Food of the Month: Donuts

Posted on 09/28/2022 by FTB

Beignet. Zeppole. Oliebol. No matter what you call it or where you are in the world, you can be guaranteed to find a particular type of fried dough snack that is specific to that area and culture. Donuts, often known as doughnuts, are a national obsession in the United States. Did you know that in the U.S more than 10 billion doughnuts are consumed annually? And the average American consumes 31 donuts a year, which works out to about two or three per person per month! So, where did donuts come from, and why are they so extremely popular?

HISTORY OF DONUTS

The donuts has a long history and was discoverd way before the discovery of the New World. Cooks in ancient Rome and Greece would fry pastry dough pieces and drizzle them with honey or fish sauce. Small chunks of unsweetened yeast dough were first fried by Arab cooks in the Middle Ages, who then covered the unsweetened fried blobs in a sugary syrup to make them sweeter. In the 1400s, these Arab fritters moved to northern Europe and gained ubiquity in countries like England, Germany, and the Netherlands. In Germany in the 15th century, where sugar was scarce, they frequently prepared savory with contents like meat or mushrooms.

Because almost every culture has some kind of version of the donut, it is hard to pinpoint where the donut really comes from. What we do know, however, is that donuts were introduced to America by the Dutch settlers and the Pilgrims as oliekoecken (translation: oil cakes or fried cakes) were brought to America by the Dutch in New Netherlands. Their richness came from the dried fruit and the last sprinkle of sugar; they were made of yeast dough rich in eggs and butter, spices, and dried fruits. The dough was dropped as blobs into heated rapeseed oil and was frequently sticky. The resulting doughnuts were shaped like crooked balls and were later known as oliebollen, or oil (fried) balls.
WHY IS THERE A HOLE IN IT?

Eventually, holes were added to the center of the fritter to create the shape of the donut we know today. This creation was motivated by a need. When egg yolks were eventually added to the dough, it was found that the final product was richer and firmer as a result. The issue was that the fritters would frequently have uncooked centers after frying since the doughnut's surface would cook before the interior did. That issue was resolved by including a hole in the center.

Next to the necessity of the hole, there are a few stories about a Dutch sailor, Captain Hanson Gregory, who invented the hole. The first story goes like this: On a stormy night in 1847, Gregory was eating a donutaboard his ship. Gregory impaled the doughnut on the ship's wheel handle after finding himself suddenly in need of both hands and guided the boat to safety and thus creating the hole in the donut. Because they were easier to handle and could, in an emergency, be kept on his ship's wheel, Gregory came to the realization that making a hole in a doughnut made them much more practical. Other stories are about cost-saving and time-saving methods. Firstly, as a cost-saving move, Captain Gregory started making holes in the middle of his doughnuts. The other story is about Gregory's mother whobaked dozens of donuts for his voyages. She discovered that the doughnut's center didn't cook as quickly as its outside borders and that many of her cakes had middles that still had some raw dough so she cut out the middle to prepare them quicker.
DELICIOUS FACTS
- The Chicago Salvation Army created National Doughnut Day in 1938 in order to earn money during the Great Depression.
- John Haight, who ate 29 donuts in just over 6 minutes, currently holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest donut consumption.
- Canada has more doughnut shops per person than any other nation.
- The biggest chain of doughnut shops is Dunkin' Donuts, which has 11,000 locations throughout 33 countries and serves more than 5 million people every day.
- The world's most costly donut, produced by Krispy Kreme, cost more than $1,000. The Dom Pérignon Champagne jelly-filled, 23-carat gold-dusted donut was topped with edible diamonds and a 24-carat gold leaf.