# Apple dumpling

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{{short description|Pastry-wrapped apple}}
{{for|the Australian plant|Billardiera scandens}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Apple dumpling
| image            = AppleDumpling.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = An apple dumpling served with vanilla [ice cream](/source/ice_cream)
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = 
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| course           = [Breakfast](/source/Breakfast), [main dish](/source/main_dish), [dessert](/source/dessert)
| type             = [Pastry](/source/Pastry)
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Dough, apples, cinnamon, sugar, sometimes dried fruit and spices
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

An '''apple dumpling''' is a [baked](/source/baked) or boiled [pastry](/source/pastry)-wrapped [apple](/source/apple). To prepare apple dumplings, apples are peeled, cored and sometimes quartered and placed on a portion of [dough](/source/dough). The hole from the core may be filled with cinnamon, [butter](/source/butter) and [sugar](/source/sugar) and sometimes dried fruit such as [raisin](/source/raisin)s, [sultanas](/source/Sultana_(grape)), or [currants](/source/Zante_currant). The dough is folded over the apples and sealed. Sometimes, a spiced sauce is poured over the [dumplings](/source/dumplings) 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=grEQAQAAMAAJ&q=apple+dumpling|title=The Book of Apples|date=1993|publisher=Ebury Press|isbn=9780091777593}}</ref>{{Rp|65}} They were eaten "at all social levels".<ref name=":1" />  In 1726 [Nicholas Amhurst](/source/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."<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ&q=apple+dumplings&pg=PA76|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|last=Kraig|first=Bruce|date=2013|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=9780199734962}}</ref>{{Rp|75}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1xLAAAAcAAJ&q=apple-dumpling&pg=PA317|title=Terrae-filius: or the secret history of the university of Oxford|date=1754|page=317|last1=Amhurst|first1=Nicholas}}</ref> Two recipes for apple dumplings were published in [Hannah Glasse](/source/Hannah_Glasse)'s 1747 cookbook.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pnt2W4KY94IC&q=apple+dumplings&pg=PT106|title=Appalachian Home Cooking: History, Culture, and Recipes|last=Sohn|first=Mark F.|date=December 1, 2009|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=9780813137568}}</ref> In 1749–1750, when botanist [Pehr Kalm](/source/Pehr_Kalm) traveled from New Jersey to Quebec, he reported having apple dumplings at every meal.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|75}} In 1754 English agriculturalist [William Ellis](/source/William_Ellis_(writer_on_agriculture)) called them one of the most common foods among farmers, along with bacon and pickled pork.<ref name=":1" /> 

left|thumb|alt=Caricature of a seated woman making apple dumplings, a man leaning in a window watching through a monocular|The 18th century Gillray cartoon, ''Lesson in apple dumplings''. "Hay? hay? apple dumplings? - how get the apples in? -how? Are they made without seams?"
A print called ''Lesson in apple dumplings'' or ''Learning to make apple dumplings'', variously attributed to British caricaturists [James Gillray](/source/James_Gillray) in 1792<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/englishcaricatur00everuoft|title=English caricaturists and graphic humourists of the nineteenth century : how they illustrated and interpreted their times|last=Everitt|first=Graham|date=1893|publisher=London : S. Sonnenschein|others=Robarts - University of Toronto}}</ref> or [Richard Newton](/source/Richard_Newton_(caricaturist)) in 1797, shows a woman making apple dumplings, watched by a man, possibly King George III.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1633299&partId=1|title=Learning to make apple dumplings|website=British Museum|access-date=2019-08-12}}</ref> The 1801 domestic encyclopedia ''Oeconomische Encyclopädie oder Allgemeines System der Land-, Haus- und Staats-Wirthschaft'' includes instructions for making ''Apfelklöße,'' "small apple dumplings."<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L54UAAAAQAAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L54UAAAAQAAJ/page/n462 460]|title=Oeconomische Encyclopädie oder Allgemeines System der Land-, Haus- und Staats-Wirthschaft: in alphabetischer Ordnung|last=Krünitz|first=Johann Georg|date=1801|publisher=Joachim Pauli|language=de}}</ref> In 1810 English caricaturist [Thomas Rowlandson](/source/Thomas_Rowlandson) created a colored etching called ''Puff Paste'' which shows a footman and cook cuddling while the cook makes apple dumplings.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3DYBgAAQBAJ&q=apple+dumpling|title=Dumplings: A Global History|last=Gallani|first=Barbara|date=April 15, 2015|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=9781780234632}}</ref> In 1838 American physician [William Alcott](/source/William_Alcott) 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."<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/younghousekeepe00alcogoog|title=The Young House-keeper: Or, Thoughts on Food and Cookery|last=Alcott|first=William Andrus|date=1838|publisher=G. W. Light}}</ref> American cookbook author [Eliza Leslie](/source/Eliza_Leslie) included a recipe for baked apple dumplings in the 1851 edition of her cookbook, in a section called "New Receipts."<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|76}} In 1870 an apple dumpling dinner was given by the Bethel A.M.E. church in San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/thousandyearsove0000sche|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/thousandyearsove0000sche/page/131 131]|title=A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told Through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances|last=Schenone|first=Laura|author-link=Laura Schenone|date=2003|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393016710}}</ref> In 1879 [Mark Twain](/source/Mark_Twain) included baked apple dumplings on a list of American foods "unmatched by European hotel cuisine".<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|76}} In 1946 [George Orwell](/source/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."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/07/george-orwell-british-council-apologises-for-rejecting-food-essay|title=George Orwell: British Council apologises for rejecting food essay|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=February 7, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 16, 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 

Apple dumplings were [Thomas Edison](/source/Thomas_Edison)'s favorite food.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrF4NlwEvJMC&q=apple+dumpling&pg=PA29|title=The Wizard of Sound: A Story about Thomas Edison|last=Mitchell|first=Barbara|date=January 1, 2012|publisher=Millbrook Press|isbn=9780761391487}}</ref> [Louis Hughes](/source/Louis_Hughes), born a black slave in Virginia in 1832, recorded an account of a [Fourth of July](/source/Fourth_of_July) barbecue for the slaves with roasted pigs and sheep, but apple dumplings and [peach cobbler](/source/peach_cobbler) were still the favorites "relished by all the slaves".<ref>{{cite book |last=Teed |first=Paul E. |title=Daily Life of African American Slaves in the Antebellum South |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2020 |isbn=9781440863257 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b1PHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73}}</ref> A young pioneer's diary entry for July 4th, 1859 on [Oregon Trail](/source/Oregon_Trail) records having apple dumplings for supper that evening.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wadsworth |first=Ginger |title=Words West:Voices of Young Pioneers |date=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0p-NQqD6IuEC |page=74|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780618234752 }}</ref>

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."<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|76}}
{{clear}}

== 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/baked-apple-dumplings/9517/|title=Baked Apple Dumplings|date=August 29, 2007|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> The earliest recipes refer to boiling, as few homes had ovens, while many later recipes call for baking.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|76}} 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.<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" />{{Rp|900}}

<gallery mode=packed heights=180 caption="Preparation of baked dumplings">
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](/source/moderate_oven)
File:Apple dumpling with sauce.jpg|alt=single baked dumpling in a bowl with sauce.|Each dumpling forms an individual serving
</gallery>

<gallery mode=packed caption="Preparation of boiled dumplings">
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
</gallery>

== Serving ==
Apple dumplings are served for breakfast or other meals, as sides, or as dessert.<ref name=":3" /> They are served hot, warm or at room temperature,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/baked-apple-dumplings/9517/|title=Baked Apple Dumplings|date=August 29, 2007|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=August 12, 2019}}</ref> sometimes with milk, cream,<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" /> whipped cream,<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" /> custard,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/herefordappledumplings.html|title=Foods of England – Hereford Apple Dumplings|website=foodsofengland.info|access-date=2025-04-21}}</ref> or ice cream.<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" /> Each dumpling is an individual serving.<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|76}}<ref name="RombauerBecker1997">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C4_5MCUd6ucC|title=Joy of Cooking|last1=Rombauer|first1=Irma|last2=Becker|first2=Marion Rombauer|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=1997|isbn=978-0-02-604570-4}}</ref>{{rp|899}}<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-baked-apples-and-why-you-should-article|title=How to Make Baked Apples (and Why You Should)|last=Stockwell|first=Anna|date=November 14, 2018|website=Epicurious|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref>

== Around the world ==

=== Austria ===
In Austria a "large, soft" apple dumpling called ''apfelnockerln'' is eaten.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LanKXkKpjzMC&q=apple+dumpling&pg=PA268|title=Austrian Desserts and Pastries: 108 Classic Recipes|last1=Fercher|first1=Dietmar|last2=Karrer|first2=Andrea|date=2011|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Inc.|isbn=9781616083991|language=nl}}</ref>

=== Czech Republic ===
alt=three dumplings sprinkled with sugar and butter in a bowl|thumb|Czech dumplings served with cottage cheese, sugar and melted butter
Fruit dumplings, including apple, called ''ovocné [knedlíky](/source/Knedliky)'', are popular in [Czech cuisine](/source/Czech_cuisine) and are eaten with [quark](/source/Quark_(dairy_product)) or [tvaroh cheese](/source/tvaroh_cheese).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.czech-stuff.com/czech-fruit-dumplings-recipe/|title=Czech Fruit Dumplings Recipe|website=czech-stuff.com|date=21 August 2016|access-date=2019-08-12}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czech-food-classic/czech-fruit-dumplings-traditional-sweet-treat|title=Czech fruit dumplings: traditional sweet treat|last1=Fraňková|first1=Ruth|last2=Schneibergová|first2=Martina|date=August 18, 2018|publisher=[Czech Radio](/source/Czech_Radio)\access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> They are often served as a complete meal.<ref name=":6" />

=== 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.<ref name=":4" />

=== United Kingdom ===
In the UK a [suet](/source/suet) pastry is often used, although [shortcrust](/source/shortcrust) is also common.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/desserts/devon-apple-dumplings|title=Devon apple dumplings|website=sainsburysmagazine.co.uk|access-date=2019-08-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://boroughmarket.org.uk/recipes/apple-dumplings|title=Apple dumplings|website=boroughmarket.org.uk|access-date=2019-08-12}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishcouncil.org/research-policy-insight/insight-articles/defence-english-cooking|title=British Cookery|last=Orwell|first=George|date=1946|website=britishcouncil.org|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref>

=== United States ===
Apple dumplings are a common food in the northeastern United States, especially around Pennsylvania, where they are considered a "cultural staple".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.readingeagle.com/life/article/more-than-scrapple-15-notable-pennsylvania-dutch-comfort-foods|title=15 notable Pennsylvania Dutch comfort foods|date=November 9, 2018|website=Reading Eagle|access-date=2019-08-16|archive-date=2019-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816142846/https://www.readingeagle.com/life/article/more-than-scrapple-15-notable-pennsylvania-dutch-comfort-foods|url-status=dead}}</ref> Food historians trace this type of apple dumpling back to Glasse's book.<ref name=":0" /> A common recipe among the [Pennsylvania Dutch](/source/Pennsylvania_Dutch),<ref name=":0" /> it is often eaten as a breakfast item or [dessert](/source/dessert). It is sometimes served with cream, whipped cream, or ice cream.<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" />

In the US, September 17 is National Apple Dumpling Day.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjrKELUcaPYC&q=apple+dumpling&pg=PA128|title=Practically Useless Information on Food and Drink|last=Kolpas|first=Norman|date=March 12, 2005|publisher=Thomas Nelson|isbn=9781418553890}}</ref> Annual apple dumpling festivals are held in the towns of Atwood, Illinois,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chambanamoms.com/2019/06/28/summer-parades-in-champaign-urbana/|title=Summer Parades in Champaign-Urbana|date=June 28, 2019|website=ChambanaMoms.com|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816142844/https://www.chambanamoms.com/2019/06/28/summer-parades-in-champaign-urbana/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Stuart, Virginia,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGwh0cP37fwC&q=apple+dumpling&pg=PT75|title=Patrick County|last=Perry|first=Thomas D.|date=May 18, 2009|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781439637982}}</ref> and Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/festival-crowns-its-apple-royalty-in-sinking-spring|title=Apple Dumpling Festival crowns its apple royalty in Sinking Spring|date=June 2, 2019|website=Reading Eagle|access-date=2019-08-12|archive-date=2019-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812215508/https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/festival-crowns-its-apple-royalty-in-sinking-spring|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[Jane Cunningham Croly](/source/Jane_Cunningham_Croly) published a 19th-century recipe for apple dumplings contributed to ''Jennie June's American Cookery Book'' by the American poet sisters [Alice Cary](/source/Alice_Cary) and [Phoebe Cary](/source/Phoebe_Cary):<ref>{{cite book |last=Scharnhorst |first=Gary |title=Literary Eats |publisher=McFarland |page=30}}</ref>

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

== Similar dishes ==
Other fruits, in particular plums, can also be used to make similar dumplings.<ref name="RombauerBecker1997" /> In Austria dumplings stuffed with plums are called {{ill|Zwetschkenknödel|de}}, and in Hungary dumplings these are called ''[szilvás gombóc](/source/Knedle)''. Slovenian cuisine includes a similar plum dumpling dish.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/gourmet/2090-slovenian-recipe-of-the-week-plum-dumplings|title=Plum Dumplings|last=Loštrek|first=Neža|date=September 17, 2018|website=Total Slovenia News|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> Czech cuisine includes a dumpling filled with plums, apricots, strawberries or blueberries.<ref name=":6" /> Croatian cuisine includes ''knedle sa šljivama,'' a plum dumpling with a potato dough, usually eaten as a dessert.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/watch-croatian-recipes-knedle-sa-sljivama-plum-dumplings/|title=Knedle sa šljivama / Plum dumplings|date=August 6, 2019|website=Croatia Week|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811081047/https://www.croatiaweek.com/watch-croatian-recipes-knedle-sa-sljivama-plum-dumplings/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Marillenknödel'' are an Austrian apricot dumpling popular in Graz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/branded-meet-the-dumpling-for-every-occasion|title=Meet the Dumpling For Every Occasion|date=March 15, 2019|website=Bon Appétit|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Baked apples===
{{main|Baked apple}}
[Baked apple](/source/Baked_apple)s are a dish similar to baked apple dumplings but without the pastry shell.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/chat-leftovers-baked-apples/2013/10/16/a5ee3e32-35f4-11e3-be86-6aeaa439845b_story.html|title=Chat Leftovers: Baked apples|last=Touzalin|first=Jane|date=October 16, 2013|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> Unpeeled apples are cored and stuffed with fillings such as raisins, nuts, oatmeal, or other ingredients and spices.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":5" /> Variants can be served as adessert, side dish or breakfast.<ref name=":5" />

==See also==
*''[The Apple Dumpling Gang](/source/The_Apple_Dumpling_Gang_(film))''
* [Dumpling](/source/Dumpling)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}{{Dumplings}}

{{Apples|state=collapsed}}
Category:American desserts
Category:Dumplings
Category:Cuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch
Category:British desserts
Category:Austrian desserts
Category:Czech pastries
Dumpling
Category:Breakfast dishes
Category:Romani cuisine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Apple dumpling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_dumpling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_dumpling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.