Doughnuts - A Dessert Tradition
Mary O’Dell
Doughnuts are a dessert tradition enjoyed by millions of Americans everyday. A little known fact is that doughnuts have been invented at least twice. Archaeologists working in the southwestern United States have uncovered petrified fried cakes with holes in them. These early doughnuts were found in prehistoric Native American ruins. No further information surfaces until the sixteenth-century, when, in Holland, Dutch bakers prepared deep-fried batter known as an olykoek, or “oil cake.” These oil cakes, named for their high oil content, were made with sweetened dough and sprinkled with sugar.
Pilgrims brought the delicious and popular confection to America. The round oil cakes made in New England acquired the name of “dough nuts” because they were small, about the size of a walnut, and because they were made of dough. The name “doughnut” remains in use today, but is sometimes spelled “donut.” Stories vary, but most agree that the hole in the center of the doughnut is credited to a New England sailor, Hanson Gregory.
Grown by many U.S farmers, bread has been an American staple for many years. Because many people needed to save every last piece of bread they had, people began to experiment with the bits and pieces of leftover bread. Hanson Gregory was a sea captain from Maine who worked on a lime trading ship. He would often bake and fry cakes from remaining bread bits he sweetened. Tasty, but soggy in the middle, the fried cakes needed some changes. Captain Gregory experimented with cutting out the center of the cakes. This was a practical move which allowed increased surface area for more uniform frying. The result was the elimination of the dessert’s soggy center. Captain Hanson Gregory had stumbled upon a superb solution and redefined the shape of the pastry. The circular ring shape with a center hole is known as the American doughnut shape.
Doughnuts can be placed into three categories; glazed, filled, and cake doughnuts. Most popular are the glazed doughnuts, which are made with yeast and sweet dough. They are dipped in a sweet glaze or covered with icing, usually chocolate or vanilla. Filled doughnuts are usually made with yeast, too. The light density permits them to be inserted with a number of different fillings for extra sweetness and flavoring. The filling options include vanilla cream, chocolate cream, pudding, custard, and jellies. These filled desserts are formed into either a round or oblong shape without the center whole. Cake doughnuts are another favorite variety. They are the densest and heaviest pastry of the doughnut family because they are not made with yeast. These treats derive their name from their cake-like density. In addition, the name is appropriate because of the popular cake toppings used on them, such as confetti sprinkles, frosting striping, coconut, and chopped nuts.
Americans love doughnuts! Once only available as delightful treats and specialty items on bakery shelves, delicious doughnuts are now on grocery store shelves everywhere! Also, franchise stores such as Dunkin’ Donuts have been operating since 1950. Thirty five varieties are available, so no customer needs to be content with just one variety. More than 2.7 million customers enjoy doughnuts everyday. Even the increased emphasis on calorie counting and healthy eating has done little to impact the demand for doughnuts. National doughnut chains have introduced whole wheat doughnuts and are taking steps to reduce the grams of trans fat in their products. Whatever the fat and calorie content, these delicious ring-shaped or filled treats known as doughnuts dominate the dessert world.
Question
Think about cause-and-effect relationships.
The effect was that Captain Gregory Hanson decided to cut out the center of the cakes he was frying. What was the cause?
Responses
A The fried cakes were not round.The fried cakes were not round.
B The fried cakes would not float.The fried cakes would not float.
C The fried cakes were soggy in the middle.The fried cakes were soggy in the middle.
D The fried cakes were too large for the fryer.The fried cakes were too large for the fryer.