Walk into any pastry shop and you'll be greeted with a colorful array of mouthwatering, decadent donuts. If you're watching calories, the best thing to do is to turn around and walk back out the door. Sometimes, however, the donuts show up at meetings and may be the only item available for breakfast. If you eat them sparingly, donuts can be an occasional part of a healthy diet.
History
Donuts were first introduced to early Americans by the Dutch. They were originally called "oliekoecken," which means "oil cakes" -- words that are indicative of the many calories that these treats contain. Donuts were popular enough by the mid-1800's that recipes for them were beginning to appear in cookbooks. The original donuts did not have holes, but were little "nuts of dough" that were fried. While there are several stories about how the donut got his hole, according to the Food Timeline, it is most probable that the Pennsylvania Dutch created the hole to make the donut easier to dunk in coffee.
Types
Most donuts are either cake donuts or glazed donuts. Cake donuts, as their name implies, have a cake-like texture as they are made using baking powder rather than yeast. You can purchase cake donuts in a variety of flavors, including cinnamon, plain, blueberry and chocolate. Some cake donuts have frosting, while others are sold plain or with an added glaze or sprinkling of sugar.
Yeast donuts are made from a dough that is leavened with yeast. Like cake donuts, they can be glazed or frosted, and are often decorated with sprinkles. Glazed donuts without holes usually contain a cream or jelly filling. Boston cream donuts are an example of a popular filled donut.
Ingredients
Yeast donuts typically include a mixture of flour, milk, egg yolks, shortening and yeast -- not exactly the ingredients for a low-calorie snack. Some bakers add a bit of cocoa to the dough to make chocolate yeast donuts.The dough is allowed to rise twice before the donuts are fried in hot oil.
Cake donuts contain flour, eggs,shortening, milk and baking powder. Cake donuts are also likely to include flavoring in the batter -- spices, chocolate, pumpkin and blueberry are not unusual. Like yeast donuts, they are also fried in oil. The type of oil used varies from bakery to bakery.
There are links to typical donut recipes in the Resources section.
Basic Nutrition
Donuts contain varying amounts of calories depending on the type and their size. A medium-sized yeast donut contains 242 calories, 27 g of carbohydrates and 14 g of fat. Add cream filling, and the calorie count jumps up to 307, according to the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. A jelly donut will set you back 289 calories.
A medium-sized cake donut contains 226 calories, and has 25 g of carbohydrate and 13 g of fat. Both yeast and cake donuts contain 3 g to 4 g of protein. Donuts do not contain significant amounts of any nutrients, although small amounts of calcium and other vitamins are present due to the milk and eggs used in the batter.
If a donut is frosted, it will add approximately 50 calories to the total. Nuts, coconut, sprinkles and other toppings can add even more.
Warning
Donuts are high in sugar and fat, and have little to recommend them nutritionally. Robert Lustig, MD, a UCSF pediatric neuroendocrinologist, cautions against consuming excess sugar and fat, referring to them as "poison in high doses." Both can elevate harmful fats in the bloodstream, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. It is also easy to eat more than one donut, or make a habit out of eating donuts every morning at work. Consume one glazed donut every day without cutting out any other calories, and you'll gain almost two pounds a month -- all the reason to reserve them for special occasions.
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