A doughnut or donut (IPA: /dnət/) is a type of leavened fried dough.[1]: 275  It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Doughnut is the traditional spelling, while donut is the simplified version; the terms are often used interchangeably.

A glazed yeast-raised ring American-style doughnut
Alternative namesDonut
TypeFried dough
CourseBreakfast, snack, dessert
A variety of doughnuts
Doughnuts in a display case at a coffee shop

Doughnuts are usually deep fried from a flour dough, but other types of batters can also be used. Various toppings and flavorings are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate or maple glazing. Doughnuts may also include water, leavening, eggs, milk, sugar, oil, shortening, and natural or artificial flavors.[1]: 232 [2][3][4][5]

The two most common types are the ring doughnut and the filled doughnut, which is injected with fruit preserves (the jelly doughnut), cream, custard, or other sweet fillings. Small pieces of dough are sometimes cooked as doughnut holes. Once fried, doughnuts may be glazed with a sugar icing, spread with icing or chocolate, or topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon, sprinkles or fruit. Other shapes include rings, balls, flattened spheres, twists, and other forms.[4][5][6] Doughnut varieties are also divided into cake (including the old-fashioned) and yeast-risen type doughnuts.[6][7][8] Doughnuts are often accompanied by coffee or milk. They are sold at doughnut shops, convenience stores, petrol/gas stations, cafes or fast food restaurants.


Clockwise from upper left: Doughnuts in two shapes, Tim Hortons "Timbits" doughnut holes, a pink Christmas doughnut, and glazed doughnuts from Five Daughters Bakery.



There are two types of ring doughnuts, those made from a yeast-based dough for raised doughnuts, or those made from a special type of cake batter. Yeast-raised doughnuts contain about 25% oil by weight, whereas cake doughnuts' oil content is around 20%, but they have extra fat included in the batter before frying. Cake doughnuts are fried for about 90 seconds at approximately 190 to 198 °C (374 to 388 °F), turning once. Yeast-raised doughnuts absorb more oil because they take longer to fry, about 150 seconds, at 182 to 190 °C (360 to 374 °F). Cake doughnuts typically weigh between 24 and 28 g (0.85 and 0.99 oz), whereas yeast-raised doughnuts average 38 g (1.3 oz) and are generally larger, and taller (due to rising) when finished.


The process of glazing doughnuts

After frying, ring doughnuts are often topped. Raised doughnuts are generally covered with a glaze (icing). Cake doughnuts can also be glazed, powdered with confectioner's sugar, or covered with cinnamon and granulated sugar. They are also often topped with cake frosting (top only) and sometimes sprinkled with coconut, chopped peanuts, or sprinkles (also called jimmies).


Doughnut holes are small, bite-sized doughnuts that were traditionally made from the dough taken from the center of ring doughnuts. Before long, doughnut sellers saw the opportunity to market "holes" as a novelty and many chains offer their own variety, some with their own brand names such as "Munchkins" from Dunkin' Donuts[9][10] and "Timbits" from Tim Hortons.[11]

Traditionally, doughnut holes are made by frying the dough removed from the center portion of the doughnut.[citation needed] Consequently, they are considerably smaller than a standard doughnut and tend to be spherical. Similar to standard doughnuts, doughnut holes may be topped with confections, such as glaze or powdered sugar.




Other shapes

Others include the fritter and the Dutchie, which are usually glazed. These have been available on Tim Hortons' doughnut menu since the chain's inception in 1964,[13] and a 1991 Toronto Star report found these two were the chain's most popular type of fried dough in Canada.[14]

There are many other specialized doughnut shapes such as old-fashioned, bars or Long Johns (a rectangular shape), or twists. In the northeast United States, bars and twists are usually referred to as crullers. Another is the beignet, a square-shaped doughnut covered with powdered sugar, commonly associated with New Orleans.




The cookbook ”Küchenmeisterei (Mastery of the Kitchen)", published in Nuremberg, in 1485, offers a recipe for ”Gefüllte Krapfen”, sugar free, stuffed, fried dough cakes.[15]

Dutch settlers brought olykoek ("oil(y) cake") to New York (or New Amsterdam). These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring shape.[16][17][18]

A recipe for fried dough Nuts was published, in 1750 England, under the title "How to make Hertfordshire Cakes, Nuts and Pincushions”, in The Country Housewife’s Family Companion by William Ellis.[19][6]

A recipe labelled "dow nuts", again from Hertfordshire, was found in a book of recipes and domestic tips written around 1800, by the wife of Baron Thomas Dimsdale,[20] the recipe being given to the dowager Baroness by an acquaintance who transcribed for her the cooking instructions for a "dow nut".[21]

The first cookbook, using the near conventional "dough nuts" spelling, was possibly the 1803, New York, edition, of "The Frugal Housewife: or, Complete Woman Cook", which included dough nuts in an appendix of American recipes.[22]

One of the earliest mentions of "doughnut" was in Washington Irving's 1809 book A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty:[23]

Sometimes the table was graced with immense apple-pies, or saucers full of preserved peaches and pears; but it was always sure to boast of an enormous dish of balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog’s fat, and called dough-nuts, or oly koeks: a delicious kind of cake, at present scarce known in this city, excepting in genuine Dutch families.

The name oly koeks was almost certainly related to the oliekoek: a Dutch delicacy of "sweetened cake fried in fat."[24]

The Hole

Daniela Galarza, for Eater, wrote that "the now-standard doughnut’s hole is still up for debate. Food writer Michael Krondl surmises that the shape came from recipes that called for the dough to be shaped like a jumble — a once common ring-shaped cookie. In Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People, culinary historian Linda Civitello writes that the hole was invented because it allowed the doughnuts to cook faster. By 1870 doughnut cutters shaped in two concentric circles, one smaller than the other, began to appear in home-shopping catalogues".[6]



"Dough nut"

One of the earliest known literary usages of the term dates to an 1808 short story[26] describing a spread of "fire-cakes and dough-nuts". Washington Irving described "dough-nuts", in his 1809 History of New York, as "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called dough-nuts, or olykoeks."[27] These "nuts" of fried dough might now be called doughnut holes (see holes section). The word nut is here used in the earlier sense of "small rounded cake or cookie", also seen in ginger nut.[28] Doughnut is the traditional spelling and still dominates even in the United States[29][30][31] though donut is often used.[32][33] At present, doughnut and the shortened form donut are both pervasive in American English.[34]



The interchangeability of the two spellings can be found in a series of "National Donut Week" articles in The New York Times that covered the 1939 World's Fair. In four articles beginning October 9, two mention the donut spelling. Dunkin', which was so-named in 1950, following its 1948 founding under the name Open Kettle (Quincy, Massachusetts), is the oldest surviving company to use the donut variation; other chains, such as the defunct Mayflower Doughnut Corporation (1931), did not use that spelling.[38] According to the Oxford Dictionaries while "doughnut" is used internationally, the spelling "donut" is American.[39] The spelling "donut" remained rare until the 1950s, and has since grown significantly in popularity;[40] this growth in use has possibly been influenced by the spread of Dunkin'.[41]

National Doughnut Day


Pink boxes

In the US, especially in Southern California, fresh doughnuts sold by the dozen at local doughnut shops are typically packaged in generic pink boxes. This phenomenon can be attributed to Ted Ngoy and Ning Yen, refugees of the Cambodian genocide who transformed the local doughnut shop industry. They proved so adept at the business and in training fellow Chinese Cambodian refugees to follow suit that these local doughnut shops soon dominated native franchises such as Winchell's Donuts. Initially desiring boxes of a lucky red color rather than the standard white, Ngoy and Yen settled on a cheaper, leftover pink stock. Owing to the success of their business, the color soon became a recognizable standard. Due to the locality of Hollywood, the pink boxes frequently appeared as film and television props and were thus transmitted into popular culture.[43]


Cake vs yeast style

Yeast doughnuts and cake doughnuts contain most of the same ingredients, however, their structural differences arise from the type of flour and leavening agent used. In cake doughnuts, cake flour is used, and the resulting doughnut is denser because cake flour has a relatively low gluten content of about 7 to 8 percent.[44] In yeast doughnuts, a flour with a higher protein content of about 9 to 12 percent is used, resulting in a doughnut that is lighter and more airy.[44] In addition, yeast doughnuts utilize yeast as a leavening agent. Specifically, "Yeast cells are thoroughly distributed throughout the dough and begin to feed on the sugar that is present ... carbon dioxide gas is generated, which raises the dough, making it light and porous."[45] Whereas this process is biological, the leavening process in cake doughnuts is chemical. In cake doughnuts, the most common leavening agent is baking powder. Baking powder is essentially "baking soda with acid added. This neutralizes the base and produces more CO2 according to the following equation: NaHCO3 + H+ → Na+ + H2O + CO2."[46]

Physical structure


Molecular composition


Eggs function as emulsifiers, foaming agents, and tenderizers in the dough. The egg white proteins, mainly ovalbumin, "function as structure formers. Egg solids, chiefly the egg white solids combined with the moisture in the egg, are considered structure-forming materials that help significantly to produce proper volume, grain, and texture."[45] The egg yolk contributes proteins, fats, and emulsifiers to the dough. Emulsifying agents are essential to doughnut formation because they prevent the fat molecules from separating from the water molecules in the dough. The main emulsifier in egg yolk is called lecithin, which is a phospholipid. "The fatty acids are attracted to fats and oils (lipids) in food, while the phosphate group is attracted to water. It is this ability to attract both lipids and water that allow phospholipids such as lecithin to act as emulsifiers."[48] The proteins from both the egg yolk and the egg whites contribute to the structure of the dough through a process called coagulation. When heat is applied to the dough, the egg proteins will begin to unfold, or denature, and then form new bonds with one another, thus creating a gel-like network that can hold water and gas.[48]


Shortening is responsible for providing tenderness and aerating the dough. In terms of its molecular structure, "a typical shortening that appears solid [at room temperature] contains 15-20% solids and, hence, 80-85% liquid oil ... this small amount of solids can be made to hold all of the liquid in a matrix of very small, stable, needlelike crystals (beta-prime crystals)."[45] This crystalline structure is considered highly stable due to how tightly its molecules are packed. The sugar used in baking is essentially sucrose, and besides imparting sweetness in the doughnut, sugar also functions in the color and tenderness of the final product. Sucrose is a simple carbohydrate whose structure is made up of a glucose molecule bound to a fructose molecule.[48] Milk is utilized in the making of doughnuts, but in large scale bakeries, one form of milk used is nonfat dry milk solids. These solids are obtained by removing most of the water from skim milk with heat, and this heat additionally denatures the whey proteins and increases the absorption properties of the remaining proteins.[48] The ability of the casein and whey proteins to absorb excess water is essential to prolonging the doughnut's freshness. The major whey protein in the nonfat milk solids is known as beta-lactoglobulin, and a crucial feature of its structure is that there exists a single sulfhydryl group that is protected by the alpha helix, and when heating of the milk solids occurs, these groups participate in disulfide exchanges with other molecules. This interchange prevents the renaturation of the whey proteins.[49] If the crosslinking of the sulfide groups does not occur, the whey proteins can rebond and weaken the gluten network.

Water is a necessary ingredient in the production of doughnuts because it activates the other ingredients, allowing them to perform their functions in building the doughnut's structure. For example, sugar and salt crystals must be dissolved in order for them to act in the dough, whereas larger molecules, such as the starches or proteins, must be hydrated in order for them to absorb moisture.[48] Another important consideration of water is its degree of hardness, which measures the amount of impurities in the water source. Pure water consists of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, but water used in baking often is not pure. Baker's salt (NaCl) is usually used as an ingredient due to its high purity, whereas the salts in water are derived from varying minerals. As an ingredient, "salt is added to enhance the flavour of cakes and breads and to ‘toughen up’ the soft mixture of fat and sugar."[46] If relatively soft water is being used, more salt should be added in order to strengthen the gluten network of the dough, but if not enough salt is added during the baking process, the flavor of the bread will not be appealing to consumers.

Health effects

Doughnuts are unhealthy,[50] though some are less so than others.[51] According to Prevention Magazine, doughnuts made from enriched flour provide some thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, along with some fiber, but they are high in sugar and calories.[52] Steps to improve the healthiness of doughnuts include removing trans fats.[51]

Dough rheology

An important property of the dough that affects the final product is the dough's rheology. This property measures the ability of the dough to flow. It can be represented by the power law equation:   where   is the tangentic stress,   is the viscosity coefficient,   is the shear rate, and   is the flow index.[53] Many factors affect dough rheology including the type of ingredients, the amount of the ingredients, or the force applied during mixing. Dough is usually described as a viscoelastic material, meaning that its rheology depends on both the viscosity and the elasticity. The viscosity coefficient and the flow index are unique to the type of dough being analyzed, while the tangentic stress and the shear rate are measurements obtained depending on the type force being applied to the dough.

Regional variations


South Africa

In South Africa, an Afrikaans variation known as the koeksister is popular. Another variation, similar in name, is the Cape Malay koesister being soaked in a spiced syrup and coated in coconut. It has a texture similar to more traditional doughnuts as opposed to the Afrikaans variety.[54] A further variation is the vetkoek, which is also dough deep fried in oil. It is served with mince, syrup, honey or jam.[55]





A few sweet, doughnut-style pastries are regional in nature. Cantonese cuisine features an oval-shaped pastry called ngàuhleisōu (牛脷酥, lit. "ox-tongue pastry", due to its tongue-like shape).

A spherical food called saa1 jung (沙翁), which is also similar to a cream puff but denser with a doughnut-like texture and usually prepared with sugar sprinkled on top, is normally available in dim sum Cantonese restaurants. An oilier Beijing variant of this called 高力豆沙, gaoli dousha, is filled with red bean paste; originally, it was made with egg white instead of dough. Many Chinese cultures make a chewy doughnut known as shuangbaotai (雙包胎), which consists of two conjoined balls of dough.

Chinese restaurants in the United States sometimes serve small fried pastries similar to doughnut holes with condensed milk as a sauce.

Chinese cuisine features long, deep-fried doughnut sticks that are often quite oily, hence their name in Mandarin, yóutiáo (油條, "oil strips"); in Cantonese, this doughnut-style pastry is called yàuhjagwái (油炸鬼, "ghosts fried in oil"). These pastries are lightly salted and are often served with congee, a traditional rice porridge or soy milk for breakfast.


Balushahi from India

In India, an old-fashioned sweet called gulgula is made of sweetened, deep-fried flour balls. A leavening agent may or may not be used.[citation needed]

There are a couple of unrelated doughnut-shaped food items. A savory, fried, ring-shaped snack called a vada is often referred to as the Indian doughnut. The vada is made from dal, lentil or potato flours rather than wheat flour.[56] In North India, it is in the form of a bulging disc called dahi-vada, and is soaked in curd, sprinkled with spices and sliced vegetables, and topped with a sweet and sour chutney. In South India, a vada is eaten with sambar and a coconut chutney.

Sweet pastries similar to old-fashioned doughnuts called badushahi and jalebi are also popular. Balushahi, also called badushah, is made from flour, deep fried in clarified butter, and dipped in sugar syrup. Unlike a doughnut, balushahi is dense. A balushahi is ring-shaped, but the well in the center does not go all the way through to form a hole typical of a doughnut. Jalebi, which is typically pretzel-shaped, is made by deep frying batter in oil and soaking it in sugar syrup.[57] A variant of jalebi, called imarti, is shaped with a small ring in the center around which a geometric pattern is arranged.

Along with these Indian variants, typical varieties of doughnuts are also available from U.S. chains such as Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts retail outlets, as well as local brands such as Mad Over Donuts and the Donut Baker.[58]




An-doughnut filled with red bean paste from Japan

In Japan, an-doughnut (あんドーナッツ, "bean paste doughnut") is widely available at bakeries. An-doughnut is similar to Germany's Berliner, except it contains red azuki bean paste.[60][61] Mister Donut is one of the most popular doughnut chains in Japan. Native to Okinawa is a spheroid pastry similar to doughnuts called sata andagi.[62][63] Mochi donuts are "a cross between a traditional cake-like doughnut and chewy mochi dough similar to what’s wrapped around ice cream".[64] This hybrid confection was originally popularized in Japan by Mister Donut before spreading to the United States via Hawaii.[65][66] The Mister Donut style, also known as "pon de ring", uses tapioca flour and produces mochi donuts that are easy to pull apart. Another variation developed in the United States uses glutinous rice flour which produces a denser mochi donut akin to Hawaiian-style butter mochi.[65][67][68] Mochi donuts made from glutinous rice flour "typically contain half the amount of calories as the standard cake or yeast doughnut".[69]








Buñuelos with ube filling from the Philippines

Local varieties of doughnuts sold by peddlers and street vendors throughout the Philippines are usually made of plain well-kneaded dough, deep-fried in refined coconut oil and sprinkled with refined (not powdered or confectioner's) sugar. Round versions of this doughnut are known as buñuelos (also spelled bunwelos, and sometimes confusingly known as "bicho-bicho"), similar to the doughnuts in Spain and former Spanish colonies. Indigenous versions of the doughnut also exist, like the cascaron, which is prepared similarly, but uses ground glutinous rice and coconut milk in place of wheat flour and milk.[73][74]

Other native doughnut recipes include the shakoy, kumukunsi, and binangkal. Shakoy or siyakoy from the Visayas islands (also known as lubid-lubid in the northern Philippines) uses a length of dough twisted into a distinctive rope-like shape before being fried. The preparation is almost exactly the same as doughnuts, though there are variants made from glutinous rice flour. The texture can range from soft and fluffy, to sticky and chewy, to hard and crunchy (in the latter case, they are known as pilipit). They are sprinkled with white sugar, but can also be topped with sesame seeds or caramelized sugar.[75][76] Kumukunsi is a jalebi-like native doughnut from the Maguindanao people. It is made with rice flour, duck eggs, and sugar that is molded into rope-like strands and then fried in a loose spiral. It has the taste and consistency of a creamy pancake.[77][78] Binangkal are simple fried dough balls covered in sesame seeds.[79] Other fried dough desserts include the mesh-like lokot-lokot, the fried rice cake panyalam, and the banana fritter maruya, among others.[80][81]


In Taiwan, shuāngbāotāi (雙胞胎, lit. "twins") is two pieces of dough wrapped together before frying.[82]


In Thailand, a popular breakfast food is pa thong ko, also known as Thai donuts, a version of the Chinese yiu ja guoy/youtiao. Often sold from food stalls in markets or by the side of the road, these doughnuts are small, sometimes X-shaped, and sold by the bag full.[83] They are often eaten in the morning with hot Thai tea.



Middle East


Zoolbia and bamiyeh

The Persian zoolbia and bamiyeh are fritters of various shapes and sizes coated in a sugar syrup.[84][62][85][1]: 43, 335  Doughnuts are also made in the home in Iran, referred to as doughnut, even in the plural.[citation needed]



Jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyah (סופגניה, pl. sufganiyot סופגניות) in Israel, have become a traditional Hanukkah food[86][87] in the recent era, as they are cooked in oil, associated with the holiday account of the miracle of the oil.[62][88] Traditional sufganiyot are filled with red jelly and topped with icing sugar.[87] However, many other varieties exist, with some being filled with dulce de leche (particularly common after the South American aliyah early in the 21st century).


In Morocco, Sfenj is a similar pastry eaten sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey.[89]



In Austria, doughnut equivalents are called Krapfen. They are especially popular during Carneval season (Fasching), and do not have the typical ring shape, but instead are solid and usually filled with apricot jam (traditional) or vanilla cream (Vanillekrapfen).[90] A second variant, called Bauernkrapfen are also made of yeast dough, and have a thick outside ring, but are very thin in the middle.[91]


In Belgium, the smoutebollen in Dutch, or croustillons in French, are similar to the Dutch kind of oliebollen, but they usually do not contain any fruit, except for apple chunks sometimes. They are typical carnival and fair snacks and are coated with powdered sugar.[92][93]

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia

Czech koblihy

Doughnuts similar to the Berliner are prepared in the northern Balkans, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia (pokladnice or krofne). They are also called krofna, krafna or krafne, a name derived from the Austrian Krapfen for this pastry. In Croatia, they are especially popular during Carneval season and do not have the typical ring shape, but instead are solid. Traditionally, they are filled with jam (apricot or plum). However, they can be filled with vanilla or chocolate cream. Other types of doughnuts are uštipci and fritule.[citation needed]

Czech Republic

U.S.-style doughnuts are available in the Czech Republic, but before[clarification needed] they were solid shape and filled with jelly (strawberry or peach). The shape is similar to doughnuts in Germany or Poland. They are called Kobliha (Koblihy in plural). They may be filled with nougat or with vanilla custard. There are now many fillings; cut in half[clarification needed] or non-filled knots with sugar and cinnamon on top.[94]


In Denmark, U.S.-style doughnuts may be found at various stores, e.g. McDonald's and most gas stations. The Berliner, however, is also available in bakeries.[citation needed]


A Finnish lihapiirakka

in Finland, a sweet doughnut is called a munkki (the word also means monk) and are commonly eaten in cafés and cafeteria restaurants. It is sold cold and sometimes filled with jam (like U.S. jelly donuts) or a vanilla sauce. A ring doughnut is also known as donitsi.[95]

A savory form of doughnut is the lihapiirakka (literally meat pie). Made from a doughnut mixture and deep fried, the end product is more akin to a savory doughnut than any pie known in the English-speaking world.[96]


The French beignet, literally "bump",[97] is the French and New Orleans equivalent of a doughnut: a pastry made from deep-fried choux pastry.[98]


German Berliner


In middle Germany, doughnuts are called Kreppel or Pfannkuchen. In southern Germany, they are also called Krapfen and are especially popular during Carnival season (Karneval/Fasching) in southern and middle Germany and on New Year's Eve in northern Germany. A Berliner does not have the typical ring shape of a doughnut, but instead is solid and usually filled with jam, while a ring-shaped variant called Kameruner is common in Berlin and eastern Germany. Bismarcks and Berlin doughnuts are also found in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and the United States. Today, U.S.-style doughnuts are also available in Germany, but are less popular than their native counterparts.


In Greece, a doughnut-like snack called loukoumas (λουκουμάς), which is spherical and soaked in honey syrup, is available. It is often served with sprinkled cinnamon and grated walnuts or sesame seeds.[99][62]


Fánk is a sweet traditional Hungarian cake. The most commonly used ingredients are flour, yeast, butter, egg yolk, rum, salt, milk and oil for frying. The dough is allowed to rise for approximately 30 minutes, resulting in an extremely light pastry. Fánk is usually served with powdered sugar and lekvar.

It is supposed[by whom?] that Fánk pastry is of the same origin as German Berliner, Dutch oliebol, and Polish pączki.


An Italian zeppola

Italian doughnuts include ciambelle, krapfen, zippuli and zeppole from Calabria, maritozzi and bomboloni from Tuscany, and frittelle from Veneto.




Oliebollen: Dutch doughnuts



In Norway, smultring is the prevailing type of doughnut traditionally sold in bakeries, shops, and stalls. However, U.S.-style doughnuts are widely available in larger supermarkets, McDonald's restaurants, 7-elevens and bakeries. The Berliner is more common than U.S.-style doughnut, and sold in most supermarkets and bakeries alongside smultring doughnuts.


Polish pączki






Ukrainian pampushky filled with sour cherries





Fried "Rosquillas" from Asturias, Spain

In Spain, there are two different types of doughnuts. The first one, simply called donuts, or more traditionally berlinesas, is a U.S.-style doughnut, i.e., a deep-fried, sweet, soft, ring of flour dough.

The second type of doughnut is a traditional pastry called rosquilla or rosquete (the latter name is typical in the Canary Islands), made of fermented dough and fried or baked in an oven. Rosquillas were purportedly introduced in Spain by the Romans.[104] In Spain, there are several variants of them depending on the region where they are prepared and the time of the year they are sold. In some regions they are considered a special pastry prepared only for Easter.[citation needed] Although overall they are more tightly textured and less sweet than U.S.-style doughnuts, they differ greatly in shape, size and taste from one region to another.[citation needed]



In Switzerland, there are Zigerkrapfen, Berliner and tortelli di San Giuseppe.


Similar to the Finnish munkki, the Swedish munk is a sweet doughnut commonly eaten as fika along with coffee. It is sold cold and is sometimes filled with jam (U.S. jelly) or a vanilla sauce. A ring doughnut is also known as simply munk.


In Ukraine doughnuts are called pampushky (Ukrainian: пампушки). Pampushky are made of yeast dough containing wheat, rye or buckwheat flour. Traditionally they are baked, but may also be fried. According to William Pokhlyobkin, the technology of making pampushky points to German cuisine, and these buns were possibly created by German colonists in Ukraine.

United Kingdom

Two shop-bought lightly glazed yum-yums on a plate. On average they are 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length.


In Northern Ireland, ring doughnuts are known as gravy rings, gravy being an archaic term for hot cooking oil.

North America

Puntarenas' cream-filled doughnuts

Caribbean region

A kurma is a small, sweet, fried cube-shaped or rectangular doughnut which originated in Eastern India but is sold in Trinidad and Tobago.[citation needed]

Costa Rica




United States and Canada

Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts
Donuts being sold

Frosted, glazed, powdered, Boston cream, coconut, sour cream, cinnamon, chocolate, and jelly are some of the varieties eaten in the United States and Canada. There are also potato doughnuts (sometimes referred to as spudnuts).

Elegant doughnut served at a wedding breakfast in Miami Beach


A popular doughnut in Hawaii is the malasada. Malasadas were brought to the Hawaiian Islands by early Portuguese settlers, and are a variation on Portugal's filhós. They are small, eggy balls of yeast dough deep-fried and coated in sugar.[62]



In southern Louisiana, a popular variety of the doughnut is the beignet, a fried, square doughnut served traditionally with powdered sugar. Perhaps the most well-known purveyor of beignets is New Orleans restaurant Cafe Du Monde.

In Quebec, homemade doughnuts called beignes de Noël are traditional Christmas desserts.[106][107]

Chocolate-frosted doughnut




In Australia, the doughnut is a popular snack food. Jam doughnuts are particularly popular[108] and a unique aspect of Australian culture, especially in Melbourne, Victoria and the Queen Victoria Market, where they are a tradition.[109] Jam doughnuts are similar to a Berliner, but are served hot: red jam (raspberry or strawberry) is injected into the bun before it is deep-fried, and then it is coated with either sugar or sugar mixed with cinnamon as soon as it has been cooked. Jam doughnuts are sometimes also bought frozen. In South Australia, they are known as Berliner or Kitchener and often served in cafes. Popular variants include custard-filled doughnuts, and more recently Nutella-filled doughnuts.

Mobile vans that serve doughnuts, traditional or jam, are often seen at spectator events, markets, carnivals and fetes, and by the roadside near high-traffic areas like airports and the car parks of large shopping centres. Traditional cinnamon doughnuts are readily available in Australia from specialized retailers and convenience stores. Doughnuts are a popular choice for schools and other not-for-profit groups to cook and sell as a fundraiser.

New Zealand


South America




Berlin (plural Berlines) doughnut is popular in Chile] because of the large German community. It may be filled with jam or with manjar, the Chilean version of dulce de leche.[62]


Peruvian cuisine includes picarones which are doughnut-shaped fritters made with a squash and sweet potato base.[62] These snacks are almost always served with a drizzle of sweet molasses-based sauce.

In popular culture


South Korean policemen eating doughnuts; policemen liking doughnuts is a common stereotype in some places.




Per capita, Canadians consume the most doughnuts, and Canada has the most doughnut stores per capita.[111][112] Tim Hortons is the most popular Canadian doughnut and coffee franchise, and one of the most successful quick service restaurants in the country.[original research?] In the Second City Television sketch comedy "The Great White North" featuring the fictional stereotypically Canadian brothers Bob and Doug MacKenzie and in their film Strange Brew, doughnuts play a role in the duo's comedy.

United States


Within the United States, the Providence metropolitan area was cited as having the most doughnut shops per capita (25.3 doughnut shops per 100,000 people) as of January 13, 2010.[113] National Doughnut Day celebrates the doughnut's history and role in popular culture. There is a race in Staunton, Illinois, featuring doughnuts, called Tour de Donut.

In film, the doughnut has inspired Dora's Dunking Doughnuts (1933), The Doughnuts (1963) and Tour de Donut: Gluttons for Punishment. In video games, the doughnut has appeared in games like The Simpsons Game and Donut Dilemma. In the cartoon Mucha Lucha, there are four things that make up the code of mask wrestling: honor, family, tradition, and doughnuts. Also, in the television sitcom The Simpsons, Homer Simpson's love affair with doughnuts is a prominent ongoing joke as well as the focal point of more than a few episodes. There is also a children's book Arnie the Doughnut and music albums The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse.

Doughnuts on a plate in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.

In films, TV shows, and video games, police officers are depicted as enjoying doughnuts during their coffee break. This cliché has been parodied in the film Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, where Officer Zed is instructing new recruits how to "properly" consume their doughnuts with coffee. It is also parodied in the television series Twin Peaks, where the police station is always in large supply.[114] In the video game Neuromancer, there is a Donut World shop, where only policemen are allowed. During a citywide "lockdown" after the Boston Marathon bombing, a handful of selected Dunkin' Donuts locations were ordered to remain open to serve police and first responders despite the closing of the vast majority of city businesses.[115]


See also


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Further reading