Potato doughnuts, sometimes called a Spudnut, are a type of doughnut, typically sweet, made with either mashed potatoes or potato starch instead of flour, the most common ingredient used for doughnut dough. Potato doughnuts tend to be lighter than all-flour doughnuts, and are prepared in a similar way as other doughnuts.[1][2] A chain of Spudnut Shops was established across the United States in the 1930s before declining to a few dozen more recently. Fried ube dough is also eaten in East Asia, including the world's most expensive doughnut, the Golden Cristal Ube, which cost $100 each.[3] Much like flour doughnuts, potato doughnuts are often eaten with coffee.

Potato doughnut
A sampler of potato doughnuts from Spudnuts Coffee Shop in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
Alternative namesSpudnut
TypeDoughnut
Place of originUnited States
Main ingredientsPotato

History edit

The origin of the potato doughnuts is unknown. Syndicated recipes appeared in American newspapers as early as the 1870s.[4][5] A recipe was published in a 1915 printing of the Five Roses Cook Book in Canada[6][7] and also in 1938 in the Glenna Snow Cook Book.[8] In the late 1930s, Vernon Rudolph began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts, using a recipe containing potatoes.[9][10] A chain of Spudnut Shops was established and spread to more than 500 locations in the United States before being thinned out to around 50 in the mid-2000s.[11][12] The originating company eventually declared bankruptcy, but independent stores remain.[13]

Characteristics edit

Potato doughnuts share similar ingredients to normal doughnuts, but have all or most of the flour replaced with either mashed potatoes[14] or potato starch.[15]

Potato doughnuts tend to be a light, fluffy variety of doughnut[16] and are usually topped with the same variety of frosting or toppings as other doughnuts.[16] A potato doughnut may be deep-fried in lard to make a variety of Fasnacht.[17]

Preparation edit

Potato doughnuts are prepared by mixing instant mix or already prepared mashed potatoes in a bowl with eggs and other ingredients, ranging from baking powder to a small amount of flour. The dough is then shaped and refrigerated before being cooked.[14][16]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "American Classics: Potato Doughnuts". sweets.seriouseats.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  2. ^ Krishna, Priya (16 May 2016). "Forget Cake vs. Yeast, Potato Doughnuts Are the Greatest". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  3. ^ Connelly, Louise (2017-10-11). "The most expensive doughnut in the world is covered in 24-karat gold". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  4. ^ The Osage County Chronicle, Burlingame Kansas, October 1st 1877
  5. ^ The Jewell County Monitor, Mankato Kansas, October 11th 1877
  6. ^ Lake of the Woods Milling Company, issuing body (1915). Five Roses Cook Book : Being a Manual of Good Recipes carefully chosen from the contributions of over two thousand successful users of Five Roses Flour throughout Canada : also, Useful Notes on the various classes of good things to eat, all of which have been carefully checked and re-checked by competent authority. McGill University Library. Montreal : Lake of the Woods Milling Co.
  7. ^ 1915 Potato Doughnut Spudnuts Recipe. Glen & Friends Cooking. 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20.
  8. ^ Akron Beacon Journal (2002).
  9. ^ Taylor, David A. "The History of the Doughnut". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  10. ^ "Hot Doughnuts Now: The Krispy Kreme Story". The Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  11. ^ Nichols (2006).
  12. ^ Laurel D'Agenais. "Donut Paradise: The Ultimate Deep-Fried Treat". Travel Channel. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  13. ^ Smith (2007)
  14. ^ a b Jardine (1966), 15A.
  15. ^ Szabo (2004).
  16. ^ a b c St. Petersburg Times (1959), 14-D.
  17. ^ Riely (2003), 107.

References edit

External links edit