A crisp is a type of American
dessert
Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...
, usually consisting of a type of
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
, 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 Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...
, flour, oats, brown sugar and usually spices such as
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...
and/or
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
. The most familiar type of crisp is
apple crisp
Apple crisp (US, or apple crumble in the UK) is a dessert made with a streusel topping. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. The earliest reference to apple crisp in print occurs in 1924. Other similar de ...
, where apples are baked with this topping. However, many other kinds of fruit can be used, such as
cherries
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...
,
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
s,
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...
es,
blueberries
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...
, etc.
The dessert is similar to a
crumble
A crumble (British English) or crisp (American English) is a dessert with a crumbly cake-like topping, sometimes with oats, baked over a fruit filling. Apple and rhubarb are two popular varieties. Savoury fillings such as meat, cheese or vege ...
.
See also
*
Apple crumble
A crumble (British English) or crisp (American English) is a dessert with a crumbly cake-like topping, sometimes with oats, baked over a fruit filling. Apple and rhubarb are two popular varieties. Savoury fillings such as meat, cheese or vege ...
*
Cobbler (food)
Cobbler is a dessert consisting of a fruit (or less commonly Umami, savory) filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a Batter (cooking), batter, Biscuit (bread), biscuit, or dumpling (British cuisine, in the United Kingdom) befor ...
*
Dumpling
Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled wi ...
*
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), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...
*
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 with ...
*
List of desserts
A dessert is typically the sweet Course (food), course that, after the entrée and main course, concludes a meal in the culture of many countries, particularly western world, Western culture. The course usually consists of sweet foods, but may ...
References
American desserts
Fruit desserts
{{dessert-stub