Apple Cranberry Crumble
from Hallockville Museum Farm & Folklife Center

For the filling:
6 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples (Braeburn are good)
2 cups chopped cranberries
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
finely grated zest of one orange
2 tablespoons orange juice

Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup old fashioned or quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 tablespoon-sized pieces.

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the apples in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish, such as a 10 inch round, 9 inch square, or 12x8 inch rectangular dish.
3. For the filling, mix 1/4 cup brown sugar with the cranberries. Mix in the orange zest. Scrape the mixture over the apples and combine well with your fingers. Drizzle with the orange juice. Set aside.
4. For the topping, mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, oats and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Cut in the butter (you can use a food processor for this step) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread the mixture evenly over the fruit, but do not pack it down.
5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the topping is crisp and browned and the fruit is bubbly and tender. Test with the tip of a small sharp knife. Cool the crumble on a wire rack, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Back to North Fork Family Cuisine main page

Verity O'Brien related the history of the cranberry to Hallockville as such:

"Indians taught the early Colonists how to use the tart cranberry. The cranberry, or craneberry, is so named because the slender stems of the fruit curve like the neck of a crane. Another tradition is that the vines grew where graceful birds stalked the shores of streams, in search of food. These birds are herons, tho' mistakenly called cranes--hence crane-berry. Indians combine crushed berries with dried meat and fat drippings to make little cakes called pemmican. The Colonial cooks learned to use them fresh and dried in many more appetizing ways. The Complete Cook's Guide, published in 1742, contained a recipe for cranberry juice. American sailors ate cranberries, stored in fresh water in barrels on the ships to protect themselves from scurvy.

The cranberry vine grew wild in marshy or swampy bogs. Its short season usually marked the end of harvest time and family berry picking outings. However, in winter, the frozen cranberry bogs made excellent natural skating rinks and afforded another opportunity for pleasure.

In the 1870's, several swampy areas around mill ponds were converted into cranberry bogs or marshes and we had commercial cranberry growers at the Woodhull Marsh in Riverhead, the Brown Marsh in Calverton and the Davis Marsh in Manorville, as well as several smaller family operations.