Since the early 20th century, doughnuts have been a popular treat in the United States. More than 10 billion doughnuts are consumed annually in the US, due in part to the large-scale expansion of corporations like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts. Although the diversity of colorful and frosted doughnuts might seem like an American delicacy, the origin of these sugar-laden treats lies at least partially in Germany.
Although doughnut-like delicacies existed throughout Europe for centuries, the first written reference of a jelly doughnut (called Gefüllte Krapfen in German) was in a cookbook from 1485. The cookbook, titled Küchenmeisterei (“Mastery of the Kitchen”) was published in Nuremberg and was one of the first to be reproduced with Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press.
These early-stage doughnuts had no holes in them, and had their interiors filled with meat, cheese, mushrooms or other ingredients, according to Leite’s Culinaria. Once the price of sugar dropped in the 16th century, doughnuts became sweeter, and countries all across Europe began to adopt the sweetened versions of the jelly doughnut.
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