Donuts are one of the iconic foods of the United States. The first Friday of June is National Donut Day, celebrating the love of donuts and honoring women volunteers with the Salvation Army. This 2022, the donut celebration is on Friday, June 3.
The volunteers served donuts to the soldiers during the First World War, they are credited with popularizing donuts after the troops commonly known as “doughboys” returned from fighting in Europe.
The presence of women and the delicious donuts they prepared they were a morale boost that the troops needed.
In 1938, the first National Donut Day was celebrated in Chicago and the story of the Salvation Army’s Donut Lassies was officially immortalized.
In 1917, they were sent to France to establish field bases near the front. In makeshift huts, thousands of soldiers would come to stock up on essential items and have a treat baked by Lassies.
These were four women members of the evangelical Christian charity. They provided activities such as church services, music on a jukebox, and treats like hot chocolate and fudge. Then two of the women came up with the idea of making donuts.
Initially, the donuts were fried inside from metal helmets of American soldiers.
“Margaret Sheldon and Helen Purviance collected excess rations for dough and guts and wine bottles for makeshift rolling pins. They filled a soldier’s helmet with butter to fry the braided donuts” shares Smithsonian Magazine, taking up a text from John T. Donuts: an American passion.
Then they managed to improve their creations by combining a can of condensed milk empty with a narrow tube to make a donut cutter.
Salvation Army shares its century-old donut recipe
Ingredients
1 large egg
2.5 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
2.5 teaspoons of baking powder
1/8 tablespoon of salt
7/8 cup of milk
1/2 pot of lard. Now you can use vegetable oil.
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients (except oil) to make a dough.
two. Knead the dough well, roll until smooth and cut into rings less than 1/4 inch thick.
3. Fry the rings in the hot oil. Rotate the donuts carefully several times.
4. Once golden, remove the donuts from the oil and drain the excess oil.
5. Dust the donuts with powdered sugar. Once they cool down, they are ready to be enjoyed.
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