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Cobbler (food)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Peach cobbler)
For other uses, see Cobbler (disambiguation).
Cobbler
Berry cobbler
Place of originUnited States
Main ingredientsbatter or biscuit; fruit or savory filling
VariationsBetty, grunt, slump, buckle, sonker, boot[1]
  • Wikibooks logo Cookbook: Cobbler
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Cobbler

Cobbler is a dessert or savory dish consisting of a fruit or savoury filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or dumpling (in the United Kingdom) before being baked. Cobbler is part of the cuisine of the United Kingdom, Australia and United States. The Joy of Cooking said of the cobbler, "while neither tidy or shapely, it is indisputably delicious",[2] while The Washington Post said the phrase "as American as apple pie" should really be ""as American as a cobbler".[3]

History

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In the United States, English settlers were unable to make traditional suet puddings due to lack of suitable ingredients and cooking equipment.[4] Using Dutch ovens, the settlers covered a stewed filling with a layer of pastry.[5][3] Later versions were instead covered with a layer of uncooked plain biscuits, scone batter or dumplings, fitted together.[6] The first recorded recipe for a cobbler is in the 1839 book The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryant, where it is called a "Peach Pot Pie or Cobler".[7] The origin of the name cobbler, is uncertain: it may be related to the archaic word cobeler, meaning "wooden bowl",[8] or the term may be due to the topping having the visual appearance of a 'cobbled' stone pathway.

Cobblers and crumbles were promoted by the Ministry of Food in the United Kingdom during the Second World War, since they are filling, yet require less butter than a traditional pastry, and can be made with margarine.[1]

Regional variations

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North America

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Peach cobbler with ice cream

Grunts, pandowdy, and slumps are Canadian Maritimes, New England and Pennsylvania Dutch (Apple Pan Dowdy) varieties of cobbler, typically cooked on the stovetop, or in an iron skillet or pan, with the dough on top in the shape of dumplings. They reportedly take their name from the grunting sound they make while cooking.

In the United States, additional varieties of cobbler include the apple pan dowdy (an apple cobbler whose crust has been broken and perhaps stirred back into the filling), the Betty (see below), the buckle (made with yellow batter [like cake batter] with the filling mixed in with the batter), the dump (or dump cake),[9][10] the grunt, the slump, and the sonker. The sonker is unique to North Carolina: it is a deep-dish version of the American cobbler.[11][12]

Cobblers most commonly come in single fruit varieties and are named as such, e.g. blackberry, blueberry, and peach cobbler. The tradition also gives the option of topping the fruit cobbler with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.[6] Savory cobblers are less common in the region; for example, tomato cobbler, which may include onion and a biscuit topping that may include cheese or cornmeal, is one savory variant that also resembles Southern tomato pie.[13] Old California orchard cuisine features peach, pear, apricot, and, most prized by many, Black Tartarian cherry cobblers.[14]

The Texas Legislature designated peach cobbler as the official cobbler of Texas in 2013.[15]

Some cobbler recipes, especially in the American South, resemble a thick-crusted, deep-dish pie with both a top and bottom crust that lack leavening and are less cake-like.

UK and Commonwealth

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In the UK and Commonwealth of Nations, the scone-topped cobbler predominates, and is found in both sweet and savory versions. Common sweet fillings include apple, blackberry, strawberry, and peach. Savory versions, such as beef, lamb,[16] or mutton, consist of a casserole filling, sometimes with a simple ring of cobbles around the edge, rather than a complete layer, to aid cooking of the meat. Cheese or herb scones may also be used as a savory topping.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Difference Between Cobbler, Crisp, Crumble and Betty". Cooking to Be Clever. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  2. ^ "How to make the perfect plum cobbler". The Guardian. 10 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Cobblers To The World!". Deptford Pudding. 19 March 2013.
  4. ^ Shepherd, Johnny (2016). Puddings: Over 100 Classic Puddings from Cakes, Tarts, Crumbles and Pies to all Things Chocolatey. Orion Publishing Group. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-297-87055-5. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Cobblers, crumbles, slumps and grunts: A guide to baked fruit desserts". The Washington Post. 30 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b "About Cobbler". ifood.tv. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  7. ^ Lettice Bryant (1839). The Kentucky Housewife. p. 268.
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. "Cobbler (n.2)". Online Etymological Dictionary. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  9. ^ Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge (6 April 2015). "Dump Cake Recipe". The Spruce. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  10. ^ Ellis-Christensen, Tricia (25 November 2016). Wallace, O (ed.). "What is Dump Cake?". WiseGeek. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Best Apple Crisp Recipe". Betty Crocker. 7 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  12. ^ Stradley, Linda (2017). "History and Legends of Cobblers". What's Cooking America. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Savory Tomato Cobbler". MyRecipes. Southern Living. June 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Foundation Plant Services". fps.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  15. ^ Hatch, Rosie (Ed.) (2022). Texas Almanac 2022-2023. Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association. p. 21. ISBN 9781625110664.
  16. ^ "Herby Lamb Cobbler Recipe". Good Good. BBC. 2012. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Beef Cobbler Recipe". The Green Chronicle. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2012.

Further reading

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  • Opie, Frederick Douglass (2008). Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-14638-8.
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