Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of ''

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

'', or

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Normal ...

pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

, usually made from yeast dough in France, possibly made from pâte à choux and called Pets-de-nonne, nun's

fart Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the Gastrointestinal tract, intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas m ...

, in France, but may also be made from other types of dough, including yeast dough. In France there are many different versions of them, at least 20. They can vary in shape, the flour used for the dough, and the filling. It is popular in French, Italian, and French-American cuisines.

Types

The term beignet can be applied to two varieties, depending on the type of pastry. The French-style beignet in the United States has the specific meaning of deep-fried

choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added). Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs ...

. Beignets can also be made with yeast pastry, which might be called ''boules de Berlin'' in French, referring to

Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...

doughnuts, which lack the typical doughnut hole, filled with fruit or jam. In

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, beignets made with

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

flour () are known as ''

fritelli Fritelli (singular ''Fritellu''), also Fritelle (singular ''Fritella'') are Corsican doughnuts or fritters made from fried wheat Schapira (1994) p. 123 or chestnut flour (Fritelle castagnine).Silvani (1991) p. 113 A preparation of the fritters is r ...

''. In

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...

doughnuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. 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 fra ...

are referred to alternately as ''beigne'' or ''beignet''.

Louisiana

Louisiana-style beignets are square or rectangular fried pastries made from leavened dough rather than choux pastry. In New Orleans, they are best known as a breakfast served with powdered sugar on top. They are traditionally prepared to be eaten fresh and hot before consumption. Variations of fried dough can be found across cuisines internationally; however, the origin of the term ''beignet'' is specifically French. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, beignets have been popular within New Orleans

Creole cuisine Creole cuisine ( French: ; Portuguese: ; Spanish: ) is a cuisine style born in colonial times, from the fusion between European, African and pre-Columbian American traditions. ''Creole'' is a term that refers to those of European origin who were ...

and may also be served as a dessert. They were brought to New Orleans in the 18th century by French colonists, from "the old mother country", also brought by

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

, and became a large part of home-style Creole cooking. Variations often include

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

– popular fruits in the port city – or berries.

Preparation

Ingredients used to prepare beignets traditionally include: * lukewarm water *

granulated sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains add ...

bread flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

shortening Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry and other food products. Although butter is solid at room temperature and is frequently used in making pastry, the term ''shortening'' seldom refers to bu ...

* oil or

lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

, for deep-frying *

confectioners' sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, ...

File:Making beignets 1.jpg, Beignets before frying File:Bignè4.JPG, Piping choux pastry dough for beignets

References

External links

* {{Pastries American doughnuts Choux pastry Cuisine of New Orleans French-American cuisine French pastries Louisiana Creole cuisine American breakfast foods

Types

Louisiana

Preparation

See also

References

Further reading

External links