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A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. They are also found in Latin American cuisine and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in the
Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...
and France. In Spain, churros can either be thin (and sometimes knotted) or long and thick, where they are known as or ''jeringos'' in some regions. They are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado, hot chocolate, dulce de leche or café con leche. Cinnamon sugar is often sprinkled on top. There are also two slightly different snacks in Portugal, called ''porra'' and fartura, which are filled with jelly instead of the ''
doce de leite Doce was a Portugal, Portuguese female band from the 1980s. It was one of the first girl bands in Europe. The girls took part in the Portuguese national final in order to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song " ...
'', traditional to Brazilian churros.


History

The origin of churros is unclear. One theory suggests the concept was brought to Europe from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
by the Portuguese. The Portuguese sailed for the
Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
and as they returned from Ming-dynasty
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to Portugal, they brought along with them new culinary techniques, including altering dough for '' youtiao'', also known as ''yóuzháguǐ'' in southern China which bears a resemblance to the churro. The new pastry was soon introduced to Spain, where it was modified to have the dough extruded through a star-shaped nozzle rather than pulled. Another theory is that the churro was made by Spanish
shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
s to substitute for fresh baked goods. Churro paste was easy to make and fry in an open fire in the mountains, where shepherds spend most of their time. According to food historian Michael Krondl, "today’s churro is not that different from a recipe for a flour and water
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 ...
that you find in Apicius, a Roman cookbook dating from the 1st Century AD. And there are recipes from the Ancient Greeks but it’s probably even older than that. In the
Mediterranean basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...
it’s basically been around forever".


Etymology

According to the '' Diccionario de la lengua española'', ''churro'' is
onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...
.


Preparation

Churros are fried until they become crunchy, and may be sprinkled with sugar. The surface of a churro is ridged due to having been piped from a churrera, a syringe-like tool with a star-shaped nozzle. Churros are generally prisms in shape, and may be straight, curled or spirally twisted. Like
pretzel A pretzel (), from German pronunciation, standard german: Breze(l) ( and French / Alsatian: ''Bretzel'') is a type of baked bread made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical ...
s, churros are sold by street vendors, who may fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them hot. In Spain and much of Latin America, churros are available in cafes for
breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
, although they may be eaten throughout the day as a snack. Specialized ''churrerías'', in the form of a shop or a trailer, can be found during the holiday period. In addition, countries like
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Peru, Spain, and Venezuela have churrerías throughout their streets. In Portugal, they are commonly eaten at carnivals, fairs and other celebrations, where they are made freshly at street stands. The dough is a mixture of flour, water and salt. Some versions are made of potato dough. Depending on the recipe, it may not be vegan, they can contain butter, milk or eggs.


Variations

In Seville ( Andalusia), the name "calientes" (meaning hot) or "calentitos de rueda" is sometimes used instead of the word ''churro''. These tend to refer to the thicker variant, called ''porra''. Calientes are usually fried in the shape of a continuous spiral and cut into portions afterwards. The center of the spiral is thicker and softer, and for many a delicacy in itself. The standard "churro" is also sold under the name "calentitos de papas", the name referring to the softer mashed potato–like texture. In parts of Eastern Andalusia, a much thinner dough is used, which does not allow for the typical ridges to be formed on the surface of the churro. The final result therefore has a smooth surface, and is more pliable and of a slightly thinner diameter than standard Spanish churros. Another difference is that sugar is never sprinkled on them, because the flavour is not considered suitable. Filled, straight ''churros'' are found in Cuba (with fruit, such as
guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...
), Brazil (with chocolate, ''
doce de leite Doce was a Portugal, Portuguese female band from the 1980s. It was one of the first girl bands in Europe. The girls took part in the Portuguese national final in order to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song " ...
'', among others), and in Argentina,
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, Peru, Chile and Mexico (usually filled with '' dulce de leche'' or '' cajeta'' but also with chocolate and vanilla). In Colombia and Venezuela, churros are round like doughnuts sprinkled with sugar and filled with
bocadillo The bocadillo or bocata, in Spain, is a sandwich made with Spanish bread, usually a baguette or similar type of bread, cut lengthwise. Traditionally seen as a humble food, its low cost has allowed it to evolve over time into an iconic piece of ...
( membrillo or guava paste),
arequipe ''Dulce de leche'' (; pt, doce de leite), also known as caramelized milk, milk candy or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, wh ...
and sweetened condensed milk. In Spain, a considerably wider diameter is used to accommodate the filling. In Uruguay, churros can also come in a savoury version, filled with melted cheese. In the Philippines, ''churros'' are typically straight, or bent into U-shapes or circular shapes. They are usually dusted with white sugar. ''Churros'' are almost always eaten with '' tsokolate'' drinks (a pairing known as ''churros con tsokolate''), which can also serve as a dip. They are popular during the Christmas season. Churros in American theme parks and street fairs are most often rolled in
cinnamon sugar Cinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice to flavor foods such as Belgian waffles, Snickerdoodle cookies, tortillas, coffee cake, French toast, and churros. It is also used to flavor apples, cereals, and ...
or other flavored sugars. In the Middle East, a churro-like fried dough-based sweet is known as ''Karabeej Halab''. File:Churros el hatillo.JPG, Churros drizzled with chocolate File:Calentitos.jpg, "Tejeringos" or "Calentitos", an Andalusian variation of the churro


See also

* Andalusian cuisine * List of doughnut varieties * List of fried dough foods * Tulumba


References


External links

* {{Jewish cuisine Argentine cuisine Articles containing video clips Bolivian cuisine Brazilian cuisine Chilean desserts Colombian cuisine Cuisine of the Southwestern United States Ecuadorian cuisine French desserts Mexican breads Mexican desserts New Mexican cuisine Paraguayan cuisine Peruvian cuisine Philippine desserts Portuguese cuisine Spanish desserts Uruguayan desserts Venezuelan cuisine Sephardi Jewish cuisine Philippine breads Fried dough Sweet breads Unleavened breads