The Fried Dough Ho

From the shocking-but-true category, a ground-breaking discovery has been made in Britain by Dr. Heather Falvey, historian for the Hertfordshire Record Society. She located a 213 year old recipe book which may contain the first ever doughnut recipe which would pre-date any known American references by almost a decade. What is known is that the recipe – with ingredients that included sugar, eggs, nutmeg, butter and yeast – was given by a local woman, known only as ‘Mrs Fordham,’ to the Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale of Hertford in 1800. The Baroness was wife of smallpox pioneer, Thomas Dimsdale and she had compiled a collection of 80-some household hints and 700 recipes, including this astonishing reference to a “dow nut”.

There are a handful of theories on the origin of doughnuts in America, from Washington Irving’s 1908  “doughnuts” in his History of New York as well as anthropologist Paul R. Mullins’ research that the first cookbook mentioning doughnuts was an 1803 English volume which included doughnuts in an appendix of American recipes. but they are later than this newly-found British reference.

From the Hertfordshire genealogy site where the book may be purchased:

Some time after 1800, when she was in her late sixties or early seventies, Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale copied just under 700 recipes and more than 80 household hints into a parchment-bound book. At the top of many of these items she indicated their provenance – some had been given by friends and acquaintances in Hertfordshire society, others had been gleaned from published works ranging from medical treatises to scientific journals, others had come from donors who cannot now be identified due to Elizabeth’s tendency to use initials rather than names. Some of the recipes are of foreign origin given by acquaintances of her late husband. Many of the recipes have the same titles as those published in the burgeoning number of printed cookery books in circulation during the later eighteenth century, but the ingredients and methods differ; a handful, however, are recorded verbatim from such sources, indicating that either she, or her acquaintances, were collectors, or at least readers, of such publications.

Doughnut historians all over the world are rethinking the humble history of our beloved sweet treat. Full story in the Mirror.

I’m sorry – I really wish I could tell you who is responsible for this brilliant piece of Photoshopping. But every now and then in my warm, sweet, glazed idyllic doughnut world, I stumble upon doughnut images that are just too stunning and I want to share them.

There is no doubt that one can have a transcendent experience — dare I say, a religious one? — in the consumption of a perfectly prepared fried dough offering. And to extend that religious experience to one of iconographic import seems the next logical step.

I love that Mary’s frosted, sprinkled doughnut is whole and emitting a radiant light of grace for all the world to share in, yet Baby Jesus’ glazed doughnut, while emitting a lesser glow of radiance, already has a bite taken out of it; his holy host is partially consumed. But there is more; a small sugared doughnut hole is being offered forth in Baby Jesus’ hand. For you, perhaps? I think under duress. Baby Jesus wants that doughnut hole for himself and it is the Virgin Mary who is guiding his hand — almost forcing it! — in a symbolic offering to the brethren.

“Here, little saviour,” chides Mother Mary. “Be a good little god-incarnate and share your bounty!” Or maybe I have it all wrong! Maybe a miracle has just occurred; he calmed a stormy sea, he raised Lazarus from the dead, he changed water into wine, and he changed a rock into a doughnut! Well, probably not. Because if it were true, we know darn well that he would not have bothered changing water into wine, but instead the water would have been changed into coffee or milk to go with the miraculous doughnut…

Hunt’s Quality Doughnuts

Originally uploaded by the nicole harvey

Compliments of the delightful Miss Nicole, I offer this little ditty today. Apparently there was some construction — or, I should say, deconstruction — in the Mission District of San Francisco which revealed this old sign. It is hard to date it, based on fonts. My artistic temperament implies something earlier than the 1950s. The thin lines of the fonts and the odd Chinese lanterns interjected between the painted doughnuts reek of the late 1920s or mid 1930s.

And the doughnuts are thin. By the 1950s, doughnuts were thicker. I know this from movies that I have watched. There seem to be a lot of Depression-era movies with doughnut scenes and in the 1930s, the doughnuts were thinner.

Regardless, I thank Nicole for sending this to me so that I could share it with you. I’m tickled pink!

Stella Young, the Salvation Army Doughnut Girl

The first Friday in June is a very important day. It is National Donut Day. Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts establishments all over the country are giving away free donuts (if you like that sort of mass-produced, overly-sugared sort of thing and with Dunkin, the donut is only free with a purchase). Here in the Bay Area, I would suggest the likes of Dynamo, Pepples, or Psycho Donuts. I have no idea if any of these establishments are doing anything special to mark the day

Those who are more concerned with their gratuitous hunk of calories probably don’t care WHY it is National Donut Day. But I do and I think it is a pretty cool story. Well, my friends, it all goes back to the Salvation Army and World War I. In April of 1917, when America joined the war, the Salvation Army was right there to support the troops. National Commander Evangeline Booth, working with Lt. Colonel William Barker, responded to a request from the troops to “bring over some Lassies” and Evangeline imported a total of eleven Army volunteers to Europe, including four single women. More Salvation Army volunteers followed and small hostels were established very near the American troops, often right at the front line. Many stories still exist where the women as well as men were in danger from gunfire and mustard gas.

Vintage postcard showing a Salvation Army Doughnut Girl

It was October of 1917 when Ensigns Helen Purviance and Margaret Sheldon were assigned to the First Division at Montiers-sur-Saulx. After more than a solid month of demoralizing, deluging rain, the girls wanted to do something to lift the spirits of the downtrodden soldiers. Supplies had run out and were difficult to buy locally. The only things they could purchase were flour, sugar, lard, baking powder, cinnamon, and canned milk. “What about pancakes?” the girls debated. “No good cold, or without syrup.” “Doughnuts?” Originally, the dough was all hand-made, patted flat and fried in a shallow pan, seven at a time. The story goes that on their first attempt, the two girls, working late into the night, drew the troops with the aroma of fried goodness and served 150 handmade wonders. The requests overwhelmed them and more than double the amount of doughnuts was requested by the second day, with soldiers reminded of the flavors of home, lining up in the pouring rain for a single morsel.

Ansauville c.1918

The soldiers cheered the doughnuts and soon referred to the Salvation Army lassies as “Doughnut Girls” even when they baked apple pies or other treats. The simple doughnut became an iconographic symbol of all the good that the Salvation Army was doing to ease the hardships of the frontline fighting men.  The American Expeditionary Force was nicknamed “The Doughboys” and from being viewed with an attitude of skepticism the Salvation Army soon became the most popular organisation among the troops in France.

The importance of the Doughnut Girls and what they did for our troops grew. War correspondents and the letters home from the soldiers told stories of many of the girls who, besides frying doughnuts, became field nurses who suffered the inflictions of the gas and were often killed alongside those boys they were there to assist.  While the organization is more known today for its Santa Claus-clad volunteers ringing handbells outside of department stores during the holidays, in so many ways we have the Salvation Army to thank for American’s obsession and love of doughnuts — and the fact that they memorialized all of this in 1938 by announcing that the first Friday of June would be National Doughnut Day (or, National Donut Day, depending on how you spell it).

And the best treat of all – I invite you to listen to one of the original songs compliments of the technological marvel of an MP3. Written by Arthur Fields, the song Don’t Forget the Salvation Army was recorded on an Edison Blue Amberol 3796 in 1919. The sheet music cover is obviously designed after the photograph above of miss Stella Young, one of the original Doughnut Girls, clad in her Salvation Army uniform complete with helmet, with a ray of patriotic colors behind her. Here’s to you, Salvation Army and to all the Doughnut Girls everywhere.

	Arthur Fields – Don’t forget the Salvation Army .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, hear them ring
Oh what joy and what oh what bliss those coins can bring
For now our boys are landing at our shores everyday
This is what you’re bound to hear them say,

“Don’t forget the Salvation Army
Always remember my doughnut girl!
She brought them doughnuts and coffee
Just like an angel she was their best pal
As brave as a lion, but meek as a lamb,
She carried on beside the sons of Uncle Sam
So don’t forget the Salvation Army,
Remember my doughnut girl!”

Glory Hallelujah you will hear them shout
Helping any stranger who is down and out
Humanity uplifting in their most cheerful way
Is it any wonder that we say,

chorus

No, we are not celebrating Christmas yet. This is yet another mostly-obscure media reference which I wanted to share from American actor, writer, and folk musician Burl Ives.

I grew up listening to Burl Ives sing The Big Rock Candy Mountain on one of my 38 rpm records. From my childhood, I knew he was the narrator voice of Sam the Snowman in the classic Christmas classic television show Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  And when I embraced classic movies, saw Oscar® winner-Ives in his larger-than-life portrayal of Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country, Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and as the implacable Dr. Hasselbacher in one of my absolute favorite movies, Our Man In Havana.

As the banjo-playing folk musician, he penned dozens of folksy, down-home tunes and I stumbled on a feel-good ditty which inspired one to look at the big picture through doughnut philosophy:

When you walk the streets you’ll have no cares
If you walk the lines and not the squares
As you go through life make this your goal
Watch the donut, not the hole.

It’s written on the rainbow, in letters made of gold
Written on the rainbow, there’s wisdom to behold
My friend the little sparrow flew
Close enough to see
Written on a rainbow is this philosophy.

I’m off to jolly England where
Bulldogs all wear pants
Off to Pago Pago where alligators dance
My friend the little sparrow will
Take me where he flies
Even to the rainbow to read with my own eyes