Doughnuts are usuallydeep fried from aflour dough, but other types ofbatters can also be used. Various toppings and flavors are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate or maple glazing. Doughnuts may also include water,leavening, eggs, milk, sugar, oil,shortening, and natural or artificial flavors.
The two most common types are the ring doughnut and the filled doughnut, which is injected withfruit preserves (thejelly doughnut),cream,custard, or other sweet fillings. Small pieces of dough are sometimes cooked asdoughnut holes. Once fried, doughnuts may be glazed with a sugar icing, spread with icing or chocolate, or topped withpowdered sugar,cinnamon,sprinkles or fruit.Other shapes include balls, flattened spheres, twists, and other forms. Doughnut varieties are also divided into cake (including theold-fashioned) and yeast-risen doughnuts. Doughnuts are often accompanied by coffee or milk.
A13th-centuryArabic cookbook, written byIbn Razīn al-Tujībī contains a recipe for a doughnut-like variant ofsfenj, made by frying leavenedsemolina dough, the dough is meant to be shaped into a small ball, the recipe also calls for shaping the dough into aKa'ak with a hole in the middle to test itsproofing.[7] This is done before frying the first batch and results in a shape reminiscent of a modern doughnut.[8]
The cookbookKüchenmeisterei (Mastery of the Kitchen), published inNuremberg in 1485, offers a recipe for "Gefüllte Krapfen", stuffed, fried dough cakes.[9]
The Spanish and Portuguesechurro is achoux pastry dough that would also be served in a ring-shape. The recipe may have been brought from, or introduced to China, in the 16th century.[10][11]
Dutch settlers broughtolykoek ("oil cake") to New York (orNew Amsterdam) in the early 18th century. These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring shape.[12][13][14]
A recipe for fried dough "nuts" was published, in 1750 England, under the title "How to make Hertfordshire Cakes, Nuts and Pincushions", inThe Country Housewife's Family Companion by William Ellis.[15][16]
A recipe labelled "dow nuts", again fromHertfordshire, was found in a book of recipes and domestic tips written around 1800, by the wife of BaronThomas Dimsdale,[17] the recipe being given to the dowager Baroness by an acquaintance who transcribed for her the cooking instructions for a "dow nut".[18]
The first cookbook using the near conventional "dough nuts" spelling was possibly the 1803 edition of "The Frugal Housewife: Or, Complete Woman Cook", which included dough nuts in an appendix of American recipes.[19]
One of the earliest mentions of "dough-nut" was inWashington Irving's 1809 bookA History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty:[20]
Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks: a delicious kind of cake, at present scarce known in this city, excepting in genuine Dutch families.
The nameoly koeks was almost certainly related to theoliekoek: a Dutch delicacy of "sweetened cake fried in fat."[21]
Etymology
Look updoughnut ordonut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
"Dough nut"
One of the earliest known literary usages of the term dates to an 1808 short story[22] describing a spread of "fire-cakes and dough-nuts".Washington Irving described "dough-nuts", in his 1809History of New York, as "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, orolykoeks."[23] These "nuts" of fried dough might now be calleddoughnut holes. The wordnut is here used in the earlier sense of "small rounded cake or cookie", also seen inginger nut.[24]Doughnut is the traditional spelling and still dominates even in the United States[25][26][27] thoughdonut is often used.[28][29] At present,doughnut and the shortened formdonut are both pervasive in American English.[30]
"Donut"
The first known printed use ofdonut was inPeck's Bad Boy and his Pa byGeorge W. Peck, published in 1900, in which a character is quoted as saying, "Pa said he guessed he hadn't got much appetite, and he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut."[31] According to author John T. Edge the alternative spelling "donut" was invented in the 1920s when the New York–based Display Doughnut Machine Corporation abbreviated the word to make it more pronounceable by the foreigners they hoped would buy their automated doughnut making equipment.[32] The donut spelling also showed up in aLos Angeles Times article dated August 10, 1929 in which Bailey Millard jokingly complains about the decline of spelling, and that he "can't swallow the 'wel-dun donut' nor the ever so 'gud bred'".
The interchangeability of the two spellings can be found in a series of "National Donut Week" articles inThe New York Times that covered the 1939 World's Fair. In four articles beginning 9 October, two mention thedonut spelling.Dunkin' Donuts, which was so-named in 1950, following its 1948 founding under the name Open Kettle (Quincy, Massachusetts), is the oldest surviving company to use thedonut variation; other chains, such as the defunct Mayflower Doughnut Corporation (1931), did not use that spelling.[33] According to theOxford Dictionaries while "doughnut" is used internationally, the spelling "donut" is American,[34] withKrispy Kreme being a notable exception.[35] The spelling "donut" remained rare until the 1950s, and has since grown significantly in popularity.[36]
Types
Clockwise from upper left: doughnuts in two shapes; doughnut holes; orange Halloween doughnuts; and a pink Christmas doughnut
Rings
Hanson Gregory, an American, claimed to have invented the ring-shaped doughnut in 1847 aboard a lime-trading ship when he was 16 years old. Gregory was dissatisfied with the greasiness of doughnuts twisted into various shapes and with the raw center of regular doughnuts. He claimed to have punched a hole in the center of dough with the ship's tin pepper box, and to have later taught the technique to his mother.[37]Smithsonian Magazine states that his mother, Elizabeth Gregory, "made awicked deep-fried dough that cleverly used her son's spice cargo of nutmeg and cinnamon, along with lemon rind," and "put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center, where the dough might not cook through", and called the food 'doughnuts'.[12]
Ring doughnuts may be formed by a number of methods, including joining the ends of a long, skinny piece of dough into a ring, or using a doughnut cutter, which simultaneously cuts the outside and inside shape, leaving a doughnut-shaped piece of dough and a doughnut hole (the dough removed from the center). This smaller piece of dough can be cooked and served as a "doughnut hole" or added back to the batch to make more doughnuts. A disk-shaped doughnut can also be stretched and pinched into atorus until the center breaks to form a hole. Alternatively, a doughnut depositor can be used to place a circle of liquid dough (batter) directly into the fryer.
There are two types of ring doughnuts, those made from a yeast-based dough for raised doughnuts, or those made from a special type of cake batter.[16][38][39] Yeast-raised doughnuts contain about 25% oil by weight, whereas cake doughnuts' oil content is around 20%, but have extra fat included in the batter before frying. Cake doughnuts are fried for about 90 seconds at approximately 190 to 198 °C (374 to 388 °F), turning once.Yeast-raised doughnuts absorb more oil because they take longer to fry, about 150 seconds, at 182 to 190 °C (360 to 374 °F). Cake doughnuts typically weigh between 24 and 28 g (0.85 and 0.99 oz), whereas yeast-raised doughnuts average 38 g (1.3 oz) and are generally larger, and taller (due to rising) when finished.[citation needed]
Daniela Galarza, forEater, wrote that "the now-standard doughnut's hole is still up for debate. Food writerMichael Krondl surmises that the shape came from recipes that called for the dough to be shaped like ajumble – a once common ring-shaped cookie. InCuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People, culinary historian Linda Civitello writes that the hole was invented because it allowed the doughnuts to cook faster. By 1870 doughnut cutters shaped in two concentric circles, one smaller than the other, began to appear in home-shopping catalogues".[16]
Topping
The process of glazing doughnuts
After frying, ring doughnuts are often topped. Raised doughnuts are generally covered with aglaze (icing). Cake doughnuts can also be glazed, powdered withconfectioner's sugar, or covered withcinnamon and granulated sugar. They are also often topped with cake frosting (top only) and sometimes sprinkled with coconut, chopped peanuts, orsprinkles.
Holes
Doughnut holes are small, bite-sized doughnuts that were traditionally made from the dough taken from the center of ring doughnuts. Before long, doughnut sellers saw the opportunity to market "holes" as a novelty and many chains offer their own variety, some with their own brand names such as "Munchkins" fromDunkin' Donuts[40][41] and "Timbits" fromTim Hortons.[42]
Traditionally, doughnut holes are made by frying the dough removed from the center portion of the doughnut.[43] Consequently, they are considerably smaller than a standard doughnut and tend to be spherical. Similar to standard doughnuts, doughnut holes may be topped with confections, such as glaze or powdered sugar.
Originally, most varieties of doughnut holes were derivatives of their ring doughnut (yeast-based dough or cake batter) counterparts. However, doughnut holes can also be made by dropping a small ball of dough into hot oil from a specially shaped nozzle or cutter.[44] This production method has allowed doughnut sellers to produce bite-sized versions of non-ring doughnuts, such as filled doughnuts,fritters andDutchies.
Filled
Filled doughnuts are flattened spheres injected withfruit preserves,cream,custard, or other sweet fillings, and often dipped into powdered sugar or topped off with frosting. Common varieties include theBoston cream,coconut,key lime, andjelly.
Other shapes
Others include thefritter and theDutchie, which are usually glazed. These have been available onTim Hortons' doughnut menu since the chain's inception in 1964,[45] and a 1991Toronto Star report found these two were the chain's most populartype of fried dough in Canada.[46]
There are many other specialized doughnut shapes such asold-fashioned, bars orLong Johns (a rectangular shape), or twists.Other shapes include balls, flattened spheres, twists, and other forms.[47][48][16] In the northeast United States, bars and twists are usually referred to ascrullers. Another is thebeignet, a square-shaped doughnut covered with powdered sugar, commonly associated withNew Orleans.
Nom kong (នំបុ័ងកង់), the traditional Cambodian doughnut, is named after its shape – the word 'កង់' (pronouncedkong in Khmer) literally means "wheel", whilstnom ('នំបុ័ង') is the general word for pastry or any kind of starchy food. A very inexpensive treat for everyday Cambodians, this sweet pastry consists of a jasmine rice flour dough moulded into a classic ring shape and then deep fried in fat, then drizzled with a palm sugar toffee and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The rice flour gives it a chewy texture that Cambodians are fond of. This childhood snack is what inspired Cambodian-American entrepreneurTed Ngoy to build his doughnut empire, inspiring the filmThe Donut King.
China
A few sweet, doughnut-style pastries are regional in nature.Cantonese cuisine features an oval-shaped pastry calledngàuhleisōu (牛脷酥, lit. "ox-tongue pastry", due to its tongue-like shape).
A spherical food calledsaa1 jung (沙翁), which is also similar to acream puff but denser with a doughnut-like texture and usually prepared with sugar sprinkled on top, is normally available indim sumCantonese restaurants. An oilierBeijing variant of this called 高力豆沙,gaoli dousha, is filled withred bean paste; originally, it was made with egg white instead of dough. Many Chinese cultures make a chewy doughnut known asshuangbaotai (雙包胎), which consists of two conjoined balls of dough.
Chinese cuisine features long, deep-fried doughnut sticks that are often quite oily, hence their name inMandarin,yóutiáo (油條, "oil strips"); inCantonese, this doughnut-style pastry is calledyàuhjagwái (油炸鬼, "ghosts fried in oil"). These pastries are lightly salted and are often served withcongee, a traditional riceporridge orsoy milk for breakfast.
In India, an old-fashioned sweet calledgulgula is made of sweetened, deep-fried flour balls. A leavening agent may or may not be used.[citation needed]
There are a couple of unrelated doughnut-shaped food items. A savory, fried, ring-shaped snack called avada is often referred to as the Indian doughnut. Thevada is made fromdal,lentil orpotato flours rather than wheat flour.[49] In North India, it is in the form of a bulging disc calleddahi-vada, and is soaked incurd, sprinkled with spices and sliced vegetables, and topped with a sweet and sourchutney. In South India, a vada is eaten withsambar and a coconutchutney.
Sweet pastries similar to old-fashioned doughnuts calledbadushahi andjalebi are also popular.Balushahi, also calledbadushah, is made from flour, deep fried in clarified butter, and dipped in sugar syrup. Unlike a doughnut,balushahi is dense. Abalushahi is ring-shaped, but the well in the center does not go all the way through to form a hole typical of a doughnut.Jalebi, which is typically pretzel-shaped, is made by deep frying batter in oil and soaking it in sugar syrup.[50] A variant ofjalebi, calledimarti, is shaped with a small ring in the center around which a geometric pattern is arranged.
Along with these Indian variants, typical varieties of doughnuts are also available from U.S. chains such asKrispy Kreme andDunkin' Donuts retail outlets, as well as local brands such as Mad Over Donuts and the Donut Baker.[51]
Indonesia
TheIndonesian,donat kentang is apotato doughnut, a ring-shaped fritter made from flour and mashed potatoes, coated in powder sugar or icing sugar.[52]
In Japan,an-doughnut (あんドーナッツ, "bean paste doughnut") is widely available at bakeries.An-doughnut are similar to the GermanBerliner, but contain redazuki bean paste.[53][54]Mister Donut is one of the most popular doughnut chains in Japan. Native toOkinawa is a spheroid pastry similar to doughnuts calledsata andagi.[55][56]Mochi donuts are "a cross between a traditional cake-like doughnut and chewy mochi dough similar to what's wrapped around ice cream".[57] This hybrid confection was originally popularized in Japan by Mister Donut before spreading to the United States via Hawaii.[58][59] The Mister Donut style, also known as "pon de ring", usestapioca flour and produces mochi donuts that are easy to pull apart. Another variation developed in the United States uses glutinous rice flour which produces a denser mochi donut akin to Hawaiian-stylebutter mochi.[58][60][61] Mochi donuts made from glutinous rice flour "typically contain half the amount of calories as the standard cake or yeast doughnut".[62]
Malaysia
Kuih keria is a hole doughnut made from boiled sweet potato that is mashed. The sweet potato mash is shaped into rings and fried. The hot doughnut is then rolled in granulated sugar. The result is a doughnut with a sugar-crusted skin.[63]
Nepal
Sel roti is aNepali homemade, ring-shaped, rice doughnut prepared duringTihar, the widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. A semiliquid dough is usually prepared by adding milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, and mashed banana to rice flour, which is often left to ferment for up to 24 hours. Asel roti is traditionally fried inghee.[64]
Pakistan
Doughnuts are available at most bakeries across Pakistan. The Navaz Sharif variety,[citation needed] available mainly in the city ofKarachi, is covered in chocolate and filled with cream, similar to aBoston cream. Doughnuts can readily be found at the manyDunkin' Donuts branches spread across Pakistan.[65]
Local varieties of doughnuts sold by peddlers and street vendors throughout the Philippines are usually made of plain well-kneaded dough, deep-fried in refined coconut oil and sprinkled with refined (not powdered or confectioner's) sugar. Round versions of this doughnut are known asbuñuelos (also spelledbunwelos, and sometimes confusingly known as "bicho-bicho"), similar to the doughnuts in Spain and former Spanish colonies. Indigenous versions of the doughnut also exist, like thecascaron, which is prepared similarly, but uses ground glutinous rice and coconut milk in place of wheat flour and milk.[66][67]
The distinctively shapedshakoy (also known aslubid-lubid), a doughnut variant from theVisayas, in the Philippines
Other native doughnut recipes include theshakoy,kumukunsi, andbinangkal.Shakoy orsiyakoy from theVisayas islands (also known aslubid-lubid in the northern Philippines) uses a length of dough twisted into a distinctive rope-like shape before being fried. The preparation is almost exactly the same as doughnuts, though there are variants made fromglutinous rice flour. The texture can range from soft and fluffy, to sticky and chewy, to hard and crunchy (in the latter case, they are known aspilipit). They are sprinkled with white sugar, but can also be topped with sesame seeds or caramelized sugar.[68][69]Kumukunsi is ajalebi-like native doughnut from theMaguindanao people. It is made withrice flour, duck eggs, and sugar that is molded into rope-like strands and then fried in a loose spiral. It has the taste and consistency of a creamy pancake.[70][71]Binangkal are simple fried dough balls covered insesame seeds.[72] Other fried dough desserts include the mesh-likelokot-lokot, the fried rice cakepanyalam, and the banana frittermaruya, among others.[73][74]
Taiwan
InTaiwan,shuāngbāotāi (雙胞胎, lit. "twins") is two pieces of dough wrapped together before frying.[75]
Thailand
In Thailand, a popular breakfast food ispa thong ko, also known as Thai donuts, a version of the Chineseyiu ja guoy/youtiao. Often sold from food stalls in markets or by the side of the road, these doughnuts are small, sometimes X-shaped, and sold by the bag full.[76] They are often eaten in the morning with hotThai tea.
Vietnam
Vietnamese varieties of doughnuts includebánh tiêu, bánh cam, andbánh rán.Bánh tiêu is a sesame-topped, deep-fried pastry that is hollow. It can be eaten alone or cut in half and served withbánh bò, a gelatinous cake, placed inside the pastry.Bánh cam is from Southern Vietnam and is a ball-shaped, deep-fried pastry coated entirely in sesame seeds and containing amung bean paste filling.Bánh rán is from Northern Vietnam and is similar tobánh cam; however, the difference is thatbánh ránis covered with a sugar glaze after being deep-fried and its mung bean paste filling includes ajasmine essence.[citation needed]
Armenia –Ponchik (Armenian:պոնչիկ, borrowed from theRussian word пончик) is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere, that turns into a puffed-up sphere upon frying and then becomes a flattened sphere after it is opened. Ponchiks are filled withcustard (plain,vanilla orchocolate mostly), while nowadays, they also get filled withNutella,caramel andjam. InArmenian cuisine, ponchik has evolved from its possiblymedieval Armenian (although under different name) andSoviet roots into a beloved street and café dessert with a distinctly local character. While theRussian ponchik is often unfilled, or filled withjam and resembles a normal donut, the Armenian version is always filled with custard and puffy, collapsing after It is opened.Tutalik (Armenian:տուտալիկ) is another Armenian doughnut-like dessert similar todoughnut holes, Armenian doughnuts are sometimes also referred to aschickies.[77][78]
Austria
InAustria, doughnut equivalents are calledKrapfen. They are especially popular during Carnival season (Fasching), and do not have the typical ring shape, but instead are solid and usually filled with apricot jam (traditional) or vanilla cream (Vanillekrapfen).[79] A second variant, calledBauernkrapfen are also made of yeast dough, and have a thick outside ring, but are very thin in the middle.[80]
Belgium
InBelgium, thesmoutebollen in Dutch, orcroustillons in French, are similar to the Dutch kind ofoliebollen, but they usually do not contain any fruit, except for apple chunks sometimes. They are typical carnival and fair snacks and are coated with powdered sugar.[81][82]
Czech Republic
Czechkoblihy
U.S.-style doughnuts are available in theCzech Republic, buit traditional ones have a solid shape and are filled with jelly (strawberry or apricot). The shape is similar to doughnuts in Germany or Poland. They are calledKoblihy (Kobliha in singular). They may also be filled withnougat or with vanilla custard. There are now many fillings; halved or non-filled knots with sugar and cinnamon on top.[83]
inFinland, a sweet doughnut is called amunkki (the word also meansmonk) and are commonly eaten in cafés and cafeteria restaurants. It is sold cold and sometimes filled with jam (like U.S. jelly donuts) or a vanilla sauce. A ring doughnut is also known asdonitsi.[84]
A savory form of doughnut is thelihapiirakka (literallymeat pie). Made from a doughnut mixture and deep fried, the end product is more akin to a savory doughnut than any pie known in the English-speaking world.[85]
Former Yugoslavia
Doughnuts similar to the Berliner are prepared in the northern Balkans, particularly inBosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia,North Macedonia andSerbia (pokladnice orkrofne). They are also calledkrofna,krafna orkrafne, a name derived from the AustrianKrapfen for this pastry. In Croatia, they are especially popular duringCarneval season and do not have the typical ring shape, but instead are solid. Traditionally, they are filled with jam (apricot or plum). However, they can be filled with vanilla or chocolate cream. Other types of doughnuts areuštipci andfritule.[citation needed]
In parts ofGermany, the doughnut equivalents are calledBerliner (sg. and pl.), but not in the capital city ofBerlin itself and neighboring areas, where they are calledPfannkuchen (which is often found misleading by people in the rest of Germany, who use the wordPfannkuchen to describe apancake, which is also the literal translation of it). BothBerliner andPfannkuchen are abbreviations of the termBerliner Pfannkuchen, however.
In middle Germany, doughnuts are calledKreppel orPfannkuchen. In southern Germany, they are also calledKrapfen and are especially popular during Carnival season (Karneval/Fasching) in southern and middle Germany and on New Year's Eve in northern Germany. ABerliner does not have the typical ring shape of a doughnut, but instead is solid and usually filled with jam, while a ring-shaped variant calledKameruner is common in Berlin and eastern Germany.Bismarcks andBerlin doughnuts are also found in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and the United States. Today, U.S.-style doughnuts are also available in Germany, but are less popular than their native counterparts.
Greece
InGreece, a doughnut-like snack calledloukoumas (λουκουμάς), which is spherical and soaked in honey syrup, is available. It is often served with sprinkled cinnamon and grated walnuts or sesame seeds.[88][55]
Hungary
Fánk is a sweet traditionalHungarian cake. The most commonly used ingredients areflour,yeast,butter,egg yolk,rum,salt,milk andoil for frying. The dough is allowed to rise for approximately 30 minutes, resulting in an extremely light pastry.Fánk is usually served withpowdered sugar andlekvar.
InLithuania, a kind of doughnut calledspurgos is widely known. Some spurgos are similar to Polishpączki, but some specific recipes, such ascottage cheese doughnuts (varškės spurgos), were invented independently.[citation needed]
In theNetherlands,oliebollen, referred to in cookbooks as "Dutch doughnuts", are a type of fritter, with or without raisins orcurrants, and usually sprinkled with powdered sugar. Variations of the recipe contain slices of apple or other fruits. They are traditionally eaten as part of New Year celebrations.[90][91]
Norway
In Norway,smultring is the prevailing type of doughnut traditionally sold in bakeries, shops, and stalls. However, U.S.-style doughnuts are widely available in larger supermarkets,McDonald's restaurants,7-elevens and bakeries. TheBerliner is more common than U.S.-style doughnut, and sold in most supermarkets and bakeries alongsidesmultring doughnuts.
In Poland and parts of the U.S. with a largePolish community, likeChicago andDetroit, the round, jam-filled doughnuts eaten especially—though not exclusively—duringCarnival are calledpączki (pronounced[ˈpɔntʂkʲi]). Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages.Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of theAugustus III under influence of French cooks who came to Poland at that time, pączki dough fried in Poland has been improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
Portugal
The malasada is a common type of holeless donut created in Portugal. They are made of fried dough. InMadeira and theAzores they are eaten onFat Tuesday. It is also popular inHawaii andCape Cod. The malasada arrived after immigrants came in.[55]
Romania
The Romanian dessertgogoși are fried dough balls similar to filled doughnuts. They are stuffed with chocolate, jam, cheese and other combinations and may be dusted with icing sugar.
Russia
InRussia and the otherPost-Soviet countries,ponchiki (Russian:пончики, plural form of пончик,ponchik) orpyshki (Russian:пышки, especially inSt. Petersburg) are a very popular sweet doughnut, with many fast and simple recipes available in Russian cookbooks for making them at home as a breakfast or coffee pastry.[92]
Slovenia
InSlovenia, a jam-filled doughnut known askrofi, is very popular. It is the typical sweet duringCarnival time, but is to be found in most bakeries during the whole year. The most famouskrofi come from the village ofTrojane in central Slovenia, and are originally filled withapricotjam filling.[93]
InSpain, there are two different types of doughnuts. The first one, simply calleddónuts, or more traditionallyberlinas, is a U.S.-style doughnut, i.e., a deep-fried, sweet, soft, ring of flour dough. The Spanish termberlinesas mainly refers to a type of pastry rather different from the classic doughnut (seeSpanish:Berlinesa).
The second type of doughnut is a traditional pastry calledrosquilla orrosquete (the latter name is typical in the Canary Islands), made of fermented dough and fried or baked in an oven.Rosquillas were purportedly introduced in Spain by theRomans.[94] In Spain, there are several variants of them depending on the region where they are prepared and the time of the year they are sold. In some regions they are considered a special pastry prepared only for Easter.[citation needed] Although overall they are more tightly textured and less sweet than U.S.-style doughnuts, they differ greatly in shape, size and taste from one region to another.[citation needed]
Thechurro is a sweet pastry of deep-fried dough similar to a doughnut but shaped as a long, thin, ribbed cylinder rather than a ring or sphere.Churros are commonly served dusted in sugar as a snack or with a cup of hot chocolate.
Similar to the Finnishmunkki, theSwedishmunk is a sweet doughnut commonly eaten asfika along with coffee. It is sold cold and is sometimes filled with jam (U.S. jelly) or a vanilla sauce. A ring doughnut is also known as simplymunk.
InUkraine doughnuts are calledpampushky (Ukrainian:пампушки).Pampushky are made of yeast dough containing wheat, rye or buckwheat flour. Traditionally they are baked, but may also be fried. According toWilliam Pokhlyobkin, the technology of makingpampushky points to German cuisine, and these buns were possibly created by German colonists in Ukraine.
United Kingdom
Two shop-bought lightly glazed yum-yums on a plate. On average they are 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length.
In the United Kingdom, both filled and ring doughnuts are popular, withjam doughnuts and other varieties readily available at supermarkets. In some parts ofScotland, ring doughnuts are referred to asdoughrings, with the 'doughnut' name being reserved exclusively for the nut-shaped variety. Glazed, twisted rope-shaped doughnuts are known asyum-yums. It is also possible to buyfudge doughnuts in certain regions of Scotland. Fillings include jam,custard, cream, sweetmincemeat, chocolate and apple. Common ring toppings are sprinkle-iced and chocolate.
InNorthern Ireland, ring doughnuts are known asgravy rings,gravy being an archaic term for hot cooking oil.
Akurma is a small, sweet, fried cube-shaped or rectangular doughnut which originated in Eastern India but is sold in Trinidad and Tobago.[citation needed]
Costa Rica
A traditionalPuntarenas cream-filled doughnut is round and robust, managing to keep the cream inside liquified. They are popular inCosta Rica.
Mexico
The Mexicandonas are similar to doughnuts, including the name; the dona is afried-doughpastry-basedsnack, commonly covered with powderedbrown sugar andcinnamon, white sugar or chocolate.
Doughnuts are ubiquitous in the United States and can be found in most grocery stores, as well as in specialtydoughnut shops. They are equally popular in Canada.[95] Canadians eat more doughnuts per capita than any other nation and has more doughnuts shops per capita than any other nation.[96][97]
A popular doughnut inHawaii is themalassada. Malassadas were brought to the Hawaiian Islands by early Portuguese settlers, and are a variation on Portugal'sfilhós. They are small, eggy balls of yeast dough deep-fried and coated in sugar.[55]
Immigrants have brought various doughnut varieties to the United States. To celebrate Fat Tuesday in easternPennsylvania, churches sell apotato starch doughnut called aFastnacht (or Fasnacht). The treats are so popular there that Fat Tuesday is often calledFastnacht Day. The Polish doughnut, thepączki, is popular in U.S. cities with large Polish communities such asChicago,Milwaukee, andDetroit.
In regions of the country where apples are widely grown, especially the Northeast and Midwest states,cider doughnuts are a harvest season specialty, especially at orchards open to tourists, where they can be served fresh. Cider doughnuts are a cake doughnut withapple cider in the batter. The use of cider affects both the texture and flavor, resulting in a denser, moister product. They are often coated with either granulated, powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar.[98]
In southernLouisiana, a popular variety of the doughnut is thebeignet, a fried, square doughnut served traditionally with powdered sugar. Perhaps the most well-known purveyor of beignets isNew Orleans restaurantCafe Du Monde.
InQuebec, homemade doughnuts calledbeignes de Noël are traditional Christmas desserts.[99][100]
The Persianzoolbia andbamiyeh are fritters of various shapes and sizes coated in a sugar syrup.[101][55][102][4]: 43, 335 Doughnuts are also made in the home in Iran, referred to as doughnut, even in the plural.[citation needed]
Israel
Israelisufganiyot in a wide variety of toppings at a bakery inTel Aviv, Israel
Jelly doughnuts, known assufganiyah (סופגניה, pl. sufganiyot סופגניות) inIsrael, have become a traditionalHanukkah food[103][104] in the recent era, as they are cooked in oil, associated with the holiday account of the miracle of the oil.[55][105] Traditionalsufganiyot are filled with red jelly and topped withicing sugar.[104] However, many other varieties exist, with some being filled withdulce de leche (particularly common after theSouth American aliyah early in the 21st century).
Morocco
InMorocco,Sfenj is a similar pastry eaten sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey.[106]
Tunisia
InTunisia, traditional pastries similar to doughnuts areyo-yos. They come in different versions both as balls and in shape of doughnuts. They are deep-fried and covered in a honey syrup or a kind of frosting.Sesame seeds are also used for flavor and decoration along with orange juice andvanilla.
Oceania
Australia
Custard-filled doughnut served by Il Fornaio,St Kilda, Victoria, Australia
In Australia, the doughnut is a popular snack food.Jam doughnuts are particularly popular,[107] especially inMelbourne,Victoria and theQueen Victoria Market, where they are a tradition.[108] Jam doughnuts are similar to aBerliner, but are served hot: red jam (raspberry or strawberry) is injected into the bun before it is deep-fried, and then it is coated with either sugar or sugar mixed with cinnamon as soon as it has been cooked. Jam doughnuts are sometimes also bought frozen. InSouth Australia, they are known as Berliner or Kitchener and often served in cafes. Popular variants include custard-filled doughnuts, and more recentlyNutella-filled doughnuts.
Mobile vans that serve doughnuts, traditional or jam, are often seen at spectator events, markets, carnivals andfetes, and by the roadside near high-traffic areas like airports and the car parks of large shopping centres. Traditional cinnamon doughnuts are readily available in Australia from specialized retailers and convenience stores. Doughnuts are a popular choice for schools and other not-for-profit groups to cook and sell as a fundraiser.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, the doughnut is a popular food snack available in cornerdairies. They are in the form of a long sweet bread roll with a deep cut down its long axis. In this cut is placed a long dollop of sweetened clotted cream and on top of this is a spot of strawberry jam. Doughnuts are of two varieties: fresh cream or mock cream. The rounded variety is widely available as well.
South America
Brazil
In Brazil, bakeries, grocery stores and pastry shops sell ball-shaped doughnuts popularly known as "sonhos" (lit. dreams). The dessert was brought to Brazil by Portuguese colonizers that had contact with Dutch and German traders. They are the equivalent of nowadays "bolas de Berlim" (lit. balls of Berlin) in Portugal, but the traditional Portuguese yellow cream was substituted by local dairy and fruit products. They are made of a special type of bread filled with "goiabada" (guava jelly) or milk cream, and covered by white sugar.
Chile
TheBerlin (pluralBerlines) doughnut is popular in Chile because of the large German community. It may be filled with jam or withmanjar, the Chilean version ofdulce de leche.[55]
Peru
Peruvian cuisine includespicarones which are doughnut-shaped fritters made with a squash and sweet potato base.[55] These snacks are almost always served with a drizzle of sweet molasses-based sauce.
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa
InSouth Africa, an Afrikaans variation known as thekoeksister is popular. Another variation, similar in name, is the Cape Malaykoesister being soaked in a spiced syrup and coated in coconut. It has a texture similar to more traditional doughnuts as opposed to the Afrikaans variety.[109] A further variation is thevetkoek, which is also dough deep fried in oil. It is served with mince, syrup, honey or jam.[110]
Police officers in South Korea eating doughnuts. Police officers liking doughnuts is a common stereotype.
The doughnut has made many appearances in popular culture, particularly in the United States and Australia. References extend to objects or actions that are doughnut-shaped.
Infilm, the doughnut has inspiredDora's Dunking Doughnuts (1933),The Doughnuts (1963) andTour de Donut: Gluttons for Punishment. In video games, the doughnut has appeared in games likeThe Simpsons Game andDonut Dilemma. In the cartoon¡Mucha Lucha!, there are four things that make up the code of mask wrestling: honor, family, tradition, and doughnuts. Also, in the television sitcomThe Simpsons,Homer Simpson's love affair with doughnuts is a prominent ongoing joke as well as the focal point of more than a few episodes. In the children's bookHomer Price, Homer's Uncle Ulysses installs a doughnut making machine in his lunchroom in the fictional town of Centerburg. There is also a children's bookArnie the Doughnut and music albumsThe Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse.
In films, TV shows, and other popular culture references, police officers are associated with doughnuts,[111] depicted as enjoying them during theircoffee break or office hours. Thiscliché has been parodied in the filmPolice Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, whereOfficer Zed is instructing new recruits how to "properly" consume their doughnuts withcoffee. It is also parodied in the television seriesTwin Peaks, where the police station is always in large supply.[112] In thevideo gameNeuromancer, there is aDonut World shop, where only policemen are allowed. During a citywide "lockdown" after theBoston Marathon bombing, a handful of selectedDunkin' Donuts locations were ordered to remain open to serve police and first responders despite the closing of the vast majority of city businesses.[113]
Per capita, Canadians consume the most doughnuts, and Canada has the most doughnut stores per capita.[96][97]
United States
Within the United States, theProvidence metropolitan area was cited as having the most doughnut shops per capita (25.3 doughnut shops per 100,000 people) as of 13 January 2010.[115]National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut's history and role in popular culture. There is a race inStaunton, Illinois, featuring doughnuts, called theTour de Donut.
In the US, especially inSouthern California, fresh doughnuts sold by the dozen at local doughnut shops are typically packaged in generic pink boxes. This phenomenon has been attributed toTed Ngoy and Ning Yen, refugees of theCambodian genocide who began to transform the local doughnut shop industry in 1976. They proved so adept at the business and in training fellowChinese Cambodian refugees to follow suit that these local doughnut shops soon dominated native franchises such asWinchell's Donuts. Ngoy and Yen allegedly planned to purchase boxes of alucky red color rather than the standard white, but settled on a leftover pink stock because of its lower cost.
In the mid-1970s, pink doughnut boxes were already a common sight in the eastern and midwestern United States, due to the fact thatDunkin' Donuts used a solid pink color for its boxes at that time.[116] (It switched to a different box design sometime after 1975.) But the chain did not begin to establish a major presence in California until the 2010s.[117]
Owing to the success of Ngoy and Yen's business, the color soon became a recognizable standard in California. Due to the locality ofHollywood, the pink boxes frequently appeared as film and television props and were thus transmitted into popular culture.[118]
Holidays and festivals
National Doughnut Day
A World War I propaganda poster featuring The Salvation Army's making of donuts during the war
National Doughnut Day, also known as National Donut Day, celebrated in the United States of America, is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Doughnut Day event created byThe Salvation Army in 1938 to honor those of their members who served doughnuts to soldiers duringWorld War I.[119] About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near the front lines, the two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an "instant hit", and "soon many soldiers were visiting The Salvation Army huts". Margaret Sheldon wrote of one busy day: "Today I made 22 pies, 300 doughnuts, 700 cups of coffee."Soon, the women who did this work became known by the servicemen as "Doughnut Dollies".
^Norbert Schmitt and Richard Marsden (2006)Why is English like that?: historical answers to hard ELT questions, University of Michigan Press,ISBN0472031341, p. 166: "... and British English in the spelling of individual words include ax/axe (though the British form is also frequently used in America), check/ cheque (a money order), donut/doughnut, draft/draught (an air current), mold/mould,..."
^Richard Ellis (2003)Communication skills: stepladders to success for the professional, Intellect Books,ISBN1841500879, p. 113 "... US spelling is influencing users to spell programme as program, center for centre and donut for doughnut."
^Janet Sue Terry (2005)A Rich, Deliciously Satisfying Collection of Breakfast Recipes, Just My Best Publishing Company,ISBN1932586431, p. 233 "At present, "donut" and "doughnut" are both pervasive in American English, but only "doughnut" is listed in Thorndike and Lorge's (1942)The Teacher's Word Book of 30,000 Words. There are sparse instances of the "donut" spelling variation prior to WWII. For instance, it is mentioned in an LA Times article dated August 10, 1929. There, Bailey Millard complains about the decline of spelling, and that he "can't swallow the 'wel-dun donut' nor the everso'gud bred'." "
^John T. Edge (2006)Donuts: an American passion, Penguin Group US,ISBN1440628645: "Donuts" came to the fore in the 1920s, when the New York-based Doughnut Machine Corporation set its eyes upon foreign markets. "In order to obviate difficulty in pronouncing 'doughnuts' in foreign languages," a press release announced .."
^Sally L. SteinbergCollection of Doughnut Ephemera, 1920s–1987: "In 1931, the company opened the first Mayflower doughnut shop in New York City; ultimately, 18 shops were opened across the country—the first retail doughnut..." [NOTE: Smithsonian and several 1950s court cases call it "Mayflower Doughnut Corporation" prior to World War II].
^doughnut. Oxford Dictionaries Online (World English) "The beginning of doughnut is spelled dough- (the spelling donut is American)."
^Smith, Andrew F. (2007).Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. p. 201.ISBN978-0-19-988576-3.OCLC958579853.In addition to a choice of dozens of different kinds of doughnuts and crullers, Dunkin' Donuts sells "Munchkins," bite-size spheres supposedly made from the dough punched from the centers of the doughnuts (they are not really).
^Levene, Alysa (2016).Cake: A Slice of History. New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN978-1-68177-108-3.OCLC945730827.In 1976, the genius Timbits were launched: doughnut 'holes', or small, round bitesized doughnuts
^Grant, Kamal (2014).Homemade doughnuts : techniques and recipes for making sublime doughnuts in your home kitchen. Beverly, MA.ISBN978-1-59253-845-4.OCLC827258252.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Wilson, Dede (2012).A baker's field guide to doughnuts : more than 60 warm and fresh homemade treats. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Common Press.ISBN978-1-55832-788-7.OCLC778424146.
^平間 洋一; et al. (2010).絶品! 海軍グルメ物語. Kadokawa / 中経出版. p. 1.
^"Donut history 1983". Mister Donut.アンドーナツ 1983年12月発売 口どけのよいイースト生地に、練りあんを詰めました。 [An-doughnut, Launched in December 1983: Sweet bean paste is filled in yeast dough having excellent melt in mouth]
^Peter G. Rose (1989).The sensible cook: Dutch foodways in the Old and the New World. Syracuse UP. pp. 121–122.ISBN978-0-8156-0241-5.
^Nederlands Centrum voor Volkscultuur, Federatie voor Volkskunde in Vlaanderen (2005).Traditie, Volume 11. Nederlands Centrum voor Volkscultuur. pp. 29–32.
^Paster, Emily (2020).Epic air fryer cookbook : 100 inspired recipes that take air frying in deliciously exciting new directions. Beverly. pp. 154–155.ISBN978-1-55832-995-9.OCLC1112786378.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Jessica Steinberg (19 December 2003)."Gelt for gifts".Jerusalem Post. Archived fromthe original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved6 July 2017.
^On theB movie matinee showMystery Science Theater 3000, cop/donut jokes were used so prevalently by the host Joel during the viewing of thesci-ficop dramaIndestructible Man that his robot co-hosts insisted upon him signing a legal document forbidding any further usage of such jokes in the future.See one of the most spectacular "donut scenes" in the still on the "Welcome to Twin Peaks" website and read about it in the article "Twin Peaks Donut Shop Was Called Wagon Wheel Do-Nuts".
Jones, Charlotte Foltz (1991).Mistakes That Worked. Doubleday.ISBN978-0-385-26246-0. Origins of the doughnut hole.
Moreira, Rosana G.; M. Elena Castell-Perez; Maria A. Barrufet (30 June 1999).Deep Fat Frying: Fundamentals and Applications. Gaithersburg, Md.: Aspen.ISBN0-8342-1321-4.OCLC40990102.