Previously I have showed my fruit based ‘crumble’ desserts and, in these early winter days, many friends have been baking their own. Friend J submitted her recent delectable success story – made from four of the apples from my tree with its grafts for two varieties, the Pink Lady and the Granny Smith.

J reports ‘Definitely yum and I used brown sugar, butter and rolled oats for the topping crust’.

I was curious about the history of this well-known dessert. One website provides the information ‘Crumbles originated in Britain during the 2nd World War. As there was strict rationing the ingredients needed to create the bases of a normal pie weren’t available. Pie’s would require too much flour, sugar and fat to make the pastry. So people in the 2nd World War got creative and made a simple mixture of flour, margarine and sugar and used this to make the top of the crumble. The dish is also popular due to its simplicity. And FYI – Some parts of America also have crumble however they call it CRISP.’ Wikipedia reports ‘The earliest reference to apple crisp in print occurs in 1924, with a recipe in the Everybody’s Cook Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery by Isabel Ely Lord [Harcourt Brace and Company: New York] 1924 (p.239).’