Photo: Sevenworlds16, Flickr
Perhaps thought of as an American tradition, the doughnut actually has Dutch roots. According to legend, fried cakes were discovered in colonial times by accident, when a horse kicked over a pot of boiling oil, which spilled all over uncooked pastry dough to fortuitous results. Fried cakes became popular in the Northeast, taking the Dutch name "olykoeks" meaning "oily cakes."
Fast forward to the mid-1800s, when the New England shipping industry was thriving. The concerned mother of a ship captain made fried cakes for her son to take on his voyage, making use of his cargo and spicing the cakes with lemon rind, nutmeg and cinnamon to ward off illness at sea. She would push a large walnut or hazelnut in the center -- where the dough perhaps wouldn't cook through otherwise -- and the term "doughnut" was born.
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The term "It's what's inside that counts" definitely applies to Krispy Kreme's latest offering, but I'm not referring to a fruit filling or a 'kreme' center. Instead, this particular doughnut is made with 100% whole wheat flour. Weighing in at only 180 calories each, the
Donuts are not health food. Fried pieces of dough covered in sugar or chocolate and, sometimes, filled with jam, donuts are written off by millions everyday as an indulgence. But because they rely so heavily on frying, and as a direct result, on partially hydrogenated oils, donut makers have grown increasingly worried about their futures over the past few years, as trans fats have fallen far from the eye of public favor.
Ed Atwell, an experienced baker and donut maker, has just 



