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A Brief History of the Doughnut

Beth Kaiserman

The “doughnut” came to Manhattan under the Dutch name olykoeks, or “oily cakes,” according to a Smithsonian article. In mid-19th century New England, a ship captain’s mother named Elizabeth Gregory made her son fried dough with nuts in the middle to take on his long journeys. Her son lay claim to putting the hole in the middle, possibly to skewer it onto the ship’s wheel as he was steering, or possibly for easier digestion. Others claim the hole was made to cut back on ingredients, or to get rid of the soggy, undercooked center.

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