If you mention a crumble to a Polish person, they would most likely very instinctively say that in Poland we have something quite similar but it is called ‘drożdżówka’ and it is actually a yeast-based cake that we often make with plumbs (or other fruit) when summer fades away and autumn takes charge of the table.

‘Drożdżówka’ has been always the treat that came out of my aunty’s oven every Sunday after the eleven o’clock mass that our priest always struggled to conclude. Hands were getting colder, legs were getting restless and as our stomachs were rapidly shrinking in size, our souls were working out their patience. Nourished with the Word of God, we either ran to our car or rushed to the pavements in hope for a piece of cake and a warming cup of hot coffee at my aunty’s place. ‘Niech Będzie Pochwalony Jezus Chrystus’ (May Lord Jesus Christ be Praised) was what used to be boldly exclaimed entering her kitchen. ‘Na wieki wieków, Amen’ (Now and ever shall be) was the reply. Interestingly, I observe, these words are slowly exiting our Polish culture as I hear us often saying ‘I’m back’ instead of the customary Christian greeting. I like the Christian greeting and it seems to me that our Sunday ritual is not entirely completed without those words. Ethnographers tend to notice these shifts in language patterns quite quickly just as they would note changes in how cakes are made. ‘Drożdżowka’ has changed and evolved in those Polish houses everywhere where the dietary requirements kicked in or other preferences are taking over, like losing weight, for instance.

The English crumble, I feel, is what is replacing this cake in families such as ours where gluten and egg whites, cow’s milk are off the menu and yeast should be avoided. Now, of course, there are hundred of ways in which crumble can be made and eaten. The one that I photographed here was made with apples and pears, honey (from my dad’s beehives), cinnamon, gluten free flour, coconut flour and coconut oil. I must admit I feel a bit like Willy Wonka by showing you photos of a dessert for a second-week in a row and I worry that the police will come and fetch me for introducing sweets to the city, but I am sure that you understand it very well that it is all done in the good faith of preserving childhood dreams and mother’s sanity as photographing it and writing it all up in a small kitchen with two frozen shoulders is not a small effort. ;)

So last week I had these questions in mind/ obstacles while photographing:

– how to photograph the food when the kids want to eat it straight away

– how to photograph left overs or food partially eaten in a manner that is acceptable to the eye but at the same to preserve the sense of realism

– how to make use of the sink

Essentially, I had this problem that we ate too much of it and too quickly but in all honesty waiting is difficult with hungry kids and all that you can do is to ask them to leave at least some for later or spoon some out before serving to preserve it for the photo (which comes in handy even a day after when you come back home from a cold walk and crave for some warming food). The crumble was lovely, but it resembled more of a pie than a crumble, I guess, because there was quite a lot of the dough. The dish was fairly flat, made of porcelain, rectangular and white. The very first thing that I thought of was that there would need to be a separation between the white colour of the dish and the white of the sink for a clearer composition so I decided to put it on a decoupaged beige tray that a differnt aunt of mine gave me a few years ago. I placed the dish with the tray in the sink for some photos to see what the effect would be with the white frame around the decoupaged try but in the end I like the one that sat higher on the edge of the sink as it gave me more depth to the background. The bits stuck to the side of the crumble pie dish were visible and quite unsightly so I decided to colour match the custard with a small towel and I placed it on the right side of the dish to cover the crumbs. That was done for the close-up. For a broader view, I looked for an additional item in the kitchen that again would somewhat decorate the food and take attention away from the fact that it was gluttonously devoured. I had this elegant chipped little coffee cup that I thought would take the attention and I placed it on a few wooden trays to give it prominence and posture. To complete the picture I used Contrastly autumn calm filters to give it it a calming and relaxing mood and feel – I wanted to evoke a feeling of calm after storm, one that you experience once the children are asleep and guests have gone home, and you are just on your own cleaning the kitchen. I included here also a backstage photo with my ring light for you to see how I positioned the light. I was taking the photos while standing on the left, just behind the ring light. On the backstage photo, the cup’s hand is directed at you. This is a compositional mistake. I remember a long time ago, I attended a course on children photography with Elena Shumilova and I couldn’t understand why one of the photos that I took of my daughter was compositionally worse than other ones. In that photo my daughter was sitting sideways and her elbow was somewhat lifted. Elena explained to me that it looked as if she was elbowing the viewer’s eye and in a way this is exactly what this cup appears to do in this backstage photo. It looks as if it was trying to elbow you so it is not the desired and the intended composition for a pleasing shot. Just the backstage photo. :)

Back to the topic of crumbles, last Sunday we visited Bradgate Park in Leicestershire and we stopped at the Coach&Horses for Sunday meal before the walk. Their crumble was a much healthier version to ours, I feel, as it had I think almost a triple the amount of fruit and it had less flour. As a result, theirs was a less fatty option to choose from. Avoid ours. But give photography at least an afterthought… :)

What have you been making recently?

Till now.

Alicja

P.S. I found heat patches to be very useful in easing my pain in the shoulders while I lift the camera up and while I hold it. I am using these ones at moment: Deep Relief Heat Patches. They might be useful to you too.