My newest book:
Cobbler or Crisp? Crumble, Buckle or Brown Betty?
I love summer fruits! Peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, blueberries: I love them all. The problem living in a big American city, and New York City in particular, is that it not easy getting really excellent fruit. It is hopeless at the supermarket. But the odds go up significantly at the Farmer's Market at Union Square. Yesterday I was excited to find a stand where the peaches were wonderfully fragrant - a very good sign! I also found quite good blueberries. But once you have the fruit, the question is, which to make? cobbler, crisp, crumble, grunt, buckle, brown betty, pandowdy or pie... there are too many choices. And what is the difference between all these anyway? I am always a bit confused.
This time I went back to one of my favorite recipes and at this moment, baking in the oven is:
BLUEBERRY AND PEACH COBBLER
In a baking dish, combine 2 cups of blueberries and about 4 peaches (cut in pieces) with a few tablespoons of sugar (there is a lot of natural sweetness in the fruit)
Make the biscuit topping: combine 2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. With your hands (or pastry blender) cut in 1/2 cup cold butter - the mixture is clumpy. Then with a fork, quickly add 1/2 cup milk and one egg - do not over mix.
Spread the sticky biscuit batter loosely over the fruit with your hands. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Delicious warm with vanilla ice cream!
From what I have worked out:
Cobbler: fruit baked under a biscuit topping
Crisp: fruit under a crumbly topping that may include oatmeal, brown sugar or nuts (but not necessarily)
Crumble: This may be the same as a crisp but the term more used in England.
Pandowdy: much like a pie, without the bottom crust
Brown Betty: Here the topping seems to include chunks of left-over bread or bread crumbs.
Buckle: Closer to a coffeecake
Grunt (or a Slump): fruit with dumplings cooked on the stove, instead of the oven like all the others.
And they all seem a variation on the idea of a PIE: fruit with crust!