{{Short description|Round jelly-filled doughnut served at Hanukkah}} {{Italics title}} {{Infobox food | name = ''Sufganiyah'' | image = Classic Hanukkah sufganiyot.JPG | image_size = | caption = Classic Hanukkah {{lang|he-Latn|sufganiyot}} | alternate_name = Sufganiot | country = Europe, Mediterranean basin | region = | creator = | course = | type = Jelly doughnut | served = | main_ingredient = Dough, jelly filling, powdered sugar | minor_ingredient = | variations = }}
'''{{lang|he-Latn|Sufganiyah}}''' ({{langx|he|סופגנייה}} or {{lang|he|סופגניה}}, {{IPA|he|ˌsufɡaniˈja|lang}}; {{plural form}}: '''{{lang|he-Latn|sufganiyot}}''', Hebrew: {{lang|he|סופגניות}}, {{IPA|he|ˌsufɡaniˈjot|lang}}, or in Yiddish {{Transliteration|yi|pontshke}} {{Lang|yi|פּאָנטשקע}}) is a round, jelly doughnut–like pastry, eaten around the world during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried, injected with jam or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. The doughnut recipe originated in Europe in the 16th century, and by the 19th century was known as a Berliner in Germany and a Religieuse in France. Polish Jews, who called them ''ponchki'', fried the doughnuts in schmaltz rather than lard due to kashrut laws. The ''ponchik'' was brought to Israel by Polish Jewish immigrants, where it was renamed the {{lang|he-Latn|sufganiyah}} based on the Talmud's description of a "spongy dough".
==Background== [[File:Sufganiot.jpg|thumb|right|Various sufganiyot for sale at a bakery in Tel Aviv]] On Hanukkah, Jews observe the custom of eating fried foods in commemoration of the miracle associated with the Temple oil.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/3872163/jewish/Why-Eat-Latkes-and-Sufganiyot-Doughnuts-on-Chanukah.htm|title=Why Eat Latkes and Sufganiyot (Doughnuts) on Chanukah?|first=Yehudah|last=Shurpin|year=2018|access-date=November 27, 2018|work=Chabad.org}}</ref> The tradition of eating deep-fried pastries on Hanukkah was considered ancient even in the time of the 12th-century rabbi Maimonides, whose father, Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, wrote that "one must not make light of the custom of eating ''sofganim'' [fritters] on Chanukah<!---So that the quote stays the same--->. It is a custom of the ''Kadmonim'' [the ancient ones]". These ''sofganim'' were likely syrup-soaked fried cakes, akin to modern ''zalabiya'' in the Arab world.<ref name="Hole" />
==Etymology== The Hebrew word ''sufganiyah'' is a neologism for pastry, based on the Talmudic words ''sofgan'' and ''sfogga'', which refer to a "spongy dough".<ref name="ox">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R1bCBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA326|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |editor-first=Darra|editor-last=Goldstein|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-931361-7|page=326}}</ref> The word is built on the same root as the Modern Hebrew word for sponge ({{lang|he|ספוג}}, ''sfog''), which is derived from {{Langx|grc-x-koine|σπόγγος|spóngos}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The New Even Shoshan Dictionary |volume=II |page=932}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://forward.com/culture/14883/a-baker-s-dozen-thirteen-ways-of-looking-at-a-d-03110/|author=Philologos|date=January 8, 2009|website=The Forward|accessdate=November 30, 2021|title=A Baker's Dozen: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Doughnut}}</ref> Sfenj, a Maghrebi doughnut, comes from the same root.<ref name="time">{{cite magazine |last1=Rude |first1=Emelyn |title=Why Jelly Doughnuts Are Eaten During Hanukkah |url=https://time.com/4138749/sufganiyot-jelly-doughnut-hanukkah-history/ |access-date=28 November 2018 |magazine=Time |date=9 December 2015 |language=en}}</ref>
A popular Israeli folktale holds that the word "''sufganiyah''" comes from the Hebrew expression "''Sof Gan Yud-Heh''" ("{{lang|he|סוף גן יה}}"), meaning "the end of the Garden of the Lord" (referring to the Garden of Eden). According to the legend, when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden by the Lord, He cheered them up by feeding them ''sufganiyot''. No known commentator on the Tanakh supports this interpretation.<ref name="time" /><ref name="Hole" />
==History== [[File:Chocolate-vanilla cream sufganiyot.jpg|right|thumb|''Sufganiyot'' piped with chocolate and vanilla cream in Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem]]
According to Israeli Author Carol Green Ungar, written references to the consumption of "sofganim" in Spain exist dating back to the 12th century, attributed to Rabbi Maimon ben Yosef, Father of Maimonides, who himself alleges that the tradition predates himself. Food historian Emelyn Rude also describes "sfani", possible precursors to modern Sufganiyot, fried dough balls eaten by Jewish traders during Chanukah, brought to Europe from North Africa.[https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/the-not-so-secret-jewish-history-of-the-jelly-doughnut/]
According to food historian Gil Marks, the recipe for a filled jelly doughnut was first published in a 1485 cookbook in Nuremberg. The "Gefüllte Krapfen" consisted of "a bit of jam sandwiched between two rounds of yeast bread dough and deep-fried in lard". This doughnut became popular in northern European countries from Denmark to Russia during the 16th century. In 19th-century Germany it began to be called a Berliner or a Bismarck, after German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.<ref name="gil"/>
Among Polish Jews, the jelly doughnut was fried in oil or schmaltz rather than lard, due to kashrut laws. In Poland, these doughnuts were known as ''ponchkis''. Polish Jewish immigrants to Mandatory Palestine brought along their recipe as well as the tradition of eating them on Hanukkah. In Israel, however, they took on a new name—''sufganiyot''—based on the Talmud's description of a "spongy dough" (see the Etymology section).<ref name="gil"/>
==Description== The ''ponchik''-style ''sufganiyah'' was originally made from two circles of dough surrounding a jelly filling, stuck together and fried in one piece.<ref name="Roden">{{cite book |title=The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York |last=Roden |first=Claudia |year=1996 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York}}</ref> Although this method is still practiced, an easier technique commonly used today is to deep-fry whole balls of dough, and then inject them with a filling through a baker's syringe (or a special industrial machine).<ref name="Hole" />
Modern-day ''sufganiyot'' in Israel are made from sweet yeast dough, filled with plain red jelly (usually strawberry,<ref name="Kessler">{{cite magazine |last=Kessler |first=Dana |date=December 20, 2016 |title=Savory Sufganiyot Offer a Different Taste of Hanukkah |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/219524/savory-sufganiyot |magazine=Tablet |access-date=June 2, 2018 }}</ref> sometimes raspberry), and topped with powdered sugar. Fancier versions are stuffed with dulce de leche, chocolate cream, vanilla cream, cappuccino,<ref name="dough" /> halva, creme espresso, chocolate truffle,<ref name="gil" /> or ''araq'', and topped with various extravagant toppings, from coconut shavings and tiny vials of liquor to meringue and fruit pastes.<ref name="rotem">{{cite news |last=Maimon |first=Rotem |title=דירוג "הארץ": מצעד הסופגניות הטובות והגרועות של השנה |trans-title=Haaretz Rating: The best and worst sufganiyot of the year |work=Haaretz |access-date=27 December 2015 |date=1 December 2015 |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/food/holidays/hanukkah/.premium-1.2788812|language=he}}</ref> In 2014 one Jerusalem bakery produced ''sufganiyah'' dough saturated with flavored vodka.<ref name="best">{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-11-24/ty-article/.premium/8-best-sufganiyot-in-israel/0000017f-da80-d494-a17f-de83a9260000|title=Rolling in Dough: The 8 Best Hanukkah Sufganiyot in Israel|author=City Mouse Online|date=24 November 2013|access-date=27 December 2015|work=Haaretz}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:Deep-frying sufganiyot.jpg|A baker deep-fries ''sufganiyot'' at the Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem. File:Sufganiyot at Mahane Yehuda shuk.jpg|Powdered and iced sufganiyot for sale in Jerusalem before Hanukkah 2014 File:Sufganiyot-roladin.jpg|Sufganiyot from Roladin, an Israeli bakery chain </gallery>
===Mini sufganiyot=== In 2016, Israeli bakeries began downsizing ''sufganiyot'' to appeal to health-conscious consumers, following an anti-junk food campaign by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.<ref name="SufganiKing">{{cite news |last1=Kamisher |first1=Eliyahu |title=THE SUFGANIKING DETHRONED |url=https://www.jpost.com/Not-Just-News/The-Sufganiking-dethroned-476576 |access-date=2 June 2018 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=December 26, 2016}}</ref> The usual {{convert|100|g|adj=on}} size, packing 400 to 600 calories (1,700 to 2,500 kJ),<ref name="dough">{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=162844 |title=Love Me Dough |author1=Minsberg, Tali |author2=Lidman, Melanie |date=2009-12-10 |access-date=2009-12-17 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> now appears in {{convert|50|g|adj=on}} size with different fillings and toppings, earning the name "mini".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3335737,00.html |title=Hanukkah: Doughnuts go healthy |last=Yefet |first=Orna |date=2006-12-04 |access-date=2010-04-06 |newspaper=Ynetnews}}</ref>
==Popularity==
===In Israel=== Until the 1920s, ''sufganiyot'' and latkes were of comparable popularity among Jews in Mandatory Palestine during the Hanukkah holiday. The Histadrut, Israel's national labor union, formed in 1920, pushed to replace the homemade latke with the ''sufganiyah'' as Israel's quintessential Hanukkah food to provide more work for its members. Commercial bakeries began selling ''sufganiyot'' days and weeks before Hanukkah began, lengthening the employment period. Their effort was successful, and ''sufganiyot'' became the most popular food for Hanukkah in Israel.{{efn|Some sources report that something similar happened with ''sfenj'' and ''sufganiyot'', though this is less well-supported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaufman |first1=Jared |title=Never Underestimate the Doughnut Lobby |url=https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2018/sfenj-in-morocco/ |website=Roads & Kingdoms |access-date=28 November 2018 |date=21 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Solomonov |first1=Michael |title=Why Sfenj Couldn't Be the Official Dessert of Hanukkah |url=https://food52.com/blog/18520-why-sfenj-couldn-t-be-the-official-dessert-of-hanukkah |website=Food52 |access-date=28 November 2018 |language=en-us |date=1 December 2016}}</ref>}}<ref name="ox" /><ref name="time" /><ref name="Hole" /><ref name="gil">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&pg=PT1727|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food|first=Gil|last=Marks|author-link=Gil Marks|year=2010|publisher=HMH|isbn=978-0-544-18631-6|pages=1725–1727}}</ref> By the 21st century, more Israeli Jews report eating ''sufganiyot'' on Hanukkah than fasting on Yom Kippur.<ref name="Hole">{{Cite magazine |last=Ungar |first=Carol Green|date=Winter 2012 |title=The 'Hole' Truth About Sufganiyot |url=https://jewishaction.com/religion/shabbat-holidays/chanukah/the-hole-truth-about-sufganiyot/ |magazine=Jewish Action |publisher=Orthodox Union |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nachshoni |first1=Kobi |title=Poll: 73% of Israelis fast on Yom Kippur |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4428978,00.html |access-date=31 May 2018 |work=Ynetnews |date=September 13, 2013}}</ref>
Today ''sufganiyot'' are sold by Israeli bakeries as early as September.<ref name=ynet>{{cite news |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5414305,00.html|title=To eat or not to eat? Here are the best sufganiyot for Hanukkah|author=Yedioth Ahronoth|newspaper=Ynetnews |author-link=Yedioth Ahronoth|date=November 30, 2018|access-date=December 24, 2019}}</ref> Angel Bakeries, the largest bakery in Israel, reportedly fries up more than 25,000 ''sufganiyot'' every day during the eight-day Hanukkah festival itself. Each batch uses {{cvt|100|kg}} of dough and makes 1,600 ''sufganiyot''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.food-lists.com/lists/archives/clipping-cooking/2003/12/1071940462.php |title=Sufganiyot |last=Mietkiewicz |first=Mark |date=2003-12-20 |access-date=2010-04-06 |publisher=Food-Lists.com |archive-date=2010-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117183328/http://www.food-lists.com/lists/archives/clipping-cooking/2003/12/1071940462.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Local newspapers add to the excitement by rating the "best ''sufganiyah'' in town".<ref name=ynet/><ref name="rotem" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jerusalemfoundation.org/news-updates/2016/sufganiyot-with-the-jerusalem-foundation.aspx|title=Sufganiyot with the Jerusalem Foundation|year=2016|access-date=November 27, 2018|publisher=Jerusalem Foundation|archive-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128040429/http://www.jerusalemfoundation.org/news-updates/2016/sufganiyot-with-the-jerusalem-foundation.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Ministry of Defense buys upwards of 400,000 ''sufganiyot'' for its soldiers each Hanukkah.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Happy-Hanukkah-IDF-572746|title=Doughnut Delights: Happy Hanukkah IDF!|first=Anna|last=Ahronheim|date=November 25, 2018|access-date=November 27, 2018|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref><ref name="ham">{{cite web |url=https://hamodia.com/2015/12/06/sufganiyot-and-more-for-idf-soldiers/|title=Sufganiyot and More for IDF Soldiers|first=Reuven|last=Heikishman|date=December 6, 2015|access-date=November 27, 2018|work=Hamodia}}</ref> As the troops overwhelmingly prefer jelly-filled doughnuts, the Defense Ministry purchases 80% with jelly filling and 20% with chocolate filling.<ref name="ham" />
<gallery widths="200px" heights="155px"> File:PikiWiki Israel 46141 Sarona Market.JPG|''Sufganiyot'' for sale at a stall in the Sarona Market File:Safed Jewish Boy.jpg|A haredi boy eats a ''sufganiyah'' in the old city of Safed. File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - 2011 Hanukkah Celebrations.jpg|Israeli soldiers enjoying ''sufganiyot'' as part of their Hanukkah festivities </gallery>
===In other Jewish communities=== thumb|right|''Sufganiyot'' are a symbol of Hanukkah worldwide. Sufganiyot are a relatively recent introduction to the United States, where latkes are the traditional Hanukkah food.<ref name=cohen/> According to Gil Marks, latke was still the dominant choice in American Jewish homes in 2012.<ref name=cohen/> Rabbi Levi Shemtov in 2019 said, "Latkes used to dominate in the U.S., while doughnuts dominated in Israel. Now, I think both are equally popular in the U.S."<ref name=wash/>
The ''sufganiyah'' was introduced by American Jews who had visited or studied in Israel, and by Israeli Jews who had settled in the U.S. While ''sufganiyot'' were not commercially available in the United States before the 1970s, today bakeries in many Jewish communities sell ''sufganiyot'', as do non-kosher bakeries.<ref name=cohen/><ref name=wash>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/people-wait-all-year-at-a-jewish-bakery-desperate-demand-for-hanukkah-doughnuts/2019/12/22/002fcc4e-2207-11ea-a153-dce4b94e4249_story.html|title='People wait all year': At a Jewish bakery, desperate demand for Hanukkah doughnuts|first=Rebecca|last=Tan|date=December 23, 2019|access-date=December 24, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The doughnut chains Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme purvey ''sufganiyot'' in their kosher-certified outlets.<ref name=cohen>{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2012-12-03/ty-article/.premium/america-discovers-the-sufganiyah/0000017f-dec2-db5a-a57f-deeae6f20000|title=America Discovers the Sufganiyah|first=Debra Nussbaum|last=Cohen|date=December 3, 2019|work=Haaretz|access-date=December 24, 2019}}</ref><ref name=wash/>
''Sufganiyot'' are also sold in kosher shops in Europe. Smaller Jewish communities in Russia and Ukraine organize special "community bakes" to prepare ''sufganiyot'' for school and kindergarten parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-hanukkah-sufganiyot-became-a-national-treat-in-the-netherlands/|title=How Hanukkah sufganiyot became a national treat in the Netherlands|first=Cnaan|last=Liphshiz|date=December 18, 2016|access-date=December 24, 2019|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref>
==Savory varieties== Savory ''sufganiyot'' also exist. In 2018, ''The Jerusalem Post'' reported on a new trend of savory ''sufganiyot'' in Manhattan eateries, in which the dough is filled with chicken schnitzel, lamb bacon, liver, or pastrami.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Savory-sufganiyot-take-New-York-by-storm-573872|title=Savory sufganiyot take New York by storm|first=Amy|last=Spiro|date=December 9, 2018|access-date=December 24, 2019|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> Other savory varieties include: *''Panzerotti'' in Italy, filled with mozzarella and tomato sauce.<ref name="Kessler" /> * ''Lachmazikas'' in Spain, filled with everything from lamb and mushrooms to whitefish, ricotta, peppers, and herbs.<ref name="Kessler" /> * ''Sambusa''-inspired savory ''sufganiyot'', filled with lentils and peas, are popular among Iraqi Jews in Israel.<ref name="Kessler" />
==Gallery== <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:Mini sufganiyot.jpg|Elegantly styled "mini" ''sufganiyot'' File:Sufganiyah-Roland.jpg|Fancy sufganiyot File:Sufganiyot at Jerusalem Central Bus station.jpg|Sufganiyot from a bakery in Jerusalem </gallery>
==See also== * List of doughnut varieties * Israeli cuisine * Culture of Israel * Bimuelos – fritters served on Hanukkah by Sephardi Jews * Bombolone * Fritas de prasa * Sfenj * Zalabiyeh
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.jinsider.com/videos/vid/28-cooking/448-sufganyot.html Making non-traditional sufganiyot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170714/http://www.jinsider.com/videos/vid/28-cooking/448-sufganyot.html |date=2016-03-03 }}: a demonstration video with Phyllis Glazer * [http://melaketet.com/מאפיםמתוקים-סופגניות Sufganiyot – The Best] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102151257/http://melaketet.com/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%9D%D7%9E%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%92%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA |date=2020-11-02 }} {{in lang|he}} * [https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-11-24/ty-article/.premium/8-best-sufganiyot-in-israel/0000017f-da80-d494-a17f-de83a9260000 The best Hanukkah sufganiyot in Israel]
{{Hanukkah Footer}} {{Cuisine of Israel}} {{Jewish baked goods}} {{Doughnut}}
Category:Doughnuts Category:Hanukkah foods Category:Hanukkah traditions Category:Israeli desserts Category:Jewish baked goods Category:Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Category:Hebrew words and phrases Category:Christmas food