It's a small world. But you don't need a gaggle of animatronic men-children who only communicate in sing-song to tell you that -- all you have to do is look at the world's breakfast pastries. Imagine: in nearly all of the Earth's proverbial corners, humans came to the conclusion that fried dough is not only a worthwhile addition to daily life, but an essential building block to civilization as we know it.
In honor of National Donut Day -- you're eating a free donut right now, right?! -- we decided to go global with a look at the greatest donuts around the world. Maybe it's time for International Donut Day.
Austria: Faschingskrapfen
Slightly different from the German-centric Berliner (more on that, later), the easily pronounceable Faschingskrapfen is a non-holed, spherical fried ball of dough that differentiates itself from the similar pastries with a jam or custard filling in lieu of the more traditional jelly piping. It's commonly served during the festival of St. Joseph's Day, and translates directly to "little carnival cakes," which sounds both quaint and delicious... like a hot dog wearing overalls.
Argentina: Bolas de fraile con dulce leche
Another rendition of the classic German Berliner -- when ze Germans brought the pastry over to South America, the Argentinians did what they do best (besides finishing second in soccer) and put their own spin on the donut by piping that fried ball of dough with dulce de leche. Don't cry for me, Argentina -- your donuts are filled with dulce de leche. You shouldn't cry at all. Ever.
Belgium/Netherlands: Oliebol/Smoutebollen
Out of all the donut variations on this list, this Belgian/Dutch delicacy may have the funniest translations. Oliebollen (Dutch) = oil spheres, while Smoutenbollen (Belgian) = lard balls. At any rate, these oil spheres/lard balls are fried dumplings, often packing currants, raisins, or candied fruit. Your grandma would love them. And you probably would, too.
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