And yes the correct spelling is doughnut not donut. In American and Canada neon signs embraced the fever for these round sticky calorie laden deep fried treats and it was simply easier to shorter the word on the signage to donuts.
The American way of making doughnuts remains the central way for they were introduced into the country in the 1800s by Dutch immigrants and served to troops to keep their energy levels up during the first world war. The war gave rise to this mass produced treat we enjoy today, the world over and the big doughnut chains began from the 1960s but there were a few speciality shops from the 1950s. Doughnut fever is global and growing in countries like China and India. The first doughnut machine was invented by Adolph Levitt in 1920 and John Haight holds the Guinness World record for eating 29 doughnuts in 6 minutes. And the largest doughnut ever made weighed 1.7 tons. I hate to think how many calories it contained and the damage it would do to the arteries or the blood sugar of a diabetic.
Canada reigns as doughnut capital of the world; per capita the country has more doughnut shops than any other country. The first Friday of June is National Doughnut Day and the top 10 brands of doughnut bought in a whopping $508 million in sales in 2009.
Disclaimer: I am no expert on the doughnut business. I don’t really like them. I find they are tasteless and doughy. All that sugar gives me a banging headache and all the dough makes me swell up!
However the character in my next book is an expert on the doughnut industry. What he doesn’t know about doughnuts isn’t worth knowing. Unfortunately he can’t eat them because he’s diabetic. Meet him very soon!