Malassada

Malassadas being made in Rhode Island by the United Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit
Alternative names	Filhós, malasada
Type	Fried dough
Place of origin	Portugal
Region or state	São Miguel, Azores
Main ingredients	Wheat flour, sugar, eggs, milk, yeast
Ingredients generally used	Cinnamon, molasses
Similar dishes	Bola de Berlim, farturas, filhós, sonho, fried dough, cascoréis da Guarda

Malassada is a Portuguese fried pastry from the Azores. It is a type of doughnut, made of flattened rounds of yeasted dough, coated with sugar and cinnamon or accompanied with molasses.^[1]

The name malassada is often used interchangeably with filhós.^[2] However, according to the Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural (DGARD),^[a] these two regional pastries are distinct―the Azorean malassada is made during Carnaval,^[1] while the filhós of Penedono is made with brandy and olive oil instead of milk and is enjoyed year-round.^[3] Another similar pastry from the Central Region is Cascoréis da Guarda.^[4]

History

The malassada is believed to be derived from the filhós from mainland Portugal and Madeira, a product of the growing sugar industry during the sixteenth century.^[5] It was exported throughout Macaronesia, where it was introduced to the Azores and Canary Islands, reaching as far as Brazil during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.^[6]

Malassadas were first described in the Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa in 1609, and recorded in the ledgers of the Convento da Encarnação in Lisbon between 1688 and 1762.^[7] The Gastronomia Tradicional da Madeira e do Porto Santo describes the mal-assada (lit. 'badly-baked') referring to the "undercooked" dough inside.^[8] However, another version asserts it was previously made using mel (Portuguese: molasses), having been named melassadas or melaçadas.^[1]

Historically, malassadas were conventual sweets prepared for Terça-feira Gorda (lit. 'Fat Tuesday') with the intention of using all the lard and sugar in one's home before Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten Season which limits the use of fats and sugars as a form of fasting and penance, similar to other traditions like Pancake Day.^[9] It is a traditional confection eaten in the Azores and Madeira during Carnaval.^[7]

By region

Hawaii

In 1878, Portuguese laborers from Madeira and the Azores immigrated to Hawaii to work in the plantations.^[7] They brought with them their traditional foods, including malassadas―where it is now commonly spelled as malasadas.^[10] In the past, Catholic Portuguese immigrants shared it with friends of other ethnicities in the plantation camps.^[11]

Today, there are numerous bakeries in the Hawaiian Islands specializing in malassadas where it is made around the year.^[12] While traditional Portuguese malassadas do not have any type of filling, in Hawaii they are smaller but proportionally thicker, are sometimes filled with custard or creams flavored with coconut, chocolate, passion fruit, guava, or pineapple.^[13] In Hawaii, "Fat Tuesday" is known as "Malasada Day".^[11]

North America

In the United States, malassadas are cooked in many Portuguese homes on Fat Tuesday. It is a tradition where the older children take the warm doughnuts and roll them in sugar while the eldest woman – mother or grandmother – cooks them.

On the East Coast, in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, there is a high population of Portuguese-Americans. Festivals in cities such as New Bedford and Fall River will often serve Portuguese cuisine, including malassadas.^[14]