of her cookbook, in a section called "New Receipts." In 1870 an apple dumpling dinner was given by the Bethel A.M.E. church in San Francisco. In 1879 Mark Twain included baked apple dumplings on a list of American foods "unmatched by European hotel cuisine". In 1946 George Orwell was commissioned to write an essay on British Cuisine for an overseas audience, later rejected by the British Council "amid anxiety about postwar austerity", and called out boiled apple dumplings as an example of the "greatest glories of British cookery." Apple dumplings were Thomas Edison's favorite food. Louis Hughes, born a black slave in Virginia in 1832, recorded an account of a Fourth of July barbecue for the slaves with roasted pigs and sheep, but apple dumplings and peach cobbler were still the favorites "relished by all the slaves". A young pioneer's diary entry for July 4th, 1859 on Oregon Trail records having apple dumplings for supper that evening. Food historian Bruce Kraig speculated that apple dumplings were popular in the United States because they were "enormously practical in a country where apples grew well and could be dried for year-round use, few individually portioned foods were available, and large boiled dinners required the least tending." Ingredients and preparation Apple dumplings are typically made by wrapping a pastry crust around a peeled, cored, and sometimes quartered apple, sometimes stuffing the hollow from the core with butter, sugar, sometimes dried fruits such as raisins, sultanas, or currants, and spices, sealing the pastry, and pouring a spiced sauce over the top before baking or, in the case of older recipes, boiling. The earliest recipes refer to boiling, as few homes had ovens, while many later recipes call for baking. Sauces typically call for sugar or brown sugar and butter boiled with water, sometimes with sliced lemons or spices such as cinnamon added for flavor. Serving Apple dumplings are served for breakfast or other meals, as sides, or as dessert. They are served hot, warm or at room temperature, sometimes with milk, cream, whipped cream, custard, or ice cream. Each dumpling is an individual serving. Around the world Austria In Austria a "large, soft" apple dumpling called apfelnockerln is eaten. Czechia Fruit dumplings, including apple, called ovocné knedlíky, are popular in Czech cuisine and are eaten with quark or tvaroh cheese. They are often served as a complete meal. Germany Apfelklöße are a "small pudding