A crisp is a type of American
dessert, usually consisting of a type of
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, baked with a crispy topping, hence the name. The topping usually consists of
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
, flour, oats, brown sugar and usually spices such as
cinnamon and/or
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
. The most familiar type of crisp is
apple crisp
Apple crisp is a dessert made with a streusel topping. In the US and Canada, it is also called apple crumble, a word which refers to a different dessert in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, ...
, where apples are baked with this topping. However, many other kinds of fruit can be used, such as
cherries,
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
s,
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
es,
blueberries, etc.
The dessert is similar to a
crumble
A crumble is a dish that can be made in a sweet or savoury version. Crumbles became popular in Britain during World War II, when the topping was an economical alternative to pies due to shortages of pastry ingredients as the result of rationi ...
.
See also
*
Apple crumble
An apple crumble is a British dessert featuring baked apple with a crunchy topping. In the UK, the term 'crumble' refers to both a dessert similar to the American apple crisp, which is topped with rolled oats and brown sugar, or a dessert topp ...
*
Cobbler (food)
Cobbler is a dessert consisting of a fruit (or less commonly savory) filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or dumpling ( in the United Kingdom) before being baked. Some cobbler recipes, especially in the Am ...
*
Dumpling
*
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...
*
Tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes wit ...
*
List of desserts
A dessert is typically the sweet course that, after the entrée and main course, concludes a meal in the culture of many countries, particularly Western culture. The course usually consists of sweet foods, but may include other items. The word ...
References
American desserts
Fruit dishes
{{dessert-stub