Potato doughnuts, sometimes called a Spudnut, are a type of
doughnut
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 franc ...
, typically sweet, made with either
mashed potato
Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...
es or
potato starch
Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...
instead of
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 ...
, the most common ingredient used for doughnut dough. Potato doughnuts tend to be lighter than all-flour doughnuts, and are prepared in a similar way as other doughnuts. A chain of
Spudnut Shops
Spudnut Shops were American franchised stores selling donuts made with potato flour called Spudnuts. The parent company no longer exists, but independent stores remain. The original recipe is based on a folk recipe that traces back to Germany.
...
was established across the United States in the 1930s before declining to a few dozen more recently. Fried
ube dough is also eaten in East Asia, including the world's most expensive doughnut, the Golden Cristal Ube, which cost $100 each. Much like flour doughnuts, potato doughnuts are often eaten with coffee.
History
The origin of the potato doughnuts is unknown. Syndicated recipes appeared in American newspapers as early as the 1870s. A recipe was published in a 1915 printing of the ''Five Roses Cook Book'' in Canada and also in 1938 in the ''Glenna Snow Cook Book''. In the late 1930s, Vernon Rudolph began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts, using a recipe containing potatoes. A
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
of
Spudnut Shops
Spudnut Shops were American franchised stores selling donuts made with potato flour called Spudnuts. The parent company no longer exists, but independent stores remain. The original recipe is based on a folk recipe that traces back to Germany.
...
was established and spread to more than 500 locations in the United States before being thinned out to around 50 in the mid-2000s. The originating company eventually declared bankruptcy, but independent stores remain.
Characteristics
Potato doughnuts share similar ingredients to normal doughnuts, but have all or most of the flour replaced with either mashed potatoes
[Jardine (1966), 15A.] or potato starch.
Potato doughnuts tend to be a light, fluffy variety of doughnut
[St. Petersburg Times (1959), 14-D.] and are usually topped with the same variety of frosting or toppings as other doughnuts.
[ A potato doughnut may be deep-fried in ]lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.[Lard]
entry in the o ...
to make a variety of Fasnacht
The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg.
Etymology
Popular etymology often links '' ...
.[Riely (2003), 107.]
Preparation
Potato doughnuts are prepared by mixing instant mix or already prepared mashed potatoes in a bowl with eggs and other ingredients, ranging from baking powder to a small amount of flour. The dough is then shaped and refrigerated before being cooked.[
]
See also
*List of doughnut varieties
Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food. The following is a list of doughnut varieties.
Variations and specialties by region
The terms below constitute either names for different doughnut types created using local recipes, or for the local la ...
* List of potato dishes
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and corn. The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the 21st century included about of potato. The potato was fir ...
*Fried dough foods
This is a list of fried dough foods. Many cultures have dishes that are prepared by deep frying dough in many various forms. Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food that are covered separately in the Wikipedia article List of doughnut varieties.
...
Notes
References
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*Nichols, Roge
Spudnut survivor; Store in Richland keeps sweet legacy alive
September 17, 2006 The Dalles Chronicle.
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External links
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{{Potato dishes
Doughnuts
Potato dishes