A new book searches for Canadian identity in the form of a Donut. Author Steve Penfold argues that while Canada originally co-opted the Donut from the US, it has since become a national icon as symbolic as the maple leaf, hockey, beer and hosers.

Penfold attributes the Donut’s rise to Canadian renown to a need for national identity, hockey player Tim Horton and something to do with constitutional debates in the 1980s. But his overall point seems to be that Canadians appreciate the Donut more so than us Americans, and thus the Donut is theirs, not ours. A questionable thesis for sure, but I can definitely attest to their obsession given the ridiculous number of Donut shops – both indie and corporate – in and around Toronto.

For a much better description of The Donut, check out this review in the Toronto Star, which incidentally discusses something called “beaver tails” – or “queues de castor” in whatever language Canadians speak – which are not actually beaver tails, but more like Donuts. Report forthcoming.

The Donut: A Canadian History, by Steve Penfold, University of Toronto Press, 248 pages, $24.95.

Recommended reading:

Donuts: An American Passion

by John T. Edge

As the fourth installment in food/travel writer John T. Edge’s series on American food icons, Donuts: An American Passion takes a deeper look at the fried obsession that inspired the creation of Blognut. Sharing the stage with such legendary American staples as the hamburger, apple pie, and fried chicken, the donut has finally recieved the cultural admiration it deserves. While Donuts has not found a spot on the New York Times Bestsellers List (an oversight which Blognut feels is a result of the American public’s guilt toward their uncontrollable love of the donut, and the refusal to indulge in any sort of intellectual discourse on the subject), it has helped elevate the donut’s status as a significant piece of edible American history.

Blognut’s comprehensive review of Donuts: An American Passion is forthcoming.