Alright, let’s start this out by admitting something. Prior to Fritters Day we had no idea that Fritters came in any other variety than Apple. A whole new world was opened up to us when we discovered that there were blueberry fritters, and banana fritters, pineapple fritters and even clam and shrimp fritters.
Wait… what?
Yep! Fritters is a term for any food item… any
History of Fritters Day
Fritters are popular all over the world, though obviously they’re not called fritters everywhere you go. In Asia there are several varieties, including the Burmese a-kyaw which is popularly made with a rich gourd filling, and are typically served with tea, or for breakfast. Because who doesn’t like deep fried gourds for breakfast? Admittedly, they also have it made from chickpea, onion, brown bean paste, just to name a few.
In Indonesia fritters are called gorengan, with one of the most popular being pisand goring, a banana based fritter. But don’t let that stop you from trying the breadfruit and sweet potato varieties. In Indonesia they think the perfect accompaniment to fritters is bird’s eye chili. Apparently they enjoy some soul searing spice with their fritters, but who are we to judge?
One type of fritter you may not have realized you’ve had is Tempura. That’s right, that delicious battered and fried dish from your favorite Japanese restaurant is also considered a fritter. Of course, if all one has to do is batter and fry something to make a fritter, does that make deep fried Twinkies a Twinkie Fritter? The mind boggles indeed.
How To Celebrate Fritters Day
Well first off, go out and have your favorite fritter! We love to start our day with a big batch of Apple Fritters (as you might have guessed from the opening paragraph), but now that we’ve learned how many different kinds of fritter there are, we just can’t stop mixing it up. You may also try to find out how many types of fritters you’ve been eating your whole life and never thought about it. The one that jumped out at us was the hand battered potato wedges we had when we were a kid, potato fritters for the win! Enjoy your favorite fritter on Fritters Day, and then share them with a friend!
From Foodimentary: Here are today’s five things to know about fritters:
Although very similar to a doughnut it differs in the fact that it requires some base ingredient beyond the dough it is cooked with.
The first historical record of the fritter dates back to 1665.
Samuel Pepys, an Englishman who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Restoration period, noted in his diary that he would be enjoying some fritters before Lent!
Fritters are extremely popular roadside snacks all over South Asia.
They are commonly referred to as “pakora.”
