# Beignet is the name for fried choux paste. Period. Also crullers. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748 "2014-06-27T02:17:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/21 "2014-06-27T13:36:56Z")
[quote=“kiz, post:17, topic:691748”] Up here a cruller is plain cake donut batter shaped into a log as opposed to circle. It’s almost always rolled in either regular sugar or cinnamon sugar. It’s been years since I’ve ma [link](http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/5359/donut-dip) ETA: I have no idea why the link ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/22 "2014-06-27T13:44:25Z")
The above mess contains **kiz** ’s link, fixed. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/23 "2014-06-27T13:48:23Z")
TRUTH. And “Legos” isn’t a word! The plural is “Lego brand building bricks.” When will you people stop pissing in the pool! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/24 "2014-06-27T14:10:57Z")
It’s ‘LEGO® bricks’. Their concern is generification, not lack of redundancy. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/25 "2014-06-27T16:01:08Z")
If you use yeast to make your LEGO bricks it’s not a real LEGO it’s a KRE-O. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/26 "2014-06-27T16:04:21Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > If you use yeast to make your LEGO bricks it’s not a real LEGO it’s a KRE-O. > > Ignorance fought. And if you fry them you’ll make a mess. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/27 "2014-06-27T16:09:37Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Up here a cruller is plain cake donut batter shaped into a log as opposed to circle. It’s almost always rolled in either regular sugar or cinnamon sugar. It’s been years since I’ve made them at work. I know the type of cruller everyone else is talking about. We used to call those “French donuts”. They weren’t very popular. Before they took out the trans fats, Lou’s crullers were the best food ever. They’re still pretty darn good. [http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g46114-d422332-i49626855-Lou\_s\_Restaurant\_and\_Bakery-Hanover\_New\_Hampshire.html](http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g46114-d422332-i49626855-Lou_s_Restaurant_and_Bakery-Hanover_New_Hampshire.html) And they make French toast out of them: [http://www.yelp.com/biz\_photos/lous-restaurant-hanover?select=ir7siAqBUNB7dHYJ0xaX9g#ir7siAqBUNB7dHYJ0xaX9g](http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lous-restaurant-hanover?select=ir7siAqBUNB7dHYJ0xaX9g#ir7siAqBUNB7dHYJ0xaX9g) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/28 "2014-06-27T16:33:24Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Also, unless your donut shop is weird, crullers. The pretty little swirly-lookin circles… I had never had one until just a few years ago. I bit into it, recognized the (genuinely iconic) eggy, tender interior and thought holy moly they’re makin’ beignets and calling them crullers! I double checked by looking up cruller recipes and sure enough… > > They really are incredibly simple, yet marvelously delicate and delicious: > > Boil 1 cup water with 1 stick butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 or 2 teaspoons sugar. > At a rolling boil, add 1 cup flour all at once, stir madly to combine, back on heat for a coiple of minutes to reduce moisture, always stirring. > > Ideally in a mixer, add four eggs, ONE AT A TIME, until each in well incorporated. > > You now should have more batter than a dough, much too loose and sticky to handle. You can drop by small spoonfuls or pipe ( a la crullers, which are piped into shape, then briefly frozen to allow them to be handled)… Just keep in mind that you don’t want them too big or they will end up uncooked or too dense. And depending on your preference, piping narrowly directly into the hot fat will cook them through, no custardy interior. Which has its own charm, of course, (think ultra light funnel cake) but the eggy center is what really sets beignets apart from any other fried bread thing I am familiar with. > > The batter isn’t sweet, obviously, so you sprinkle powdered sugar, maybe use glaze…experiment. So if I pipe them into some bigger shape (not too thick, I presume, so they will at least get hot in the middle) onto a cookie sheet or something, and then briefly freeze them, I can drop them into the hot fat by hand? Do they have to be deep-fried, or can you cook in say an inch of fat and then flip them? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/29 "2014-06-27T16:49:19Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > If your “beignet” involves chemical leaveners, flour that has not been cooked onto roux with butter and water, or fewer than 4 eggs to a cup of flour…not beignet. > > Ditto crullers. > > Ignorance fought. The “No true Doughnut” Fallacy?😛 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/30 "2014-06-27T17:46:20Z")
[History of the beignet](http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/BeignetsHistory.htm): > [@](#): > > Beignets, a New Orleans specialty, are fried, raised pieces of yeast dough, usually about 2 inches in diameter or 2 inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. (I’m partial to [paczki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paczki), myself. With whipped chocolate cream and glaze.) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/31 "2014-06-27T18:52:40Z")
It’s just two things, from related traditions if not a common one, that happen to have the same name. No need for one to claim true legitimacy over the other. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/32 "2014-06-27T19:14:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is a weird blend of linguistic ignorance and gourmet pretensions. No, language doesn’t get corrupted. If I order a beignet, and the waiter brings me what I intended to be brought, what’s brought to me is a motherfucking beignet, I don’t care if you’d call it a stir-fried umbrella. Language only cares about what the speaker and audience mutually understand the words to mean. The idea of corrupt language is reactionary foolishness of the highest order. And what if the waiter brings something completely unlike what I intended to be brought? Speaker and audience do not have a mutual understanding. The word has been rendered useless. Precision and specificity enhance communication, how is it worthwhile for a single word to represent both black and white? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/33 "2014-06-27T19:21:26Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > So if I pipe them into some bigger shape (not too thick, I presume, so they will at least get hot in the middle) onto a cookie sheet or something, and then briefly freeze them, I can drop them into the hot fat by hand? Do they have to be deep-fried, or can you cook in say an inch of fat and then flip them? I have not made crullers myself, only beignets, but take your [pick for more info](https://www.google.com/search?q=cruller+recipe&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#hl=en&q=french+cruller+recipe&tbm=vid) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/34 "2014-06-27T19:34:23Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And what if the waiter brings something completely unlike what I intended to be brought? Speaker and audience do not have a mutual understanding. The word has been rendered useless. > > Precision and specificity enhance communication, how is it worthwhile for a single word to represent both black and white? How often have you been to a restaurant that lists two types of beignets on the menu, with no way to differentiate between the two? Never. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/35 "2014-06-27T19:56:12Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > How often have you been to a restaurant that lists two types of beignets on the menu, with no way to differentiate between the two? > > Never. I don’t follow your thinking. The situation I am thinking of, the one I have actually experienced, is ordering a beignet expecting a tender, eggy cabbagehead and being served a chewy brick. If it is necessary to add additional words to be certain of mutual understanding (“i would like a beignet, please…assuming that you serve the hollow, tender spherical kind, not the chewy squares similar to bread.”) then the word itself, which once meant something very specific, has been rendered useless. Destroying a word’s usefulness to convey a specific meaning is corruption. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/36 "2014-06-27T20:00:25Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > It’s just two things, from related traditions if not a common one, that happen to have the same name. No need for one to claim true legitimacy over the other. I think that the instant something lists “natural and artificial flavoring” as an ingredient, legitimacy goes out the window. It may be delicious, but so is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/37 "2014-06-27T20:15:15Z")
Every single cite I’ve found says that beignets are what the ones like they have at Cafe Du Mondes, **Stoid** , so I don’t know where the fuck you’re getting your ideas. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/38 "2014-06-27T20:20:52Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Every single cite I’ve found says that beignets are what the ones like they have at Cafe Du Mondes, **Stoid** , so I don’t know where the fuck you’re getting your ideas. Just more proof of the corruption of the word! You uncultured philistines are ruining everything! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/39 "2014-06-27T20:21:02Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Every single cite I’ve found says that beignets are what the ones like they have at Cafe Du Mondes, **Stoid** , so I don’t know where the fuck you’re getting your ideas. Let the citing begin… (In a few, gotta go to the poot) ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/40 "2014-06-27T20:23:36Z")
There are two kinds of beignets, Southern-style and French-style. It’s not that difficult, people. > **[French Beignets {and October Cookbook of the Month Review}](https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/french-beignets/)** > > Pin It Up until I made these, I had never had a beignet before.  It’s not because I haven’t wanted to try them, I just haven’t had the opportunity.  And seeing that this cookbook is a fusion of Southern and French recipes, you have to have... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748.md?page=3)