If you never heard of National Doughnut Day before this week, you’re not alone. This obscure (but fun) holiday originated 76 years ago, inaugurated by the Salvation Army in the waning years of the Great Depression to commemorate the volunteers of World War I (which was then called The Great War because World War II hadn’t yet begun). It is usually observed on the first Friday in June-- June 6th in 2014.
Basically, a doughnut (or donut—both spellings are acceptable though donut seems to be primarily used in the United States) is an individual serving of fried dough, although with a proper doughnut pan, it is possible to bake doughnuts using a cake-like batter. Doughnuts may be flaky, cakey, or raised, and though most are ring shaped, there are always round filled doughnuts, long braided ones, flat long johns, crullers and doughnut holes (ostensibly made from the dough that is punched out of a ring doughnut, but actually created separately nowadays).
The famous beignets of New Orleans are a kind of doughnut (a variant also known as a fritter); so are churros and funnel cake strips, and fried dough. (Fritters often have fruit in them, as do paczki, the Polish doughnuts usually eaten just before Lent. ) Most doughnuts are frosted with a sugar glaze or a sugar frosting,-- but they may also be rolled in granulated sugar, or dusted with powdered sugar.
In commemoration of National Doughnut Day, many bakeries and doughnut outlets offer free or reduced price doughnuts. These include Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts stores.
And although the fact that they are fried increases the calorie count of most doughnuts, their sugar content is not as high as many kinds of yogurt, according to Michelle Schoffro Cook of Green Living. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-yogurts-that-are-worse-than-doughnuts.html?cid=fb_HL_yogurtworsethandoughnuts
So while a steady diet of doughnuts may add to your waistline and probably put you into sugar shock, the occasional doughnut can be a treat. National Doughnut Day is your opportunity to indulge.