Fritters

The term fritter is used for a great variety of fried items, both sweet and savory, including many made with vegetables, meats, or fish. Fried items of all types are often referred to by the French term for fritter, beignet (pronounced ben yay). In the pastry shop, we are concerned with two basic types of fritters:

1. Simple fritters, like doughnuts, are portions of dough that are deep-fried. They are usually dusted with sugar and often served with a sauce or a fruit preserve. This chapter includes recipes for four kinds of simple fritters, including the classic beignet soufflé, which is fried éclair paste.
2. Fruit fritters are made by dipping pieces of fresh, cooked, or canned fruit in batter and then deep-frying them, or by mixing chopped fruit into a batter and dropping scoopfuls into frying fat. A basic procedure for making fruit fritters follows. Two recipes for fritter batters are included.