What is a Donut?

A donut or doughnut is a fried dough dish, which is prepared in many forms (snack or sweet) and is well liked in many countries. It can be home-made or bought from bakeries, food stalls, franchised specialty outlets and super markets. Usually, the donut is sweet and is deeply fried from flour dough and is shaped in flattened spheres or rings that may contain fillings.

The 2 most popular types of doughnuts are filled doughnut and ring doughnut. Filled doughnut is a sphere filled with cream, custard, jelly or other sweet fillings. Baked donuts are different in the sense that they are cooked in an oven rather than being deep fried. Donut varieties are also categorized into risen-type and cake donuts. There are various incarnations of doughnuts popular across the globe. Their shapes include flattened spheres, twists, ear shapes, balls and rings. Donuts are not always sweet; In Southern India, savory doughnuts (vadai) are also served.

I. Background

An old recipe

Donuts have an uncertain history. One theory proposes that the dish was introduced by Dutch settlers in North America. Hansen Gregory (an American) asserted to have invented ring-shaped donuts in the year 1847. According to an anthropologist named ‘Paul R. Mullins, the 1^st cook book mentioning donuts was an 1803 volume that included donuts in the index of American recipes. In the 19^th century, donut was referred to as a type of oil cake (sweetened cake that is fried in fats). By the mid of 19^th century, the donut tasted and looked like present day’s donut.

Recipe

The doughnuts can be prepared in many ways, like yeast doughnuts, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, cinnamon donuts, plain cake doughnuts etc. Let us discuss the popular Krispy Kreme donuts recipe.

For glaze, mix together 3 cups powdered sugar, ½ tsp salt, ½ cup cold water and ½ tsp vanilla. Melt ½ cup butter in 2 cups warm milk and put 1 tsp sugar & salt into it. Allow it to cool. Beat ¼ tsp nutmeg, 2 tbsp yeast, 2/3 cup sugar and 3 cups flour. Add more flour (4 cups). Knead it for about 5 min and keep it for 1 to 1 ½ hrs, so that the mixture can rise. Roll out dough and cut it into shapes. Allow it to rise again for 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oil to 365 degrees and fry the donuts for 1 to 2 min on each side until they turn brown. Toss in their holes and proceed cooking. Let them cool and dip in warm glaze. Serve hot.

Talking of Krispy Kreme donut calories, one gets 137.5 calories from 1 serving of this dish.

II. Benefits

Advantages of eating Donut

The donuts are a tasty dish, particularly when sweet and are liked by many people across different nations. The donuts taste really good and provide a quick rupture of energy, depending upon how much sugar it contains. The donuts also contain milk that is a great source of calcium. In addition to calcium, milk also contains vitamins A, C and D that are very essential to our body. Nutmeg, another ingredient in donut, is known for its curative, aromatic and aphrodisiac properties. One more good point in the favor of doughnuts is that they are quite cheap in price. So, one can get a tasty dish at a reasonable price.

III.Calories

How many calories in a donut

There are 59 calories in 1 serving of donut of approx. 14 grams. Specifically, Glazed donut calories amount up to 200, when serving size is 52 grams. These calories differ with the amount of sugar a person uses. Moreover, these calories can be burnt if a person goes for swimming for at least 30 minutes, running for 18 minutes, walking for 15 min and bicycling for 38 min.

The breakup of glazed doughnut calories by individual composition is as follows.

• Carbohydrates contribute up to 42.7% of the total calorie amount.
• Fat contributes up to 53%.
• Protein makes up to 4.3% of the total calories.

IV.Additional Information

Donut Calories Breakup by Major Ingredients used in the dish

• Sugar – 1 tsp of sugar has 15 calories
• Milk – In 100 g of dried skimmed milk, there are 348 Kcal; in soy milk, there are 32 kcal; in semi-skimmed pasteurized milk, there are 46 kcal; and in whole pasteurized milk, there are 66 kcal.
• Nutmeg – 1 tsp (2.2 g) of Nutmeg contains 12 calories
• Yeast – 1 tbsp of yeast contains 35 calories
• Flour – 1 cup of whole wheat flour contains 407 calories
• Vegetable oil – 1 tsp (4.5 g) contains 39 calories