RESEARCH PROJECT..........

I am so excited! a comment on the "its a wonder to me" post has had me do a little research.....
Julia said...
why do they call those donuts long johns? Alec was wondering what a john was- as in long john. If that doesn't make sense why do we call long underwear long johns? Do you know???????????Julia
November 18, 2008 8:57 AM
i have yet to find the true origin of why we call things "JOHN" weather it be long or not. consider all the things we refer to as "John"............
1. long john donuts
2. long john underwear
3. a man soliciting a woman for sex...JOHN
4. the washroom........."going to the john"
5. a dead unknown man......."JOHN"
6. remember a few years ago when the popular shirts had suggestive meanings about the penis...they were called "JOHNSON"

as far as i can tell, because anything i ask google or ask.com to find, comes up Long John Silver...a fictional character from the book "treasure island"........remade many times as a movie..and also a franchise seafood resturant, i think he is the inspiration. I have never read the book...(Oh God! do i try another classic?)......but perhaps the answer lies in there.

so in summary, my opinion is this: the long john is, of course long.........john because we apparently add that to anything we don't have a real name for.
i also found this other blog , and added it..........because if nothing else i find it amusing that other people have wondered the same thing!

Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 05:28
My boyfriend and I are debating whether or not a long john (bismark) is a doughnut.
I say it is. It is made from the same type of dough and cooked essentially the same way, it just happens to be served in an oblong shape and not a circular one.
He says a long john is not a doughout because of its oblong shape. He says it should have a seperate classification, the Long John. According to him a doughnut, by definition, is formed in the shape of a circle. He also argues that you order a bavarian cream doughnut or a chocolate doughnut but you would not order a long john doughnut. In other words the word "doughnut" often does not follow the words "long john". He also says that a long john is more of an eclair type pastry. However, at the local grocerie store if you bought a long john and a baverian cream doughnut they would both cost the same price. If you bought an eclair and a bavarian cream doughnut the eclair would cost a dollar some as opposed to 45 cents (the price of a DOUGHNUT).
I feel that his argument has no validity to it because, as we all know, the origanal doughnut was not circular but was formed to make a rope. Also, a doughnut is defined as 'deep-fried piece of dough or batter', it's shape and size are not specified. The fact that doughnuts are commonly circular does not mean the long john is not a doughnut.
Who's right?
Replies
By capsicum
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 05:42
Although I can see where you are coming from, I'd have to take your boyfriend's side simply because when someone mentions a 'doughnut' you (that is, 'I') automatically think of the round things because that is generally what it applies to.
Even the term 'doughnut' when applied to a geometric shape refers to a ring or toroid.
The shape IS specified in many definitions, and the ring is certainly the most common:
http://www.answers.com/topic/doughnuthttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/donuthttp://dict.die.net/doughnut/
That link does, however, say that doughnuts (the food) can be other shapes. Maybe you can agree to both be right? ;-)
Incidentally, if you were after doughnut clip art, for example, would you likely find pictures of rings or just bland square things? :-D
By K8, Sydney, Australia
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 09:37
What on earth are long johns? The only long johns I know about are thermal underwear!!! And I've never heard of Bavarian cream doughnuts either. American doughnuts have a hole in the middle and proper doughnuts don't have a hole and have jam in the middle!!!!
By Coleslaw
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 12:02
k8 me too. . long johns to me are thermal underwear..i suppose could be use to keep donuts warm..long,. round with or without hole , personal preference i guess.
By John S
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 19:52
From food T.V. encyclopedia, hope it settles your argument:BismarckDefinition: [BIHZ-mahrk] An elongated jelly-filled doughnut, also known as a Long John and Berlin doughnut. The bismarck can be baked or fried and sugar-coated or frosted. Doughnut - DonutDefinition: A small, typically ring-shaped pastry that is usually leavened with yeast or baking powder, and which can be baked but is generally fried. The traditional doughnut shape is formed by using a special doughnut cutter that cuts out the center hole in the dough. It can also be made with two biscuit cutters, large and small (for the hole). Fried doughnut holes are favorites with children. There are two main styles of doughnuts. Raised doughnuts are leavened with yeast and allowed to rise at least once before being fried. Besides the traditional ring-shape, raised doughnuts also come in squares and twists. Additionally, the dough is used to make oblong and round jelly-filled doughnuts--commonly called jelly doughnuts. Cake doughnuts receive their leavening power from baking powder and are chilled before frying to prevent the dough from absorbing too much oil in the process. The dough for cake doughnuts is often flavored with spices, orange or lemon zest or chocolate. Crullers are made from cake-doughnut dough. They're formed by twisting two (about 5-inch) strips of dough together before frying. Both types are usually either dusted with granulated sugar (cake doughnuts often with confectioners' sugar) or topped with a flavored glaze (such as chocolate or butterscotch). French doughnuts, though not as readily available as the other two types, are made with choux pastry (cream-puff pastry dough). They're very tender and light.
By Jameseybaby!!!
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?16 Sep 2006 20:34
No John, it does not settle it!!! just makes it worse!!!!!
x
By Jeannine Rosebud Hall UK
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?17 Sep 2006 01:12
Hi in the US I used to buy a mixed box of doughnuts with 24 in,, on the side of the box it said,4 iced round doughnut,s 4 cinnamon twist doughnuts,4 round jelly doughnuts, 4 round lemon glaze doughnuts,4 rectangle apple filled doughnuts and 4 longjohn doughnuts.I have recipes for longjohns in a dougnut section of a cookery book,As far as I , my cookery books and the US shops they are doughnuts. XX Jeannine
By Jeannine Rosebud Hall UK
Re: Long Johns are Doughnuts Too...Right?17 Sep 2006 01:13
PS they were all the same type of dough as are the ones in my doughnut book. XX Jeannine.