What is the difference between a fritter and a Doughnut?

The thing that really separates donuts from fritters is the dough itself . Donuts, real quality donuts, are made from a yeast risen dough, similar to bread dough. Fritters are made from a chemically risen dough, usually baking powder. It's actually a quick bread batter, not a dough.

Why are my apple fritters not crispy?

Best tips for apple fritters: Use two spoons to drop the batter into the oil and spread gently. If you drop a scoop of batter into the oil, the outside will be crispy and the center will be raw . To make them really crispy, I prefer to fry them until they are dark brown not just golden brown.

What do Americans call fritters?

Definition. The 1854 edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster defines fritter as a transitive verb meaning " to cut meat into small pieces to be fried ". Another definition from 1861 is given as "a pancake cont. chopped fruit, poultry, fish; also a small piece of meat fried".

What makes a fritter a fritter?

fritter, any of various types of fried foods, generally consisting of small pieces of meat, vegetables, fruit, or dough. Plain fritters are deep-fried cakes of chou paste or a yeast dough. In another type, bits of meat, seafood, vegetables, or fruit are coated with batter and deep-fried.

Does baking soda make fritters crispy?

Is baking soda or powder best for frying? A pinch of baking soda can help produce crispy fried foods . It reacts with the acid in the batter to create carbon dioxide bubbles. These lead to an airy batter and a crisper, fluffier result.

What does baking soda do in fritters?

So we use both to get the best of both worlds; Baking soda (bi-carb) OR baking powder – just a touch, to aerate the batter every so slightly (without it, it's slightly denser); Parmesan – for a good hit of savoury flavour AND to make the fritters extra crispy! Green onion and coriander – for a hit of freshness.

What is used to coat fruit for fritters?

Batter is a simple mixture of flour and water is used to make crepes and pancakes. It is also used to coat fruit for fritters.

Why is an apple fritter not a donut?

An apple fritter isn't a doughnut. The dough is similar, but instead of treating it nicely, like you would with a doughnut, you hack the dough into tiny pieces before smushing them back together until they're fritter-sized .

Is an apple fritter considered a doughnut?

While Apple Fritters aren't your typical cake or yeasted donut, they are certainly donuts ! I use a yeasted donut dough, fill it with cooked and sweetened cinnamon apples, form it into fritters and give them a quick fry in my dutch oven on the stove. Finish it off with a quick powdered sugar-vanilla glaze and voila!

Why is it called a fritter?

History tells us that our English word is borrowed from Old French, “friture” which has its roots in the Latin word for “fry” . Typically made with made with a vegetable, like a corn fritter, fruit, like an apple fritter, and even meat, fritter batter can be sweet or spicy, as well as deep-fried, or pan-fried.

What is the difference between a bear claw donut and an apple fritter?

A bear claw is a folded circle of danish dough that is filled with almond paste and then slit multiple times so they open up in the oven resembling a claw. An apple fritter is a thick batter of diced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice with a chemical leavening that is dropped by the 1/2 cup into a deep fryer.

Peach Fritters Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Fry

by: Erin Jeanne McDowell

April27,2023

4 Ratings

Author Notes

If you’re a doughnut - or fried dough - lover, you’ve likely tasted the epic fruit-studded favorite that is the apple fritter. A fairly popular doughnut at shops, county fairs, and fall festivals, it combines fluffy, soft doughnut dough with pieces of spiced, lightly sweetened apples. As much as I love these fritters, I always wondered - where was the summer version? These peach fritters deliver exactly that - and I believe them to be truly, totally perfect. They are fun to shape, because they are made in a super rustic way - by cutting squares of biscuit dough and pressing them together with diced peaches. This may seem haphazard at first, but as the doughnut dough rises prior to frying, the dough will puff up, helping to encase the peaches you’ve trapped inside. While the doughnuts are fresh from the fryer, they get a drizzle, dip, or dunk of a simple glaze sweetened with honey. The flavor perfectly complements the natural flavor of the peaches - and is one of my favorite parts of the recipe…so don’t be tempted to skip it! This recipe works best with the best summer fruit - the good stuff, the juiciest stuff! Make a trip to your favorite farmstand, pick your own orchard, or farmer’s market, and snag the best peaches you can. You can use other stone fruit as well - nectarines and apricots both work beautifully. Come fall, you can keep this recipe, but swap those peaches out for apples and keep the fruity doughnut goodness carrying on as the temperatures drop. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Fritters
1 recipe Yeast Doughnuts (https://food52.com/recipes...)
3 large peaches, diced (about 450 g)I don’t peel them, but you can)
oil, as needed for frying

Honey-Cinnamon Icing
1 cup(113 g) powdered sugar
3 tablespoons(63 g) wildflower honey
¹/₂ teaspoon(1 g) cinnamon
3 tablespoons(45 g) heavy cream, plus more as needed

Directions

Roll out the prepared, risen doughnut dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1/2 inch/1 cm thick. The exact size or shape of the dough isn’t really important, because you’ll be cutting it into pieces—just focus on an even thickness for the dough.
Use a knife, pastry scraper, or bench knife to cut the dough into long vertical strips about 1/2 inch/12 mm wide. No need to be precise here—you’ll ultimately be smashing these pieces together to form the fritter.
Next, cut the strips horizontally about 1/2 inch/12 mm wide—this should make a whole bunch of 1/2 inch/12 mm squares. Again, no need to be super precise!
Divide the dough squares into 12 even portions on your work surface. To shape each doughnut, take about 2/3 of one portion of dough squares and smoosh them gently together. Place about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of diced peaches on top of the dough.
Top with the remaining 1/3 of the portion of dough squares and smoosh the dough gently to adhere to the peaches and other dough. It’s best for each piece of peach to be touching dough in two places (on top and on bottom), otherwise some may fall out when you go to fry them.
Cover the doughnuts with greased plastic wrap and let them rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
Pour 2-3 inches/5-8 cm of oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pot, and heat the oil over medium heat to around 350°F/175°C (or use an instant-read thermometer to carefully check the temperature). I generally deep-fry these around 340°F/170°C, but it’s best to heat the oil hotter than you need to start, as the temperature will drop once you add food to it. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet for draining the fritters.
Working in batches, gently drop the doughnuts into the oil, frying until they’re golden brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Sometimes I use a spider or slotted spoon to support the fritter for the first 15-30 seconds, until the dough sets.
Drain the doughnuts on several layers of absorbent paper towels. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon, and cream to combine. Add more cream as needed to make drizzly glaze.
Drizzle each doughnut into the glaze, and serve immediately.

Tags:

Fritter
Bread
American
Honey
Peach
Milk/Cream
Fruit
Fry
Summer
Breakfast
Dessert

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Rachel Green
See Also
Our Favorite Winter Squash Recipes, Featuring Acorn, Butternut, Delicata, and More
Behind the Plates
petalpusher

Recipe by: Erin Jeanne McDowell

erinjeannemcdowell.com

I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

Popular on Food52

3 Reviews

petalpusher August 21, 2017

If you have questions about what the best oil, lard or shortening to use to fry the tastiest donuts, go to the Saveur website. They have a well explained guide to frying donuts.

Rachel G. August 6, 2017

Ok, so I am honestly confused - you list the recipe for the yeast donuts, but I can't tell when I should stop following that and start following this one. Is it after I mix the dough? After it rises for an hour? Bread baking experience says 2 rises is normal, but these are donuts - does that change it? I don't know if you can edit the recipe, but if you can, please explicitly state each step, rather than just linking to another recipe.

Behind T. July 18, 2017

I am actually drooling at the mouth right now looking at this recipe. I Love donuts, peaches, and fritters...so these hit it out of the park! I will absolutely be making these this summer! Maybe after one of my favorite summer salads like zucchini ribbons with roasted tomato or summer corn with avocado (all on my site www.behindtheplates.com) !