Cruller
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A cruller (Template:IPAc-en) is a deep-fried pastry popular in parts of Europe and North America. In Europe it is typically either made of a string of dough that is folded over and twisted twice to create its signature shape or is formed from a rectangle of dough with a cut in the center allowing it to be pulled over and through itself to produce distinctive twists in the sides of the pastry. In North America, it is typically a form of cake doughnut made in a small loaf or simple stick shape or, in the case of the "French cruller", extruded in a ring from choux pastry.
Crullers are typically topped with cinnamon sugar, dipped in plain icing, or served plain.
History
The name cruller comes from the early 19th-century Dutch Template:Lang, from Template:Lang 'to curl'. In northern Germany they are known as Template:Lang ('deer horns'). In Scandinavia, these types of crullers are common at Christmas. They are traditionally baked on New Year's Eve as a family project, with the children doing the labor-intensive shaping and the grown-ups handling the deep frying.Template:Citation needed In Danish they are known as Template:Lang and in Swedish as Template:Lang, both names deriving from Low German.
In the United States, crullers were introduced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by Pennsylvania Dutch settlers, and became popular in regions with large German populations.<ref name="Midwestern Crullers">Template:Cite web</ref> The Milwaukee-style cruller, for example, is a loaf-shaped glazed cake doughnut with a crunchy exterior.<ref name="where" /><ref name="wuwm">Template:Cite news</ref>
The term "Chinese cruller" is occasionally applied to the Template:Lang (Template:Zh), a similar-looking fried dough food eaten in East and Southeast Asia.<ref name="Midwestern Crullers"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The term cruller is also associated with the Template:Lang (Template:Zh),<ref>"crullers". Youdao dictionary. Accessed August 1, 2013.</ref> a type of twisted fried dough much denser and sweeter than youtiao.
The "Aberdeen crulla" is a traditional Scottish pastry made in the same way as the rectangular, plaited cruller of New England.<ref>F. Marian McNiell, The Scots Kitchen</ref> It is first attested in Edinburgh in 1829 and is thought to copied from the 'cruller' of the United States according to the Scottish National Dictionary (1931–1976).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Distinct from this, the "yum-yum" is a commonly available treat in the United Kingdom, which resembles a straightened French cruller coated in thin glacé icing.Template:Clear
French cruller
A French cruller is a light, airy, fluted and ring-shaped glazed doughnut extruded from choux pastry.<ref name="kids">Template:Cite book</ref> The name likely refers to the use of the French choux dough, with the actual origin of the pastry being German or Dutch, and was popularized in the United States by Dunkin' Donuts.<ref name="where">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When filled, they are often referred to as a chouxnut.<ref name="chouxnuts">Template:Cite web</ref>
The French cruller is similar to the German Template:Lang (literally, 'extruded cake'), which is traditionally made from choux pastry that is piped onto parchment and then deep fried. It dates back to 18th century Nuremberg,<ref name="sincerus">Template:Cite book</ref> but became associated with Eberswalde in the 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is said to have originated as part of carnival celebrations that take place before Lent to use up supplies of animal fats so they would not spoil and go to waste.<ref name="hassani">Template:Cite book</ref>
Availability
Crullers are most commonly found in Canada, New England, the Mid-Atlantic and North Central states of the United States; they are also common in California.Template:Cn The German origin is probably why traditional crullers can be found more easily in the Midwest, where many German immigrants settled.<ref name="Midwestern Crullers" /> Some family-owned bakeries still call them "krullers."
In 2003, the Dunkin' Donuts chain of doughnut shops stopped carrying traditional crullers, claiming that the hand-shaped rectangular treats were too labor-intensive, and couldn't be simulated with new machines for mixing doughnut batter. In its place, some of the chain’s franchises began to offer a simplified, machine-made rectangular version called a "cake stick".<ref name="dd">Template:Cite web</ref>
As of 2003, the company still sold "French crullers",<ref name="Twisted">Joseph P. Kahn, "With Progress, a Cruel Twist", Boston Globe, 25 October 2003.</ref> which can be formed by a kind of extruding nozzle<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref> similar to the way choux pastry is piped.
French crullers have been gaining popularity in the UK, Australia, and the United States, with specific mentions of Cardabelle in the UK, Moon Cruller in Australia, and Deli Provision in the United States. In the southeastern U.S., French crullers are a fresh-baked everyday bakery item at many doughnut shops and grocery stores.Template:Cn In 1973, the French cruller became available in Mister Donut stores in Japan.<ref name="misdo_jp">Template:Cite web</ref>
Tim Hortons<ref name="tm">Tim Hortons Snacks & Baked Goods</ref> and Honey Dew Donuts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> sell only the French cruller, not traditional crullers. Krispy Kreme<ref name="kk">Template:Cite web</ref> sells a similar doughnut that the company refers to as a cruller, but is a molded cake doughnut.
See also
- Angel wings, another twisted deep-fried dough
- Berliner (pastry), another doughnut popular in Germany
- Churros, a fried choux pastry originating in Spain and Portugal
- Fasnacht (pastry), another Shrove Tuesday related doughnut
- Fritter, another donut-like pastry
- King cake
- Koeksister, a twisted doughnut popular in South Africa
- Long John (doughnut), the common American rectangular doughnut, made from a yeast dough
- Maejap-gwa, a ribbon-shaped Korean pastry
- Oliebol, the basic Dutch doughnut
- Pilipit, a similar fried twisted doughnut from the Philippines
- Twisted doughnut