Apple dumpling
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An apple dumpling is a baked or boiled
pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...
-wrapped
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
. To prepare apple dumplings, apples are peeled, cored and sometimes quartered and placed on a portion of
dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...
. The hole from the core may be filled with cinnamon,
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 ...
and sugar and sometimes dried fruit such as
raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...
s, sultanas, or currants. The dough is folded over the apples and sealed. Sometimes a spiced sauce is poured over the
dumplings Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish ...
which 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.


History

Boiled apple dumplings are among the earliest of fruit puddings. They were eaten "at all social levels". In 1726 Nicholas Amhurst complained 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 in
Hannah Glasse Hannah Glasse (; March 1708 – 1 September 1770) was an English cookery writer of the 18th century. Her first cookery book, ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy'', published in 1747, became the best-selling recipe book that century. It w ...
's 1747 cookbook. In 1749–1750, when botanist
Pehr Kalm Pehr Kalm (6 March 1716 – 16 November 1779), also known as Peter Kalm, was a Swedish explorer, botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist. He was one of the most important apostles of Carl Linnaeus. In 1747, he was commissioned by the ...
traveled from New Jersey to Quebec, he reported having apple dumplings at every meal. In 1754 English agriculturalist William Ellis called them one of the most common foods among farmers, along with bacon and pickled pork. A print called ''Lesson in apple dumplings'' or ''Learning to make apple dumplings'', variously attributed to British caricaturists
James Gillray James Gillray (13 August 1756Gillray, James and Draper Hill (1966). ''Fashionable contrasts''. Phaidon. p. 8.Baptism register for Fetter Lane (Moravian) confirms birth as 13 August 1756, baptism 17 August 1756 1June 1815) was a British caricatur ...
in 1792 or Richard Newton in 1797, shows a woman making apple dumplings, watched by a man, possibly King George III. The 1801 domestic encyclopedia ''Oeconomische Encyclopädie oder Allgemeines System der Land-, Haus- und Staats-Wirthschaft'' includes instructions for making ''Apfelklöße,'' "small apple dumplings." In 1810 English caricaturist
Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...
created a colored etching called ''Puff Paste'' which shows a footman and cook cuddling while the cook makes apple dumplings. In 1838 American physician
William Alcott William Andrus Alcott (August 6, 1798 – March 29, 1859), also known as William Alexander Alcott, was an American educator, educational reformer, physician, vegetarian and author of 108 books. His works, which include a wide range of topics in ...
in his book of advice for young wives ''The Young House-keeper: Or, Thoughts on Food and Cookery'' said 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 author
Eliza Leslie Eliza Leslie (1787–1858), frequently referred to as Miss Leslie, was an American author of popular cookbooks during the nineteenth century. She also wrote household management books, etiquette books, novels, short stories and articles for magazin ...
included 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 1879 Mark Twain included baked apple dumplings on a list of American foods "unmatched by European hotel cuisine". In 1946 George Orwell was 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 were
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
's favorite food.
Louis Hughes Louis Hughes (1832-1913) was an African-American slave born in Virginia. He is the author of the memoir ''Thirty Years a Slave''. Biography Hughes was born in 1832 to a white plantation owner and black slave in Charlottesville, Virginia. He w ...
, born a black slave in Virginia in 1832, recorded an account of a
Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
barbecue for the slaves with roasted pigs and sheep, but apple dumplings and
peach cobbler 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-fu ...
were still the favorites "relished by all the slaves". A young pioneer's diary entry for July 4th, 1859 on
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...
records 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."


Ingredients and preparation

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. File:Quartered apples on pastry dough to make apple dumplings.jpg, alt=peeled, quartered apples lying on a piece of pastry crust, Apples are peeled and laid on a portion of pastry crust File:Apple dumpling, ready to bake.jpg, alt=round tennis-ball sized uncooked pastry dumpling on a counter, The crust is wrapped around the apples and the seams sealed to form the dumpling File:Apple dumplings in a pan, waiting to be baked.jpg, alt=four dumplings in a round baking dish., Dumplings are placed in a pan File:Apple dumplings in sauce, ready to bake.jpg, alt=four dumplings in their dish, half-covered in a thin sauce., A spiced sauce is poured over the dumplings File:Baked apple dumplings in a pan.jpg, alt=baked dumplings in their baking dish., Dish is baked in a moderate oven File:Apple dumpling with sauce.jpg, alt=single baked dumpling in a bowl with sauce., Each dumpling forms an individual serving File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 710.JPG, alt=A small piece of dough being flattened in someone's hand, A portion of dough is flattened File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 711.JPG, alt=A quarter of an apple with dough cupped around it, The fruit is pressed into the dough File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 713.JPG, alt=Dough being wrapped around a piece of fruit, The dough is wrapped around the fruit File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 715.JPG, alt=Completed raw dumpling the size of a child's fist, The seam is sealed File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 720.JPG, alt=Pan of dumplings in boiling liquid, The dumplings are boiled File:Ovocné tvarohové knedlíky 734.JPG, alt=dumplings on a plate, one cut open to show fruit inside, all topped with cottage cheese, Dumplings are served with cottage cheese or other toppings


Serving

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.


Around the world


Austria

In Austria a "large, soft" apple dumpling called ''apfelnockerln'' is eaten.


Czech Republic

Fruit dumplings, including apple, called ''ovocné knedlíky'', are popular in Czech cuisine and are eaten with quark or tvaroh cheese. They are often served as a complete meal.


Germany

''Apfelklöße'' are 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.


United Kingdom

In the UK a
suet Suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys. Suet has a melting point of between 45 °C and 50 °C (113 °F and 122 °F) and congelation between 37 °C and 40 °C (98.6& ...
pastry is often used, although
shortcrust Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicke ...
is 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.


United States

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 the Pennsylvania Dutch, it is often eaten as a breakfast item or dessert. 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 Croly Jane Cunningham Croly (December 19, 1829 – December 23, 1901) was a British-born American author and journalist, better known by her pseudonym, Jennie June. She was a pioneer author and editor of women's columns in leading newspapers and magaz ...
published a 19th-century recipe for apple dumplings contributed to ''Jennie June's American Cookery Book'' by the American poet sisters
Alice Cary Alice Cary (April 26, 1820February 12, 1871) was an American poet, and the older sister of fellow poet Phoebe Cary (1824–1871). Biography Alice Cary was born on April 26, 1820, in Mount Healthy, Ohio, off the Miami River near Cincinnati, Oh ...
and
Phoebe Cary Phoebe Cary (September 4, 1824 – July 31, 1871) was an American poet, and the younger sister of poet Alice Cary (1820–1871).She was a great poet who composed a Legend of Northland which is a very beautiful poem. The sisters co-published poe ...
:
Peel and core large greening apples, of a uniform size, and fill the cavity with clear lemon marmalade. Enclose each one in a nice paste, rolled rather thin, and draw small knitted clothes over them, which give them a very pretty effect. Tie them close and boil three quarters of an hour, or an hour, if the crust is made with suet. Serve with hard sauce, flavored with nutmeg.


Similar dishes

Other fruits, in particular plums, can also be used to make similar dumplings. In Austria dumplings stuffed with plums are called Zwetschkenknödel, and in Hungary dumplings these are called Szilvás gombóc. Slovenian cuisine includes a similar plum dumpling dish. Czech cuisine includes a dumpling filled with plums, apricots, strawberries or blueberries. Croatian cuisine includes ''Knedle sa šljivama,'' a plum dumpling with a potato dough, usually eaten as a dessert. ''Marillenknödel'' are an Austrian apricot dumpling popular in Graz.


Baked apples

Baked apple A baked apple is a culinary dish, dish consisting of an apple baking, baked in an oven until it has become soft. The core is usually removed and the resulting cavity stuffed with sweet or savory fillings and seasonings. Pears and quinces may be ...
s are 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 dessert, side dish or breakfast.


See also

*''
The Apple Dumpling Gang ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' is a 1971 novel by Jack Bickham, about a group of orphaned children during the California gold rush. They encounter a gambler who reluctantly helps them, as well as a pair of hapless robbers who are after the gold ...
'' * Dumpling


References

{{Dumplings American desserts Dumplings Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine British desserts Austrian desserts Czech pastries Dumpling Independence Day (United States) foods Breakfast dishes