Why does a donut have a hole?

BRY2K

There is a very popular half-truth in doughnut lore centered on a very real sea captain and his mother. In 1847, Elizabeth Gregory was known in her New England circle to make a very fine olykoek. Her secret was to add a hint of nutmeg and fill the center with hazelnuts or walnuts. She even had a special name for her creation -- dough-nuts. (A more plausible explanation of the name is far less exciting, early recipes instructed amateur chefs to create "little nuts of dough" and place these balls into the hot oil.) As legend has it, Mrs. Gregory sent her son Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory on one of his sea voyages with several dough-nuts and her recipe to make more. It is here that one legend branches off into several versions. In one variation, Captain Hanson found himself having difficulty steering his ship and holding his dough-nut at the same time. The quick-thinking swabby impaled his dough-nut on one of the spokes of his steering wheel. Satisfied with his new dough-nut holder, he ordered his cook to henceforth prepare all dough-nuts with holes in the center. Another variation of the legend might be easier to swallow. Simply stated, the Captain didn't like the nuts and he poked them out. Acting on his Captain's request, the ship's cook created all subsequent doughnuts with the centers removed using the top of a round tin pepper box as a cutter. Did Captain Gregory invent, as he stated to the Boston Post, "the first dough-nut hole ever seen by mortal eyes"? We may never know. However, we can be sure of the positive changes that happened to the doughnut during the cooresponding period in time. Olykoeks with holes in the center cooked far more evenly and the novelty of the new-found "doughnut-shape" would soon propel the doughnut to a popularity derserving of myths and legends. http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=8 Nov 22 09, 8:09 AM

Baloo55th

The most likely explanation is that a doughnut in the round cooks quicker and more evenly than a blob shaped one. Also, you don't get the mess of the jam that's in the UK ones. Apart from which, the ring ones are less fattening..... Nov 22 09, 12:21 PM

shashing014

tnx 4 d info. ^^ Nov 23 09, 12:52 AM