The Serious Eats Doughnut Glossary
What's been unexpectedly interesting to me in all the doughnut reading and tasting we've been doing in preparation for National Doughnut Day (June 1) has been all the attendant terminology. So when Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine suggested I compile a doughnut glossary, I jumped in. With all the geographical differences and regional nomenclature, the task was almost as difficult as picking a perfect dozen. But here is a doughnut glossary of sorts. Consider it a work in progress, to be amended with suggestions from readers of all regions.
doughnut: First things first, a doughnut is a sweet deep-fried piece of ring-shape dough or batter. Though technically not doughnuts, those that are flattened spheres injected with jam, jelly, or custard are known as filled doughnuts. After frying, doughnuts may be embellished with any number of toppings, including glazed icing, powdered or granulated sugar, sprinkles, sugar and cinnamon, etc. Note: The variant spelling of donut appeared in the 1920s, according to doughnut scholar John T. Edge in his book Donuts, when "the New York–based Doughnut Machine Corporation set its eyes upon foreign markets." To help foster proper pronunciation in different languages, the company introduced this spelling.
