Ok, kids. Does the voice in your head say “dooooooooughnut” like mine does? A good doughnut is worth its weight in gold, or at the very least, the weight of your behind — and worth every bite and every penny needed to rent the crane to leave your house.
Doughnuts (or donuts) are everywhere but the origins are as unsure as an unsteady baker. Some claim they were invented by the Dutch settlers in North America and another report suggests that an American invented the fried treat in 1847. Many would argue that doughnuts are as American as an apple pie. Either way, I’m just happy that someone thought of creating them. I’ll only fight over the last doughnut — not where they came from.
There are two types of doughnuts: the toroidal ring and the filled, which are then divided into two classes: cake or yeast. While the doughnut batters may vary, they all end up in the deep fryer. Everyone in the pool! Cake doughnuts stay in the fryer the shortest time, for about 90 seconds, turning once, and contain the least amount of oil after frying, only 20 percent — but don’t get excited thinking you save on fat, because where they lack in oil content, cake doughnuts make up the fat in their batter. Conversely, yeast risen donuts have 5 percent more oil content because they take longer to fry at 150 seconds and fry at a cooler temperature between 180 to 190 degrees compared to its cousin, the cake doughnut, between 190 to 198 degrees. Surprisingly, yeast doughnuts are the largest and heaviest when finished compared to their cousin.
Oddly enough, the term “dough nut” is credited to Washington Irving’s 1809 “History of New York” that referred to the sweet balls of dough (think doughnut holes) and called them doughnuts — what we now call the doughnut holes found at chain stores. That’s nuts!
Cake, yeast, filled, or glazed — Chef Jacquie doesn’t pick favorites. There’s a doughnut for every mood and occasion. Stay tuned to when I roll up to my computer for next week’s blog about…
xo Chef Jacquie
