National Fritters Day
National Fritters Day:
Celebrated on 2nd December, the National Fritters Day celebrates a dish that is ubiquitous in almost every country. It comes in different shapes, sizes and flavours, conquering the heart of every fried food enthusiast.
Year | Date | Day | Where |
2020 | 2nd December | Tuesday | United States |
2021 | 2nd December | Wednesday | United States |
2022 | 2nd December | Thursday | United States |
Twitter Hashtags:
#NationalFrittersDay
#FrittersDay
Related: Other National Days Celebrated on December 2nd:
National Special Education Day
Why National Fritters Day?
The word fritter is derived from the Latin root word “frigere” which means to fry. Generally, a fritter consists of a batter or breading, with any filling you could conjure up, from seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables. Fritters were thought to be first consumed by ancient Romans mostly with a fruit or cheese filling, who then introduced them to Europe.
Commonly fritters are made in three ways. Choux paste or yeast dough is deeply fried to make plain fritters. Chunks of meat, seafood, vegetables, or fruit can be coated with batter and deep-fried. Or add chopped food in the batter and deep fry. The fruit, vegetable or meat can be solid pieces, minced or mashed and can be incorporated in the batter or used as a filling.
In the US the fritters batter usually consists of eggs, milk along with cornmeal or wheat flour. Corn fritters and apple fritters are highly popular in the United States. Corn fritters can complement your backyard parties and barbecues. Cornmeal, egg milk and butter are the basic ingredients. Throw in some peppers, onions, herbs or your favourite spices to give them a regional twist.
Sweet fritters are common in France, Greece and Italy. They are Known as Beignets, Bigne, and Loukoumades respectively. The French variety Beignets are sugar-coated, square fritters.
Tempura is a fritter just made out of fried batter and is common in Japan. This technique of batter frying was introduced by the Portuguese and Spanish in Japan by the late 16th century. Later the Tempura was modified with the addition of shrimp fry, vegetables and herbs according to their taste.
The Burmese fritters made of gourd filling known as a-kyaw is often served with tea as breakfast. They are also made from chickpea, onion and brown bean paste.
While we are only concerned about eating the fritters without fretting, the culinary world still debates about what can be a fritter. Anything that is batter-coated and deep-fried can be counted as a fritter, says Virginia Willis, a Southern Chef. She also considers Beignets and hushpuppies as fritters even though they have no filling. Corn dogs and Tempura are not considered fritters even though they are battered and fried.
Well, here is one thing that you can order confidently in almost any part of the world, you just have to get the name right! The flavorful deep-fried fritters are bound to stay with us as long as there is life, oil, batter and fire.
How can you observe National Fritters Day?
- Serve your favourite Fritters as a snack, main course or deserts.
- Experiment with all kinds of fillings; seasoning and sauces; drippings, dips and dustings and make your magical combination.
- If you’d like to stick to traditional varieties you can try out these:-
- apple fritters
- zucchini fritters
- corn fritters
- crab fritters
- hushpuppies
- French beignets
- Indian pakoras
- President Cleveland’s parsnip fritters
- Go out with your friends and have a fritter filled fun on this day.
- Now if you are more on the intellectual side and want to frit away your time you can try to resolve the culinary conflict on, what is a fritter? And have your name engraved in the fritter history.
- You can also visit your favourite Southern-style restaurant to have the best fritters available.
- Don’t forget to share your recipes, and photos on social media with #NationalFrittersDay #FrittersDay
Interesting Facts About National Fritters Day
Here are some interesting facts to enjoy your National Fritters Day!
- In 1665, Samuel Pepys, an Englishman who was the member of the Parliament, recorded in his diary that before Lent, he would be enjoying some fritters.
- In 1887, President Grover Cleaveland served a parsnip variety fritter for Thanksgiving at the white house according to Gourmet.com. The ingredients were boiled parsnips with flour, egg and salt. After larding the hot pan, the parsnip mixture is spooned in and fried till “delicate brown”
- Fritters are extremely popular street food in South Asia
- Fritters are similar to a doughnut with the only difference being the requirement of the additional base ingredient
History Of National Fritters Day:
The origin of this day and its creator remains unknown.