Classic Fruit Desserts Of America

Fruit desserts are definitely the healthiest way to feed one’s craving for sweets. With its natural saccharine component, fruits save the dessert from containing fattening sugar making one to experience a figure-friendly and vitamin-rich indulging treat. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why fruit desserts stay on as a classic favorite in American kitchens despite the emergence of artificial or designer dessert products in the market.

For every American, first encounter with fruit desserts starts with the oven-hot treat their grandmothers usually make at home. Popular among these are the traditional cobbler and pandowdy concocted with cream, real butter, and of course lots of juicy fresh fruits.

Fruit desserts, according to food experts, are essential part of American heritage. The basic preparation of a fruit dessert, which is usually based with a sweet biscuit type of dough baked under a layer or on top of fresh fruit fillings, reflects the cooking style of the English Colonial times in America. The way the desserts are named also reflects the true American culture. Experts say that colonial Americans name dishes according to how it looks or sounds when being served or cooked.

Pandowdy, for instance, got its name since the deep-dish dessert is cooked in a pan and dowdy-looking when served.

There are many kinds of classic American fruit desserts that warmed and refreshingly delighted every American home. Perhaps, you’ve gobbled one of these sumptuous desserts not knowing what they’re really called or mistaken some for something else because they look and taste almost the same—tempting and delicious!

It would be nice to know some of these classic fruit desserts. A pandowdy is commonly made with molasses-sweetened apples topped with crumbly biscuit. Another deep-dish fruit dessert is the cobbler which uses peaches, plums, blackberries, or nectarines topped with a biscuit crust. It is also called in a bramble, grunt or slump in different regions in America. A fool is simply a combination of fruits and cream or whipped cream where the fruit could sometimes be stewed then folded into the whipped cream. Shortcake is made with a rich split biscuits topped with fruit, usually strawberry, peaches, or apricots, and whipped cream. A betty is a baked pudding made through layering spiced fruit, usually apples, and buttered bread crumbs. It is popularly called the Apple Brown Betty.

With its historical significance and health benefits, fruit desserts would remain an all-time mouth-watering dessert treat for Americans.