''Malassada'' is a Portuguese fried pastry from the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

. It is a type of

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...

, made of flattened rounds of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

ed dough, coated with sugar and cinnamon or accompanied with molasses. The name is often used interchangeably with . However, according to the ''Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural'' (DGARD), these two regional pastries are distinct―the Azorean is made during , while the of

Penedono Penedono () is a municipality in the northern district of Viseu in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,952, in an area of 133.71 km2. History The Dolmen culture reached the regions of Penedono during antiquity. The area of Antas, for e ...

is made with

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

and olive oil instead of milk and is enjoyed year-round. Another similar pastry from the Central Region is .

History

The is believed to be derived from the from mainland Portugal and

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

, a product of the growing sugar industry during the sixteenth century. It was exported throughout

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

, where it was introduced to the

and

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, reaching as far as

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. were first described in the in 1609, and recorded in the

ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which accounting transactions are recorded. Each account has: * an opening or brought-forward balance; *a list of transactions, each recorded as either a debit or credit in separate columns (usu ...

s of the in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

between 1688 and 1762. The describes the mal- assada () referring to the "undercooked" dough inside. However, another version asserts it was previously made using (), having been named or . Historically, were conventual sweets prepared for ''Terça-feira Gorda'' () with the intention of using all the lard and sugar in one's home before

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

, the start of the Lenten Season which limits the use of fats and sugars as a form of

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

and

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

, similar to other traditions like Pancake Day. It is a traditional confection eaten in the

and

during .

By region

Hawaii

In 1878, Portuguese laborers from

and the

started to immigrate to Hawaii to work on the plantations. They brought with them their traditional foods, including fried doughnuts they called ― now commonly spelled as malasadas. These doughnuts are more closely related to the bola de berlim, a fried doughnut widely served on the beaches in Portugal. In the past, Catholic Portuguese immigrants shared it with friends of other ethnicities in the plantation camps. Today, there are numerous bakeries in the Hawaiian Islands specializing in where it is made around the year. Like Portuguese bolas de berlim, these doughnuts are made both with and without cream fillings. In Hawaii, they are sometimes filled with the traditional Portuguese

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

cream, but there are also local cream varieties flavored with coconut, chocolate, lilikoi (passion fruit), guava, mango, ube, or pineapple. In Hawaii, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is known as "Malasada Day".

North America

In the United States, 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 Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and

Southeastern Massachusetts Southeastern Massachusetts is a region of Massachusetts located south of Boston and east of Rhode Island. It is commonly used to describe areas with cultural ties to both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and includes the cities of New Bedford ...

, there is a high population of Portuguese-Americans. Festivals in cities such as

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

and Fall River will often serve Portuguese cuisine, including .

References

(2010) Patrick Andrews - "Pioneering the Malasada" Queensland, Australia. 2010

External links