Oliebol

Anoliebol(Dutch pronunciation:[ˈoːlibɔl]; pluraloliebollen;West Frisian:oaljeboloroaljekoek; see morebelow) is aDutchbeignet, a variety ofdoughnutorfried doughthat is traditionally eaten onNew Year's Eve. People often eat it withraisinsbaked inside and withpowdered sugaron top. Another variation is made withappleinside instead of raisins. There are similar foods all around the world, for exampleSamoanPanikeke, eaten mostly withjamorbutteron top.
They are calledoliebollen(literally 'oil balls') orsmoutballen(literally 'lardballs') in theNetherlands,smoutebollen(literally: 'lard spheres') inFlandersandcroustillons(loosely 'crispies') inWallonia,Schmalzkugeln(same meaning as inBelgian Dutchsmoutebollen) inEastern BelgiumGerman. In France, withcroustillonsthey are also commonly calledbeignets rapides(literally 'fast beignets') andcroustillons hollandais(loosely 'Dutch crispies'). In out-of-Belgium German, they are calledÖlkugel(same meaning as in Dutcholiebollen),Püpperchen(informal for 'puppets' or 'babies') andPupperle(same meaning, especially used inAlsacefor these ones),Silvesterfutschen(loosely 'messed upSaint Sylvesters') inNorthern Germany, andGebackene Mäuse(loosely 'fried mice' or 'baked mice') inAustrian German. In English they are more commonly known asDutch doughnutsordutchies. In Italy, they are called many different things depending on the region:bombolini fritti,ficattole,bignoli,frittoli/fritole/fritule,sgabei,bignet,panzanelle,coccoli,zonzelle,donzelle, etc.In the region ofIstria, which is shared by the countries ofItaly,CroatiaandSlovenia, a variation of this dish is calledfritole,frituleandblinci. InSerbiathey are calledkrofne. InPortugalthey are calledsonhos('dreams'). InIndonesia, they are known locally asroti goreng.Also, inGhana,West Africa, they are known locally asbofrotorbofflot, and in the south ofBenin, in theFon languageasyovodocon, i.e. 'white man's dumplings'. InNigeria, they are known as 'puff puff'. In Iceland they're known asÁstarpungar('love balls'). In Zambia they're known asChitumbuwa('fritters').
Oliebollen are a variety ofdumplingmade by using an ice cream scoop or twospoonsto scoop a certain amount ofdoughand dropping the dough into adeep fryerfilled with hot oil (or once with hotlard, thus some traditional local names). In this way, asphere-shaped oliebol emerges. Oliebollen are traditionally eaten onNew Year's Eveand atfunfairs. In wintertime, they are also sold in the street at mobile stalls.
The dough is made fromflour,eggs,yeast,salt,milk,baking powderand usuallysultanas,currants,raisinsand sometimeszestorsuccade(candied fruit). A notable variety is theappelbeignetwhich contains only a slice of apple, but different from oliebollen, the dough should not rise for at least an hour. Oliebollen are usually served withpowdered sugar.
InFlandersthe "oliebol" is also called "smoutebol" because it is often cooked in animal fat (especiallylard) rather than vegetable oil. Another difference between the Dutch oliebol and the Flemish smoutebol is that the smoutebol is usually not filled in contrast to the Dutch oliebol.
The filling of the oliebol could consist ofraisins, currants andapple, other ingredients can be added, such assuccade, pieces oforangeorwhipped cream.
The origins of oliebollen are not entirely clear.  They are said by some to have been first eaten by Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during theYule, the period between December 21 and January 2 where such baked goods were used.It has also been speculated that they were introduced to the Netherlands in the 15th century by PortugueseSephardi Jewishimmigrants; the food being related to the Jewishsufganiyahtraditionally eaten onHanukkah.The earliest discovered recipe ofoliekoecken("oil cookies", the direct precursor of the oliebol) came from the 1667 Dutch bookDe verstandige kock"The sensible cook".
For centuries the Dutch ate oliekoek ("oil cookie"), an old name for oliebol ("oil ball"). The Oliebollen in this painting from around 1652 are very similar to today's oliebol. At that time, they were baked inlardorrapeseed oil. During the nineteenth century the word "oliebol" started to be used more. The 1868 edition of theVan Daledictionary included word "oliebol", whereas the rival "Woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal" didn't include it until 1896, stating that "oliekoek" is a more commonly used term, but a major shift in usage occurred: from the early twentieth century the word "oliebol" became the popular word, while "oliekoek" was no longer in use.
A very similar type of oliebol can also be found in theWalloonpart of Belgium,Brusselsand northernFrance.Croustillonsaredeep frieddough balls served hot and liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar. They are usually served in a paper cone with a little plastic fork to eat them with. They are typically found at fairgrounds in Belgium and inLille, France.
From 1993 to 2017 Dutch newspaperAlgemeen Dagbladheld an annual highly publicizedoliebollentestat the end of each year. In 2012, the bakery of Willy Olink from Maarssen won the test.In 2013Richard Visserwon the test for the ninth time in twenty years which is currently the record for the highest number of wins by one person.The test stopped in 2018 after it appeared that the jury and the writers of the reviews were not the same people and the articles in the newspaper didn't reflect the reality and were exaggerated.Fans of the treat continued reviewing oliebollen from all over the country by themselves, compiling their ratings on a website.