes refer to boiling, as few homes had ovens, while many later recipes call for baking.Sauces typically call for sugar or brown sugar and butter boiled with water, sometimes with sliced lemons or spices such as cinnamon added for flavor.
Apple dumplings are served for breakfast or other meals, as sides, or as dessert.They are served hot, warm or at room temperature,sometimes with milk, cream,whipped cream,custard,or ice cream.Each dumpling is an individual serving.
In Austria a "large, soft" apple dumpling calledapfelnockerlnis eaten.
Fruit dumplings, including apple, calledovocnéknedlíky, are popular inCzech cuisineand are eaten withquarkortvaroh cheese.They are often served as a complete meal.
Apfelklößeare a "small pudding of apples," cored and filled with jam or marmalade and sometimes raisins or nuts, wrapped in pastry, boiled, and topped with a sweetened sauce containing raisins, sugar, cinnamon, and wine, a dish known since at least 1801.
In the UK asuetpastry is often used, althoughshortcrustis also common.In one traditional recipe described by George Orwell as "one of the best forms of suet pudding," the cavity left by removal of the core is filled with brown sugar, a suet pastry crust is applied, and the dumpling is tied tightly in cloth and then boiled.
Apple dumplings are a common food in the northeastern United States, especially around Pennsylvania, where they are considered a "cultural staple".Food historians trace this type of apple dumpling back to Glasse's book.A common recipe among thePennsylvania Dutch,it is often eaten as a breakfast item ordessert. It is sometimes served with cream, whipped cream, or ice cream.
In the US, September 17 is National Apple Dumpling Day.Annual apple dumpling festivals are held in the towns of Atwood, Illinois,Stuart, Virginia,and Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania.
Jane Cunningham Crolypublished a 19th-century recipe for apple dumplings contributed toJennie June's American Cookery Bookby the American poet sistersAlice CaryandPhoebe Cary:
Other fruits, in particular plums, can also be used to make similar dumplings.In Austria dumplings stuffed with plums are calledZwetschkenknödel[de], and in Hungary dumplings these are calledszilvás gombóc. Slovenian cuisine includes a similar plum dumpling dish.Czech cuisine includes a dumpling filled with plums, apricots, strawberries or blueberries.Croatian cuisine includesknedle sa šljivama,a plum dumpling with a potato dough, usually eaten as a dessert.Marillenknödelare an Austrian apricot dumpling popular in Graz.
Baked applesare a dish similar to baked apple dumplings but without the pastry shell.Unpeeled apples are cored and stuffed with fillings such as raisins, nuts, oatmeal, or other ingredients and spices.Variants can be served as adessert, side dish or breakfast.