The Best Way to Prevent Soggy Fruit Crisp

published Jul 20, 2012
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(Image credit: Emily Han)

I’m guessing we’ve all been there. You pick up summer fruit you’re really excited to turn into a crisp or crumble, but the final baked result is a little juicier (dare we say soggy?) than you’d really like. There are many reasons for this, and one really good trick to avoid it.

Cook’s Country ran a recipe for Peach Melba Crisp in their September 2012 issue, and it was a delightful-looking combination of tart raspberries and juicy peaches. And, of course, a super crisp topping. But how to avoid the too-soggy topping? Drain the juice from the fruit? Use more thickener?

Thankfully for us, the folks in their test kitchen came up with a pretty great trick to maintain the crisp factor: they suggest macerating the peach slices (or whatever fruit you’re using) with the sugar and salt called for in the recipe (letting them hang out together for awhile to release their sweet juices) and then drain the juices, reserving exactly 2 tablespoons to add back to the fruit filling.

They insist crisps and crumbles will come out perfectly this way, regardless of the fruit you’re using. We can’t wait to try it out!

(Image: Emily Ho)