The History of "Cobbler"

The cobbler is a later variation of the pie, which dates to 9500 BC, in the Egyptian Neolithic period (also known as the New Stone Age).  The use of stones for grinding grain improved the baking process of cereals,including the creation of flour that provided a more reliable source of food. 

 Early pies were in the form of Galettes, wrapping honey as a treat inside a cover of ground grains.  Common cereal grains of oats, wheat, rye and barley were domesticated about 12,000 years ago by ancient farming .  These grains and oats became a staple of the pies and cobblers described here.

These galettes later developed into a form of early sweet pastry or desserts.  Although pies often were filled with meats, they later were filled with fruits and honey.

Wagon trains in the 1800's made use of cobblers as first a main dish and then later as a dessert.  Southern cooking in the US had many examples of fruit cobblers, often filled with cream and eggs, creating a fruit and custard dessert.  The word 'cobbler' described the process of using whatever ingredients were available, 'cobbling' them all together into a dish that was baked over an open fire.

Today, many cobber recipes are handed down from generation to generation, creating wonderful home-made desserts that distinguish themselves from our many mass-produced desserts. 

Here's a wonderful peach cobbler created by a friend of mine on a Sunday evening before she contemplated another week of work at a Fortune 100 company.  It's her way of living "The Slow Life" on a Sunday evening.  I can't wait to taste it tomorrow morning.