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Apples In Cooking
Apples are primarily associated with apple pie and cider. Apple pies have a long history. From the 1700’s onward two types were common.
1) Apples were stewed and strained like applesauce, then put into a pie crust and baked.
2) Apples were pared, cored and sliced raw, placed in a pie crust with sugar and spices and baked.
Pie dough was often used to wrap whole apples in. The apples were pared and cored then filled with sugar. The wrapped apple was then placed in water and boiled. This is called an Apple Dumpling.
Stewed apples were used in recipes other than pies. Beaten egg whites were often mixed with stewed apples i.e. applesauce. This was called Apple Snow. Apple Snow could be served plain or over custard. Custard was also added to stewed apples and baked in a pie crust or poured over baked apples. Sometimes apples and custard desserts were served with meringue, beaten egg whites that were browned in oven.
Pudding was another favorite way to use apples. This is not the pudding we know today.
1) Old Fashion Apple Pudding
Roll out dough (biscuit), place sliced apples on top, sprinkle with sugar and roll up as a jelly roll, slice and place on baking dish. The roll was baked in: sugar syrup, water as for dumplings or brushed with oil. Some cooks added raisins. A 1960’s cookbook called them Apple and Raisin Rolls. The rolls were baked in sugar syrup and served with cream. Only the name changed.
2) Boston Apple Pudding
Stewed apples (applesauce) combined with several egg yolks, 1 egg white, sugar, butter, nutmeg and lemon juice. Mixture was placed in a pie crust and baked.
Stale bread was another ingredient. It was used in lieu of a crust. The stale bread was layered with apple slices and baked. It became known as Brown Betty, Apple Betty or Scalloped Apples.
In the 1872 Appledore Cook Book, Apple Pandowdy had two versions.
1) Sliced apples with sugar placed in the bottom of a baking dish and topped with a pie crust.
2) Sliced apples with sugar placed in the bottom of a baking dish and topped with a biscuit topping. This one later was renamed Apple Cobbler.
Apple Crisp a favorite today was listed in a 1940’s cookbook as Apple Pudding and Apple Crunch. These recipes were similar, the basic recipe was made up of sliced apples placed in a baking dish and topped with a crumb topping made of flour, sugar and butter. Eleanor Early in her 1954 cookbook of New England regional recipes listed Apple Crisp.
Recipes for apple crisp vary slightly in the ratio of flour to sugar. Some recipes call for ¾’s cup flour to ½ cup sugar. Other recipes call for ½ cup sugar and ½ cup flour. This latter was favored by the author. Eat warm with or without whipped cream. The next day is different but as good, a bit sweeter to the taste. Take out of refrigerator and allow it to warm to room temperature. The apple juices seep out which mingle with the apples and slightly soften the crisp topping.
Apple Jonathan, Apple Potpie, Yankee Apple John were listed in another cook book on old New England regional recipes. However, no recipes were given. If you have information on any of these you would like to share please contact the author.
Apple Crisp
Apples:
5 Tart apples pared, cored, sliced into eights, place in nine inch pie plate or baking dish
Crumb Topping:
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup cold butter
Mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon together; cut the butter into the dry mixture until crumbly (pea size) with a pastry cutter. Spoon over the apples. Place in heated oven.
Bake 375 degrees
30 minutes
Serve warm or cold
Serve plain or topped with whipped cream
