how to make crumble

cooking-mama

researcher wrote: »

Thats the beauty of home cooking, you can add whatever you like. My Nan always used to put cloves in her apple pies and I love the flavour, but my OH finds the taste too strong. I love star anisette with poached pear, but others don't like it. Also, I find with the larger jumbo oats you have to cook the crumble longer to get a crunchy top - 35+ minutes (which is probably why I never cook my fruit first) - try it sometime with uncooked fruit and see how it compares.

Thanks,I will try again without cooking the fruit first,I still have 3 large Bramleys left,so maybe this weekend,and il maybe just use the jumbo oats again but cook for longer, my crumble was kinda "chewy" rather than crunchy,it was very nice,but i'd like to try for crunchy.:)

researcher

Did you use brown or white sugar? I find white gives a better crunch. And don't be afraid of cooking the crumble for longer - all ovens differ apart from whether they are fan/electric/gas/solid fuel. It sounds like yours needed more cooking.

When you are using uncooked apples, slice them thinly rather than chunk them and toss them in sugar and any spices (cinnamon is lovely) before you put them in your dish so they all get a good coating. Another thing to remember is that it makes a difference what dish you use - I find if I cook a crumble in pyrex dish it takes longer than if I cook in an enamel one (my preffered as the fruit cooks quicker).

Oh, and never put the mixture onto hot fruit - it steams the crumble and makes it go soggy.