Donut History
Before we can talk about mini-donuts we should look at regular donuts…
One of the AG Minute videos features the history of donuts and explains that they date back to a sea captain in 1847 who used the spokes on his steering wheel to hold his doughnuts. They were first mass-produced in the 1920′s and very popular as a movie theatre snack originally. Check out the whole video here. These AG videos fromt he Louisiana Farm Bureau are always informative and their topics are usually sweeeeeet, such as their feature of the famous New Orleans beignets (yum) and candy corn.
Mini Donut History
That brings us to the history of the mini-donut (or mini-doughnut).
The Minnesota State Fair Day blog refers to the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language for the origin of this mini treat, which traces them back to the Spanish-American war (1898).
Dough-Nu-Matic
ThinkGeek, one of my favorite online stores, features their Dough-Nu-Matic in the video below. Home sweet mini-delicious home…
They also have another version that is sort of like a waffle iron, and makes 6 mini donuts at a time.
Fancy Mini Donuts?
Mini Donuts are also available with fancy colorful frostings and other toppings, although my favorite is still ‘hot off the press’ with sugar and cinnamon. If a trip to a concession stand isn’t convenient, then you may want to try fancyflours’ recipe (pictured above)- doesn’t it look delicious?
Small in size, but large in elegance- these mini-donuts were featured at thebridesguide. Very nice presentation, along with small cups of mousse.
Of course, there’s nothing like the real thing – the smell of freshly made mini-doughnuts beckons you when you arrive at the state fair, local carnival, or where ever else you find concession stands. If there is a concession and you are lucky, you will find mini-doughnuts. Always a highlight – make sure you buy two bags: one for now and one to bring home. If you have any left to enjoy with breakfast the next morning, I bow to your superior will power.
Where’s the best mini-donut stand in America?
If you know, please leave a comment:
