Friday, 12 December 2014 00:00

Delicious Daily Doughnuts in Gran Canaria

Light and fluffy, golden brown, with a crust of flaky sugar and a hint of lemon: Gran Canaria's doughnuts, called donuts, are a delight. 

Donuts never make it into the guide books or the typical food lists. However, they are one of the island's unique treats and everybody who visits should try one. 

Donuts are made daily by the Panrico Donuts company in Teror town and delivered every by a fleet of vans. By 9.00 am every bar, corner shop and cafe on the island has a stack of delicious donuts on their counter.  

Panrico has been making donuts in Gran Canaria for over 50 years. Nowadays they produce a range of chocolate stuffed doughnuts a la crispy creme but their original version with the hole is still the best.
There are two ways to buy and eat a donut, both with their own local rules. These aren't enforced but are deeply entrenched in the Canarian psyche. 


The first is to buy it in a small shop, called an estanco. Here donuts are always served in a square serviette that has a blue or red line around the edge. You eat the donut before you leave the shop: It's rude to eat and walk at the same time in the Canary Islands if you are over the age of 18. 


The second way is to order your donut at a sit down cafe. It comes on a small white plate with a serviette (with no blue or white border), and a small fork. You eat your donut with the fork, not with your hands, accompanied with a cafe con leche. Dunking is permitted but causes an etiquette dilemma. You can't dunk with a fork. You can't you eat the donut with your hands. The solution is to break off a piece of donut with the side of the fork, using a downwards motion. You can then pick the piece up and dunk it in your coffee. 

Alex says: Donuts go stale in hours so never buy one on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday. You can get them in supermarkets but the packaged ones are never as good.

Join the Gran Canaria Info newsletter list

endanlfifrdeisitnoplptruessv

 

 

Follow us on Facebook

Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

Latest articles

Who's Online

We have 6063 guests and no members online

Login / Register

Take this website to the max, login or create an account now! By clicking on any Social Media platform logo, you can login with just one click.