Churro
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Chocolate with churros.jpg A churro is a sweet, fried-dough pastry-based snack, popular in Spain, Latin America, and the USA. It is sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut or Mexican doughnut. Porras are similar but with a round thicker cross section, so named due to the fact that they usually resemble the form of a club.
Some claim that the churro is named after the shape of the horns of the Churro breed of sheep which is reared in the Spanish grasslands. This may be true as it is possible that the churro was initially invented by the shepherds of this region.
The churro is typically fried to a crunchy consistency. Its surface is ridged due to being extruded from a churrera, a syringe with a star-shaped nozzle (round for porras). Churros are generally prisms in shape, but instead of being straight they may be curled or spirally twisted.
Its size and recipe, both of which vary considerably, may determine whether it is thought of as a kind of bread, cake, or cookie.
The traditional seasoning of churros is sugar. Churros are also often served sprinkled with cinnamon. Many churro connoisseurs swear by the combination of chocolate con churros, wherein the churro is dunked into a mug of piping hot chocolate, thick in the Spanish fashion.
Like pretzels, churros are often sold by street vendors who in many cases will fry them freshly on the street stand and sell them warm or hot.
In Spain, they are available in cafes for breakfast. Specialized churrerías can be found as street shops or as towable wagons in local fiestas. They often sell churros by the dozen or half-dozen.
In Andalusia, they are sold as spirals or "wheels" of deep-oil fried wheat flour dough, cut into manageable portions after the frying. These are called Calentitos or Calientes, as opposed to the potato dough version made in the rest of Spain, also sold in the region but under the name Calentitos de Papas.
Churrerías also serve porras, buñuelos, cortezas (crisp-fried pork skin) and fried potatoes.
Outside of Latino street stands and eating establishments, Churros are notable for their contributions to baseball on Chicago's South Side, in Comiskey Park. While Comiskey Park no longer exists, demand from fans of the White Sox for churros was such that there are churro vendors at US Cellular Field.
Churros contain a high proportion of fat due to being deep-fried.
The deep frying process produces a widely appreciated smell (hence their attraction to street vendors).
Filled straight churros are found in Brazil (with chocolate, caramel among others), and in Argentina, usually filled with dulce de leche, but also with chocolate and vanilla. In Spain they have a considerably wider diameter to allow for the filling.
A sweet Turkish 'fluted fritter', which seems to look similar to churros, is called Tulumba Tatlisi.ca:Xurro de:Churro es:Churro eo:Benjeto it:Churro hu:Churro fi:Churro