When were donuts first introduced to hungry Americans? And why do they have a hole?

There are so many questions one could ask about the humble donut, one of the first European culinary creations to grace the American tablescape.

Donuts were originally called “olycooks”

Donuts have their origins in Dutch and German communities. When those communities immigrated to the U.S. in Colonial times, they brought their favorite pastry with them. The original Dutch name of “olycooks” (sometimes spelled “olykoeks”) literally means “oil cake,” and the name “doughnuts” came from the practice of studding the donut dough with local nuts (especially walnuts) found in America.

Doughnut or donut?

The first formalized mention of the word “doughnut” is credited to writer Washington Irving in his 1809 book, “The History of New York.” In the century-plus that followed, the work of American marketing and branding companies shortened the term to “do-nut,” and later, “donut.” Much like how we commonly call items by their brand name, Americans were quick to adopt “donut” as the popular spelling of the baked good.

War made donuts popular

At the height of the Civil War, restaurants and public kitchens in New York City tapped into Dutch roots to produce cake-style donuts as a fundraiser for Union troops. During World War I, American Red Cross volunteers and Salvation Army officers in France were assigned to the front lines of war trenches to boost soldier morale. One tactic involved using ammunition shells as rolling pins and helmets as frying pans to make donuts. By World War II, these volunteers were coined “Donut Dollies” and continued the practice of spirit-boosting sustenance by way of donuts for American soldiers. The taste for donuts continued when these GIs returned home, spurring on the American donut industry.

Donuts come in many forms

The most common are either cake donuts (made from a yeast-free soft dough, often tossed in sugar), raised donuts (a sweetened, yeasted dough) and filled donuts (cream- and jelly-filled, often frosted or tossed in powdered sugar). Long johns (sometimes called eclairs) and filled donuts that are stretched into long ovals, twists (two strands of yeasted dough plaited together) and baked donuts (batter poured into a mold and made without hot oil) are also popular donut options. Cider donuts are a mainstay in the northern U.S., where apple orchards are prevalent and fall is not complete without a visit to the cider house. Fritters, bear claws, cruellers and French eclairs are commonly included under the umbrella of “donut.”

Glazed is king

The most popular donut flavor varies state to state, but glazed donuts take top honors for most popular donut across the United States. Surveys by Ranker and TimeOut both list glazed as the top donut flavor in America. Ranker’s top-10 listing also includes chocolate glazed followed by Boston cream, chocolate long johns, chocolate frosted with sprinkles, strawberry jelly, maple frosted, powdered, double chocolate and vanilla frosted with sprinkles.

But a 2021 survey by Ipsos shows that cream-filled donuts are the most popular donut flavor, with 22 percent of respondents claiming that cream is their favorite with 18 percent preferring glazed. (Nine percent of respondents said old-fashioned cake donuts top their list.)

What’s with the hole?

Donuts were not always round; in fact, the round donut with a hole in the middle is a relatively new development in the long history of donuts. There are a few explanations as to why donuts are round or in rings and why donut holes are just as popular as the donut itself.

Why are they round?

Donuts were given a round shape once filling them with piped fruits, jellies and creams became en vogue. A round donut is easier to fill, whereas a square donut is harder to evenly fill and often leads to pockets without filling and weak points (where filling could ooze out) in the donut.

One popular explanation for adding a hole is that commercially sold donuts gained a market around the same time that bagels became popular, neighborhood bakeries made both. Street vendors would stack the bagels on long wooden rods that offered easy storage and transport. Giving donuts a hole and stacking them on rods therefore just made sense.

Adding a hole to the donut also meant that donuts fry faster and more evenly. The first person credited with adding a hole to donuts is Hansen Gregory, a New England seaman who came up with the idea as a teenager. (Gregory was inducted into the National Baking Association’s Baking Hall of Fame with his discovery.)

Finally, how did the ‘donut hole’ come to be?

Instead of working the hole back into a batch of dough and reforming it, selling donut holes was a good way to turn a profit on what would otherwise be considered waste. The first automated donut machines (made in 1920 in New York City by Adolph Levitt) included the hole and ring shape we associate with donuts today, making it cheap and easy to produce donuts (and their holes) en masse.