A Persian, Persian roll or Pershing is a fried

sweet roll A sweet bread roll, roll or sweet bun refers to any of a number of sweet, baked, Baker's yeast, yeast-Leavening agent, leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spiced bun, spices, nut roll, nuts, fruit bun, candied fruits, etc., and ...

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 ...

with a

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects. Two-dimensional A two-dimension ...

shape similar to a cinnamon bun. It may be covered with a sugar glaze, iced or frosted, or sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon sugar. The roll is especially popular around

Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

. Despite its name, the name is unrelated to the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

Regional variations

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, it is said to have originated at Bennett's Bakery in Port Arthur, where it is served with a sweet, pink icing made of either raspberries or

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

. Traditional lore is that the Persian was named for U.S. general John "Blackjack" Pershing but the exact date of its inception and circumstances of its creation are no longer known, giving rise to competing claims and stories. Its recipe remains a secret, with long-running debates on whether the icing contains raspberries or strawberries. Persians are often used as fundraising items to be sold at schools, churches, shopping malls, and other social events. They may be served "toasted" – sliced in half, heated in a frying pan and iced on both sides. In

Camden, Maine Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is ...

, they were historically made with

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

frosting. In

Lehighton, Pennsylvania Lehighton () is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Due in part to water power from the Lehigh River, Lehighton was an early center for U.S. industrialization. The Lehigh Valley ...

, they were served with chocolate or vanilla icing with a dollop of cherry–strawberry glaze. Persian buns in Wisconsin can have white (vanilla) or chocolate frosting and then topped with crushed peanuts. A version is also sold as a "Pershing Donut" at Titus Bakery in

Lebanon, Indiana Lebanon is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,662 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in central Indiana, approximately northwest of downtown Indianapolis and southeast of Lafaye ...

References

Canadian desserts Cuisine of Ontario Culture of Thunder Bay Sweet breads American doughnuts {{Canada-cuisine-stub