• By Stacey Gorman,
Director Of Communications, The Cotton Board •
Sitting in a bustling café at dawn as the city of New Orleans wakes up from its all-night festivities can only mean you’re at Café du Monde.
This is one of the world’s most famous coffee shops and a New Orleans institution. Sipping a stout chicory coffee or creamy café au lait while watching the servers hustle plates filled with powdered sugar-dusted hot beignets has been one of the quintessential New Orleans experiences for more than 150 years.
The original Café Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The café is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and when an occasional hurricane passes too close to New Orleans.
The process of making the perfect Café Du Monde beignet has been constant as well. The Café Du Monde beignet is a square piece of dough, always fried in cottonseed oil and lavishly covered with powdered sugar. A plate of three is served for less than $3.
“We buy hundreds of thousands of pounds of cottonseed oil to run the Café Du Monde,” says Burt Benrud, vice president Café Du Monde. “When you’re in the food business, the most important thing you have is the quality of your product — that’s what keeps your customers coming back.
“We don’t even entertain the thought when somebody comes knocking on our door asking us to use a different kind of oil to cook our beignets in — that’s how important cottonseed is to our business. Cottonseed oil is just part of the recipe.”
A new Cotton Board video, “Forever Cotton — The Café,” showcases the story of the world-famous Café Du Monde and highlights its loyalty to cottonseed oil.
Forever Cotton is The Cotton Board’s new multi-faceted communication campaign aimed at cotton producers. It demonstrates the many ways the Cotton Research and Promotion Program works on behalf of U.S. Upland cotton growers to bridge the gap between cotton on their farm and other aspects of the crop. These include cotton as a performance fabric, cottonseed oil as a trusted food source, and production practices for sustainability and stability on the farm.
The Cotton Research and Promotion Program is investing more then $1.5 million into cottonseed research and marketing in 2019, including research on the health benefits of cottonseed oil compared to other oils. Its goal is to make cottonseed oil preferred in kitchens across the country, like at the world-famous Café du Monde in New Orleans.
For more information, email Gorman at sgorman@cottonboard.org.
Tip For Cooking The Perfect Beignet
One of the most critical steps to making perfectly crisp and light beignets is to be sure the oil is very hot (at least 380 degrees) and that it remains hot throughout the cooking process. If it isn’t, the beignets absorb too much oil and the powdered sugar melts when served. In addition, the beignet is greasy, sticky, and a hot, sweet mess of soggy dough.
Café du Monde only fries their beignets in cottonseed oil, which has a high smoke point of 420 degrees. This allows the café to keep the oil extremely hot as it fries thousands of beignets each day.
FAQs
We use cottonseed oil at the Cafe Du Monde, and we recommend you use cottonseed oil. However you may use any vegetable oil you wish. Remember that the temperature of the oil will drop when you add the beignet dough to the oil.
Why does Cafe Du Monde fry the beignets in cotton seed oil? ›
In addition, the beignet is greasy, sticky, and a hot, sweet mess of soggy dough. Café du Monde only fries their beignets in cottonseed oil, which has a high smoke point of 420 degrees. This allows the café to keep the oil extremely hot as it fries thousands of beignets each day.
Is cottonseed oil from cotton? ›
Cottonseed oil is obtained from seeds of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum). The seed kernel is used for the extraction of oil. It is commonly used for cooking, salad dressing, and the production of mayonnaise.
What are Cafe du Monde beignets made of? ›
How to Make Cafe Du Monde Beignets. Proof the yeast and 2 tsp of sugar into lukewarm water for 10 minutes. Add the remaining sugar, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk into yeast mixture. Stir in 4 cups of the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and thoroughly blended.
What is special about Cafe Du Monde coffee? ›
The Original Cafe Du Monde is a traditional coffee shop. Its menu consists of dark roasted Coffee and Chicory, Beignets, White and Chocolate Milk, and fresh squeezed Orange Juice. The coffee is served Black or Au Lait. Au Lait means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk.
How to make a Cafe Du Monde? ›
The Coffee and Chicory should be brewed to the ratio of 2.0 US gallons per 13 ounces of Coffee and Chicory. One 15oz can should be brewed with 2.3 US gallons.
Is cottonseed oil healthy to cook with? ›
Cottonseed oil is used in cooking and is also used as a home remedy for certain skin conditions and ailments. This oil is high in polyunsaturated fat which can help lower LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and increase HDL (“good” cholesterol).
Does cottonseed oil have a flavor? ›
Neutral Flavor
Its desirable bland flavor makes it an oil of choice for chip production because of the “nu*tty, buttery” flavor it develops when exposed to heat or light. Unlike other oils, cottonseed oil doesn't experience undesirable flavor reversion 4.
Is cottonseed oil good for frying chicken? ›
With its neutral flavor, cottonseed oil is the perfect medium for frying these items, Portillo notes. With Brown's commitment to such quality ingredients, including cottonseed oil, it's no wonder Chicago fried chicken fans have exclaimed the great taste of Brown's for generations.
Is cottonseed oil still used? ›
Cottonseed oil is used for salad oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and similar products because of its flavor stability.
Cotton crops dominated the South during the late 18th and 19th centuries; therefore, it is natural to think that cottonseed oil got its start in a Southern state such as Mississippi, South Carolina, or Georgia. However, the birth of cottonseed oil began in the humble town of Bethlehem, Northampton County.
Is cottonseed oil good for your skin? ›
Linoleic acid, one of the fatty acids in cottonseed oil, is especially great for treating dry skin because it helps strengthen the skin's barrier, and it helps calm red, irritated, dry skin. It's also effective as an antioxidant, fighting the effects of cell-destroying—and skin-aging—free radicals.
What oil does Cafe Du Monde use? ›
Café Du Monde's beignets have been fried in cottonseed oil, paired with piping café au lait and served up at the 24-hour French Market hotspot for nearly 150 years. Café Du Monde's fourth-generation owners count on cottonseed oil to continue the legendary flavor of its beignets, created from an old family recipe.
How many beignets does Cafe Du Monde make per day? ›
The kitchen at Cafe Du Monde. I believe Cafe Du Monde sells around 30,000 beignets a day, give or take.
Is there caffeine in Cafe du Monde coffee? ›
There's also an underlying nutty taste to the brew. In terms of caffeine, there's an estimated 100 mg in each cup, so it's a potent brew. The coffee is very dark, even after adding cream. It doesn't take much to go full throttle on Cafe Du Monde Coffee & Chicory.
What kind of fryer oil do restaurants use? ›
Vegetable oil and canola oil are two popular types of oil used for commercial deep frying because of their high smoke points. Which oil is the better option? Canola oil is often favored because of its neutral flavor, low saturated fat content, and balanced fatty acid profile.
What kind of oil do Italian restaurants use? ›
Extra-virgin olive oil complements even a simple plate of pasta with tomato sauce in style: if you sit down in a real Italian restaurant you will most likely see an Italian who, before enjoying his or her plate of pasta, tops it with a drizzle of oil and some parmesan or grana padano cheese.
What kind of oil does Mcdonald's fry their french fries in? ›
Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients?
Sitting in a bustling café at dawn as the city of New Orleans wakes up from its all-night festivities can only mean you’re at Café du Monde.