# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/81 "2014-06-28T16:11:50Z")
> [@](#): > > New Orleans Square was the first time that the Imagineers tried to create an accurate portrayal of a real place instead of a romanticized impression. The area is a carefully designed, fully immersive, urban environment. The staging of the design elements is meant to slow you down and allow you to soak up the atmosphere. The high level of detail is necessary because this space reflects the qualities of a place that really exists and would be accessible to many of Disneyland’s visitors. The challenge for the Imagineers was to create an “enhanced reality” that is “better than real.” I’ve been to Disneyland’s New Orleans Square countless times. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to New Orleans. Aside from the architecture, there is very little resemblance to the actual New Orleans – and New Orleanians complain that their city is becoming ‘Disney-fied’. Disneyland offers ‘Cajun’ and ‘Creole’ food, or so they say. It kind of looks the same, and it kind of has the same flavours, but it’s like having fish’n’chips out of the freezer section of the supermarket instead of having some at Ye Olde King’s Head. I wouldn’t use them for a cite on food authenticity. If Disneyland were authentic, they’d serve in New Orleans Square the style of beignets served in New Orleans. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/82 "2014-06-28T19:19:08Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Surely what you’re talking about was labeled a French cruller? In these parts ordering a cruller and ordering a French Cruller would get you two very different baked goods. And see, there’s a good solution. Specify you want a French beignet, and you’re likelier to get what you want (assuming you both have terribly strong feelings on the subject and can’t be arsed to explain what you want). For me, “cruller” has always meant a twisted ring doughnut, yeasted or cake; the identifying feature of a cruller has been the twist. I didn’t encounter the stick version of a cruller until I was an adult. I was confused, but rather than throwing a fit about finding a new food that used a name I was accustomed to applying to a different food, I was pleased at learning something new. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/83 "2014-06-28T19:25:23Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That’s my reference for authenticity: Disney. It’s how I learned about pirates. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/84 "2014-06-28T20:08:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That’s my reference for authenticity: Disney. Authenticity:Disney::Respect for Privacy:NSA ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/85 "2014-06-28T20:09:09Z")
And what’s up with “biscuit”? When I order a mother-fucking biscuit, I want to be able to pour mother-fucking gravy over it!! ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/86 "2014-06-28T22:51:15Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Precision and specificity enhance communication, how is it worthwhile for a single word to represent both black and white? > [@Penfeather](#): > > It’s not a fast rule I’d cleave to. I don’t know if I would sanction that. ---
**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 28, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/87 "2014-06-28T23:56:14Z")
Or Boston Cream Pie? It’s not a pie, it’s a cake! WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/88 "2014-06-29T02:51:10Z")
There are so many variations on what a food is called/how it’s made, that I just can’t get worked up about it (even though I’m very fond of precise language.) As has already been observed upthread, a biscuit in London is very different from a biscuit in Savannah. If I order tea in London, it will likely be hot, but in Savannah, I’ll expect ice and the question “sweet or unsweet?” unless I specify a cup of hot tea. If I order chips in both places, I’ll get rather different products. To me, it’s a matter of preference, just like “cake” or yeast-raised doughnuts: both are fine, if you ask me! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/89 "2014-06-29T07:20:12Z")
The only thing I’ve gotten out of reading this entire thread is the next time I make Choix paste I’m deep fat frying it. I’m calling it nun’s farts because I can. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/90 "2014-06-29T18:04:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve been to Disneyland’s New Orleans Square countless times. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to New Orleans. Aside from the architecture, there is very little resemblance to the actual New Orleans – and New Orleanians complain that their city is becoming ‘Disney-fied’. Disneyland offers ‘Cajun’ and ‘Creole’ food, or so they say. It kind of looks the same, and it kind of has the same flavours, but it’s like having fish’n’chips out of the freezer section of the supermarket instead of having some at Ye Olde King’s Head. I wouldn’t use them for a cite on food authenticity. If Disneyland were authentic, they’d serve in New Orleans Square the style of beignets served in New Orleans. And they do. A quick web search, as well as speaking to friends who have been to Disneyland in the last ten years, confirms they are serving the Cafe Du Monde type of yeast beignets and have been for some time, ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/91 "2014-06-29T18:49:38Z")
Other food words that refer to at least two fairly distinctive products: biscuit (as many have mentioned), croissant, tortilla, chorizo, doughnut. Just off the top of my head. Also, you have to give some latitude to New Orleans. I’m fiercely protective of the word “barbecue”, and I cringe every time I hear someone use it to describe a grill, the act of grilling, an outdoor party at which there is grilling (aka a cookout), or, God forbid, pulled pork cooked in a Crock-Pot. But the Barbecue Shrimp you get in New Orleans doesn’t bother me at all, even though it has nothing to do with meat cooked for a long time with smoke. (It’s not even grilled.) Because, well, New Orleans. They pronounce things however the hell they want to and twist culinary ideas to their own beautiful purposes all the time. It makes them what they are. (Also, because it’s really delicious.) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/92 "2014-06-29T19:28:57Z")
Has waffles been mentioned yet? Belgium waffles and American waffles are different things. The former has yeast, the latter has baking soda. It is true that US restaurants distinguish the two. I’ve never ordered a plain waffle from off a menu expecting anything other than something chewy and flat. However. In my mind they aren’t “totally different things”. They are just _slightly_ different. I prefer American to Belgium waffles, but they are still close enough for me to just shrug my shoulders if I’m served the “wrong” one. Prime rib and hamburger, they aren’t IMHO. (For one thing, no way I’m eating a prime rib that’s as cheap as a hamburger. And if I do eat a hamburger that is as expensive as prime rib, a five-dollar milkshake better come with it.:)) I don’t think beignets are as well-known as waffles, though. People tend to fall solidly on either side of the waffle line because pretty much every breakfast place has waffles. We grow up eating the two different kind of waffles on a regular basis. Meanwhile, I can’t find a place near me that sells beignets. A Creole place near my office used to sell them on Wednesday mornings. It shut down a couple of years ago, though. The fancy-pants French place down the street has them on their brunch menu. A basket of them. I love beignets, but I don’t want a $7 basket of them. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/93 "2014-06-29T19:35:48Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Has waffles been mentioned yet? Belgium waffles and American waffles are different things. The former has yeast, the latter has baking soda. The Liege waffle (as I understand it, the style you find most often in Belgium) is a completely different animal, in that it’s more like a cookie dough than a batter and it’s more suitable to picking up and eating on the go than piling up and pouring syrup over. (Taste of Belgium in Cincinnati makes excellent ones.) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/94 "2014-06-29T20:03:45Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > The Liege waffle (as I understand it, the style you find most often in Belgium) is a completely different animal, in that it’s more like a cookie dough than a batter and it’s more suitable to picking up and eating on the go than piling up and pouring syrup over. (Taste of Belgium in Cincinnati makes excellent ones.) When I went to Brussels, I had that kind of waffle. But I think when Belgium waffles are served in the US, they are more like [this](http://i0.wp.com/fifteenspatulas.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/belgianwaffle.jpg) than [that](https://foodtruckdream.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/centerstage-1.jpg). ---
**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 29, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/95 "2014-06-29T20:08:59Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Other food words that refer to at least two fairly distinctive products: biscuit (as many have mentioned), croissant, tortilla, chorizo, doughnut. Just off the top of my head. None of you examples are truly like the current situation with beignets. Biscuits mean biscuits in this country, at least on a menu. If we dissect differences in naming things between ourselves and other English speaking countries, we’ll find lots. In the case of doughnuts, no one asks for “a doughnut” without specifying the type, because doughnut does not represent any particular type, only the category. There are croissants with fillings, but I have never heard of a croissant that was not made from laminated yeast dough, generally shaped in a crescent. What are you referring to? Tortillas are understood to be either flour or corn and are specified one or the other as part of the name (which is what will have to happen with beignets, " yeast, or French?") And as for the waffles, I wouldn’t consider baking soda vs. yeast meaningful, it doesn’t change the character of a waffle. The two beignets are more like jello vs. pudding, and i think most people would agree that while they share some identifying features in that they are both soft, sweet desserts served chilled and eaten with a spoon, the details make a major difference in the character of each so that one may not be substituted for the other. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/96 "2014-06-29T20:21:55Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > None of you examples are truly like the current situation with beignets. Biscuits mean biscuits in this country, at least on a menu. Beaten biscuits? Baking powder biscuits? Buttermilk biscuits? Risen biscuits? What exactly do they mean on a menu in this country? > [@](#): > > In the case of doughnuts, no one asks for “a doughnut” without specifying the type, because doughnut does not represent any particular type, only the category. I have never in my life heard someone ask for a yeast doughnut or a baking powder doughnut. > [@](#): > > The two beignets are more like jello vs. pudding Step back and compare this to your OP, which said: > [@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. It looks to me like maybe you’re backing off of that position, which is good: you’re recognizing that there are indeed “two beignets.” If you just want a way to distinguish between them, that’s all good. It’s the insistence that one use of the word is somehow wrong that was ignorant and obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/97 "2014-06-29T20:36:37Z")
Fried chicken is another one. Sometimes a menu mentions that it’s “Southern style”. But that’s not the only [way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_chicken) to fry chicken. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/98 "2014-06-29T21:07:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Fried chicken is another one. Sometimes a menu mentions that it’s “Southern style”. But that’s not the only [way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_chicken) to fry chicken. Try ordering “regular coffee” in Rhode Island. You’ll get coffee + cream + sugar. Or a milk shake. If you order a milk shake, you’re likely to get flavored milk. If you want what most of the country calls a milk shake, you have to order a “cabinet”. In the rest of New England, it’s a “frappe”. And then there is the whole “tonic” thing in and around Boston. If someone asks you if you want a tonic, they’re just asking if you want a soda. ---
**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 29, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/99 "2014-06-29T21:17:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Fried chicken is another one. Sometimes a menu mentions that it’s “Southern style”. But that’s not the only [way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fried_chicken) to fry chicken. There’s lots of examples of different ways to prepare different dishes. I don’t think most people have a very specific expectation about what they’re going to get when they order fried chicken, because everyone knows that fried chicken is prepared differently by different cooks. Even “Southern fried chicken” means different things to different people, as the Wikipedia entry says: “Floured or battered” – those two techniques produce radically different results. (Amazing chicken: brine, dry, dust thoroughly but very lightly with flour, shaking or brushing off all excess, fry. Sometimes the simple is the best.) I don’t think any of the examples I’ve seen in this thread parallel beignets, which started out meaning one very specific, unmistakable thing, the choux pastry fried ( by its very nature not something which lends itself to wide recipe variation- choux paste is choux paste is choux paste.except, of course, to the nitwits promoting their yeast recipes and describing them as choux…:smack:) And now, because of the Cafe, it no longer is understood to mean one thing…or rather it actually is, to most individuals who have only experienced one or the other - the question is _which_ one? So, the precision and specificity of “beignet” has been corrupted, and now,it will require a few sentences to clarify, unless or until the differences are widely understood and summarized in one identifying modifier for each, (yeast vs French seems the simplest). One more word down the drain… ---
**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 29, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/100 "2014-06-29T22:04:05Z")
Where I come from, if someone asked for “pigs in a blanket”, they usually referring to stuffed cabbage roles, and not hot dogs in biscuit dough. So does that mean I shouldn’t consider the hot dog dish as true pigs in a blanket, or vice versa? :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748.md?page=6)