A churro is a deep fried, sweet pastry based food. It is sometimes referred to as a Spanish donut or Mexican donut. It is also sometimes referred to as a type of pretzel.
Some claim that the Churro pastry is named after the shape of the horns of the Churro breed of sheep which is reared in the Spanish grasslands and that the churro was a staple prepared by (or for) the shepherds as a portable food.
Churros are popular in Spain, Mexico, and the USA.
The churro is typically fried to a crunchy consistency. Its surface is 'ridged' due to being extruded through a star-shaped hole. It is essentially a 'cylindrical star prism' in shape, but instead of being 'straight' it may be curled and/or spirally twisted.
Its size and recipe (which vary considerably) may determine whether it is thought of as a kind of bread, cake or cookie.
The device for forming the shape of the churro is called a churrera and is essentially based upon a syringe with a star shaped nozzle.
A typical flavouring of churros is cinnamon. Churros are also often served sprinkled with sugar. Many churro connoisseurs swear by the combination of churros con chocolate, wherein the churro is dunked into a mug of piping hot chocolate.
Like pretzels, churros are often sold by 'street vendors' who in many cases will fry them freshly on the street stand (rather than using pre-packaged varieties) and they are often sold warm or hot.
Like all doughnuts, churros contain a high proportion of fat.
This tends to give them a widely appreciated smell (hence their attraction to street vendors) but where they form a significant component of daily diets, they are associated with obesity-related health problems.
