Cruller
Iced "cinnamon twist" cruller
Alternative namesTwister
TypePastry/Doughnut

A cruller (/ˈkrʌlər/) is a deep-fried pastry popular in Europe and in parts of North America. Regarded as a form of cake doughnut in the latter, it is typically either made of a string of dough that is folded over and twisted twice to create its signature shape, or 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.

Some other regional deep-fried cruller styles are made in a small loaf or simple stick shape.[1] The traditional twisted and loaf crullers are typically topped with cinnamon sugar,[2] while the round twisted ones either receive the same or are dipped in plain icing. All types are also found plain.

The “cruller” is not to be confused with the “French cruller”, a light airy, fluted, ring-shaped baked doughnut extruded from choux pastry.[3]

The German Spritzkuchen is also extruded from choux pastry like a French cruller but deep fried, while the Dutch and Belgian sprits, a form of spritz cookie extruded from a shortcrust-like dough, is baked instead of fried.

History

A handmade Danish klejne, a traditional cruller shape, rectangular with two twisted sides

The name cruller comes from the early 19th-century Dutch kruller, from krullen 'to curl'. In northern Germany they are known as hirschhörner ('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. In Danish they are known as klejner and in Swedish as klenäter, both names deriving from Low German.

In the US, where various shapes of pastries are known as "crullers", some are similar to what is traditionally eaten in Germany and some other European countries on Shrove Tuesday, to use up fat before Lent.

The term "Chinese cruller" is occasionally applied to the youtiao (Chinese: 油条), a similar-looking fried dough food eaten in East and Southeast Asia.[1][4] The term cruller is also associated with the mahua (Chinese: 麻花),[5] 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.[6] 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).[7] Distinct from this, the "yum-yum" is a commonly available treat in Scotland, which resembles a straightened French cruller coated in thin glacé icing.

Spritzkuchen

Mini spritzkuchen

In Germany, Spritzkuchen are said to have originated in Eberswalde as part of carnival celebrations that take place before Lent. In past times supplies of animal fats had to be used up before Lent so they would not spoil and go to waste and Spritzkuchen was one of the dishes created to meet this need.[8]

Availability

Crullers are most commonly found in Canada, New England, the Mid-Atlantic and North Central states of the United States, but are also common in California. The German origin is probably why traditional crullers can be found more easily in the Midwest, where many German immigrants settled. 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 offered a simplified, machine-made rectangular version called a "cake stick".[9] As of 2003, the company still sold "French crullers",[2] which can be formed by a kind of extruding nozzle[10] similar to the way choux pastry is piped.

Tim Hortons,[11] and Honey Dew Donuts[12] sell only the French cruller, not crullers. Krispy Kreme[13] sell a similar doughnut the company refers to as a cruller, but in reality it is just a molded/formed cake doughnut.

French cruller

French cruller
A light and airy French cruller
Alternative namesSpritzkuchen
TypePastry/Doughnut

In the southeastern U.S., French crullers are a fresh-baked everyday bakery item at Publix grocery stores.

In 1973, the French cruller became available in Mister Donut stores in Japan.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 John Foust. "Midwestern Crullers". www.gojefferson.com. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Joseph P. Kahn, "With Progress, a Cruel Twist", Boston Globe, 25 October 2003.
  3. ↑ Smith, Patti (2010). Just Kids. New York, New York: Ecco. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-06-621131-2.
  4. ↑ Rhonda Parkinson (3 May 2017). "If You Want a New Breakfast Idea, Then Go Chinese!". The Spruce. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "crullers". Youdao dictionary. Accessed August 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ F. Marian McNiell, "The Scots Kitchen",
  7. ↑ "Crulla n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language – Dictionar o the Scots Leid. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Hassani, Nadia (2004). Spoonfuls of Germany: Culinary Delights of the German Regions in 170 Recipes. ISBN 9780781810579.
  9. ↑ "Dunkin' Donuts Product List". Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.
  10. ↑ US patent 3396677, Adams Floyd N, Cooper Victor D, Sommers John E, "Shaped doughnut cutting device", published Aug 13, 1968, assigned to Dca Food Ind
  11. ↑ Tim Hortons Snacks & Baked Goods
  12. ↑ "French Cruller | Honey Dew Donuts". www.honeydewdonuts.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "Glazed Cruller". krispykreme.com. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "History of Mister Donut" (in Japanese). misterdonut.jp. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  • The dictionary definition of cruller at Wiktionary
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