So which is it? Doughnut or donut? The answer is that they're both correct. Original spellings date back to the 1800s where doughnut was the primary form of speaking. In the mid 20th century, the donut spelling gained popularity in part due to franchises using this spelling. Now, both spellings are considered proper. Which do you prefer?
Dutch settlers likely brought doughnuts our way. Thank you, Dutch settlers. This origin theory states that Dutch settlers in the 19th century began making them in North America. They were born as "oily cakes" spelled oliekoek, which referred to the fact that they were fried in oils.
Why is there a hole? According to one origin theory, an American named Hanson Gregory was tired of the raw center of the doughnut, so punched a hole so that the consistency was fluffy on the outside, and didn't end up raw in the middle. Bless you, Hanson — for both a fully fluffed doughnut, and the fantastic doughnut hole we know and love.
– Cake Doughnut: These are smaller and more dense in texture and richer taste. Think cake, in doughnut form, with delicious glaze coating the exterior.
– Raised Doughnut: These are more like the traditional glazed style donut, fluffy on the inside.
– Old Fashioned: These variations are similar to cake doughnuts, but their shape is tiered, which gives them a crusty outer layer once baked. We believe they are best enjoyed Plain Jane. But we also can agree that there is definitely some merit to a glazed or chocolate coated old fashioned.
Doughnuts are better when they're enjoyed in bulk. Did you know that the largest doughnut orders get up around the 30s on average, when ordered on Grubhub? And get this — last year, a doughnut order for 56 doughnuts went through, taking the cake for largest doughnut order of the year.
Now that you're armed with the facts, order some doughnuts.