For many people, the only thing they know about doughnuts (or even care to know) is that they taste delicious and go great with a steaming cup of fresh brewed coffee for breakfast or as a snack any time of the day. Others among us love to be able to make small talk about doughnuts and that means learning a few of the little-known facts about them. Here are a few things you can add to your knowledge bank that could be the perfect thing to talk about around the proverbial water cooler at work after you’ve brought in a dozen doughnuts to share with your co-workers.
- Is it doughnut or donut? You’ll see it spelled either way and both are considered correct. Donuts came about in the early 1900s as a shorter way to describe doughnuts.
- Why do doughnuts have a hole in the middle? It is believed that many different ideas came about to circumvent the problem of frying dough so that the entire thing cooked through. The middle was always a problem, so eliminating it entirely became a popular solution. Others placed nuts inside of the dough, which is one theory about the origin of the doughnut name.
- When did doughnut making become automated? The first automated doughnut machine was invented in 1920 by Adolph Levitt, a Russian-born immigrant. It was later made famous when displayed at the 1934 World’s Fair in Chicago.
- When were doughnuts first made? This is a really tough one to nail down because so many countries have one version or another of fried dough, including olykoeks made by the Dutch in the mid-19th century, not to mention many varieties dating back even further, including to Medieval times and Ancient Rome and Greece.
- Is there a wrong way to eat a donut? Okay, this one is just for fun as everyone knows there really isn’t. However, the donut scene in Iron Man 2 does show a pretty cool way to!
If you want the coolest way to enjoy doughnuts, you have to stop in and see us at Hole Lotta Doughnuts. While not as large as the one that Iron Man was sitting on, we’d be willing to bet he’d like our handcrafted, yeast-glazed doughnuts quite a bit more. Check them out for yourself and we’re pretty sure you’ll become an authority on the best-tasting doughnuts in the West Jefferson, North Carolina area.