The perfect doughnut is fluffy, soft, tender, and moist. The secret ingredient? Potatoes. The starchy tubers absorb moisture, but are stiff enough to hold air.

In the 18th century, German immigrants in Pennsylvania fried up sweet, potato-based doughnuts the day before Ash Wednesday (which kicked off the Lenten season) to help get rid of sugar and fat sitting around the house. In 1937, Yankee?magazine published a recipe for “Maine Potato Doughnuts.” Yankees were thrifty, and potatoes were cheap, local, and helped make flour stock last longer.?