Its a comfort food classic, and great for when theres still a bit of a chill in the air, but what does it take to make it just right?
If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then crumble is comfortingly solid evidence that the best desserts aren’t delicate or even pretty: this isn’t a dish to stun social media, but it will momentarily silence the table. I can confidently say I’ve never, even in the darkest days of school dinners, met anyone who doesn’t like crumble.
Of course, you can stash just about any fruit you like under that buttery, sugary topping – though as Jesse Dunford Wood notes in his book Modern British Food, not all are appropriate – but the natural astringency of rhubarb, an underrated vegetable-identifying-as-a-fruit that fills the hungry gap between autumn apples and the first summer fruits, is the perfect complement, and a time-honoured partner for a jug of custard. (Dunford Wood also has strong opinions about the correct accompaniments to the crumble. He correctly identifies custard as the ideal).
When I asked for recipe recommendations for this column, someone scornfully responded, “Who uses a recipe for crumble?” They’re right: anyone can make a decent rhubarb crumble. But how do you make a perfect one?
The rhubarb
Rhubarb is the only fruit, or thing passing as a fruit, that sticks with us through the long, grey British winter, its candy-pink canes popping up in warm, dark sheds in Yorkshire, among other places, while the ground outside is still frozen solid – the sturdier, greener outdoor variety takes its place this month, and will continue to flourish, getting ever more monstrous in size, until the autumn.
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