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National Donut Day: the origin of the hole in one of the most popular treats

In 1847 Captain Hansen Gregory decided to use a pepper pot to remove the center of the doughnut in an attempt to make them bake better.

Imagen de un plato con varios Donuts.

(Skayler H. / Pixabay)

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

Since 1938, the first Friday in June has been celebrated as National Donut Day, a day sure to be popular "The Simpsons" character Homer Simpson. However, the decision to honor this treat is not due to Homer Simpson, but to the Salvation Army of Chicago, that decided to celebrate this day as a way to help people affected by the Great Depression.

The organization also decided it was a good way to honor the people known as "donut lassies": the people in charge of providing treats and assistance to soldiers fighting during World War I. This date is different from the National Donut Day honoring the Marine Corps., which is celebrated in November, although on both dates it is common to consume these pastries.

The origins of the donut

The donut as such did not appear until 1847 thanks to Captain Hansen Gregory. The young man, who was 16 years old at the time, noticed that donuts did not bake properly. The New England Historial Society recalls that, at this time, they were similar to cookies and did not have a hole in the center. For that reason, he decided to use a pepper pot to remove the center so he could bake them properly. However, at the beginning, they did not only remove the center, but also gave them different shapes. This is how he explained it during an interview with The Washington Post in 1916:

Now in them days we used to cut the doughnuts into diamond shapes, and also into long strips, bent in half, and then twisted. I don’t think we called them donuts then–they was just ‘fried cakes’ and ‘twisters.’ Well, sir, they used to fry all right around the edges, but when you had the edges done the insides was all raw dough. And the twisters used to sop up all the grease just where they bent, and they were tough on the digestion.

That was the beginning of this well-known treat but, over the years, the dessert has evolved. In 1920, Adolf Levitt, a Russian living in New York, invented a machine to remove the center of donuts more easily. Thirteen years later, in 1933, the pastry was crowned "Hit Food of the Century of Progress" by the Chicago World's Fair.

Since then, donuts have been a part of the lives of people all over the world, and especially in the United States. In fact, well-known chains specialized in this sweet treat such as Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme and Duck Donuts decided to give away some of these sweets today, as they announced on social media:

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