# Beignet is the name for fried choux paste. Period. Also crullers.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748>\
**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:** 1\
**Page:** 7

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [July 1, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748/121 "2014-07-01T16:56:52Z")

</div>

> [@Stoid](#):
>
> 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.

Yes, but all of those differences happen when someone makes something that isn’t the original but calls it by the same name.

> [@](#):
>
> 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?

I once made croissants from a recipe using regular laminated pastry dough (no yeast), and the recipe explained that it was a distinct type of croissant, but since I can’t seem to find any reference to it anywhere else I’ll concede that it isn’t common enough to matter.

> [@](#):
>
> 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?")

Unless you’re from Spain, where a tortilla is an egg and potato dish that has nothing to do with Mexican tortillas.

> [@](#):
>
> And as for the waffles, I wouldn’t consider baking soda vs. yeast meaningful, it doesn’t change the character of a waffle.

Like I mentioned above, the true Liege-style waffles you’re most likely to find in Belgium are very different from the ones we’re used to in the US. They have a totally different texture, since they’re made from a dough instead of a batter, and they’re often eaten at room temperature without toppings since they have pearls of caramelized sugar throughout. It’s at least as different from what you get at Waffle House as a New Orleans-style beignet is from a choux-based one.

(In my experience, “Belgian” applied to waffles on an American menu tells you absolutely nothing about them. Sometimes it just means they’re round.)

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beignet-is-the-name-for-fried-choux-paste-period-also-crullers/691748.md?page=6)