Cobbler is a traditional dish in both the United States and the United Kingdom, although the meaning of the term is technically quite different in each of the countries. It is usually a dessert in the United States consisting of a filling which is placed in a large baking dish, such as a Dutch oven, which is covered by a layer of pastry. Savoury or meat versions are not unknown in the United States. In the United Kingdom it is usually a savoury meat dish, typically a lamb casserole which is covered with a savoury scone-like topping - each scone (or biscuit) forming a separate cobbler. Fruit based versions are also increasingly popular in the United Kingdom - although they still retain the separate cobbler (or biscuit) topping of the meat version. In both countries, the result is then baked.
Cobblers can be filled either with fresh fruit, such as apples, peaches, blackberries, and cherries or they can also be filled with meat such as lamb and vegetables to be served as a main course. In the United States a cobbler is similar to a pie, but lacking a bottom crust. The British version is more like a casserole covered with individual cobblers (or scones). The most traditional version served in the United Kingdom is the classic dish - lamb cobbler. This is similar to United States biscuit covered casseroles.
In the United States some varieties of cobbler include Crumble or Crisp, Betty, Grunts or Slumps, Buckle or Crumble and Sonker. Crisps are baked with the fruit mixture on the bottom and a crumb topping. Crumbles are the British version of the American Crisp. In the United Kingdom, however, a crumble is never referred to as a variety of cobbler which is seen as an entirely different dish. Grunts and Slumps are a New England variety of cobbler typically cooked on the stove-top or cooker in an iron skillet or pan with the dough on top in the shape of dumplings - it gets the name grunt from the sound it makes while cooking. A Buckle or Crumble is made with yellow batter (think cake batter) with the filling mixed in with the batter. Sonker is unique to North Carolina and is a deep dish version of the typical American cobbler.
In the Southern United States, a well-known controversy has ensued for generations over whether cobbler should be served hot or cold.
In the United States the Betty or Brown Betty has an interesting history. The British first published a recipe for a Betty in 1864 in the Yale Literary Magazine with brown in lower case, thus making Betty the proper name.[1] However, in 1890 a recipe was published in the United States in Practical sanitary and economic cooking adapted to persons of moderate and small means with the Brown capitalized, making Brown Betty the proper name.[2]
References
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