Donut

Two kinds of donut

The fried-dough sweet exists in two distinct technical traditions:

• Yeast donut (raised donut) — a proofed yeast dough; light, airy, slightly chewy. Glazed donuts, jelly donuts, Boston cream, sufganiyot.
• Cake donut — leavened with baking powder, like a dense quick-bread; firmer, drier, holds glaze in cracks. Old-fashioned, sour cream donuts, donut holes (often from cake batter).

Most chain-shop donuts in the U.S. are yeast-raised; small-shop “old-fashioned” donuts are usually cake.

Why the hole?

The classic American claim is that Hanson Crockett Gregory, a 19th-century Maine sea captain, invented the donut hole in 1847 to fix the problem of doughy centers — without a hole, the middle stayed raw while the edges browned. Whether or not the story is accurate, the engineering principle is real: the hole increases surface area and reduces frying time, ensuring the entire donut cooks evenly.

A global family

Fried sweet dough exists in nearly every cuisine:

• Beignet (France/Louisiana) — square, no hole, dusted with powdered sugar.
• Churro (Spain/Latin America) — long ridged tube, cinnamon sugar.
• Loukoumades (Greece) — small balls, drenched in honey syrup.
• Sufganiyot (Israel) — jelly-filled, eaten at Hanukkah.
• Bomboloni (Italy) — cream- or jam-filled spheres.
• Mandazi (East Africa) — coconut-cardamom triangles.
• Krapfen / Pączki (Germany / Poland) — filled raised donuts.
• Cronut (Dominique Ansel, NYC, 2013) — laminated croissant-donut hybrid.

Donut shop economics

The simple round donut is the basis of an entire fast-food industry. Krispy Kreme’s “hot now” sign — switched on when fresh donuts are coming off the glaze conveyor — is one of the more effective lures in retail. Dunkin’ Donuts (now just Dunkin’) started in 1948 and is now a global chain with over 12,000 locations.

In Canada, Tim Hortons sells over 250 million donuts a year — Canadians eat more donuts per capita than any other country in the world.