Rosquillas.

6/1/09
So, we are working on helping set up this business selling rosquillas. But, before we decided on this project, we had never even heard the name uttered before, more or less had any idea of what a rosquilla might be. This is no longer the case. We have tasted more brands of rosquillas than we could have ever imagined existed and, by now, are the foremost rosquilla connoisseurs around. If only there was the potential for a niche market in the US, we could all invest in our own enterprise and control a large portion of the market share. Unfortunately, as connoisseurs, we have determined that 99.9% of the US population would not appreciate rosquillas, and definitely no where near as much as the Hondurans.
A rosquilla, as we have found, can refer to multiple, similar, but different, products. In general, it is a bakery-esque item for Hondurans that they typically eat dunked in their coffee or soaked in honey for a dessert. Each of the three types of rosquilla we have been introduced to is made with the same batter/dough for the pastry portion. In regards to taste and texture, the rosquilla varies a bit, but in general it tastes like a Cheeze-Itz made with cornmeal instead of regular flour. “The Rosquilla” is a ring that would compare to a small, thin doughnut in shape but bares no further resemblance. It is crunchy like biscotti. Coloring and external texture of rosquillas resembles those short, hard, individually-wrapped Italian breadsticks found at some restaurants. This rosquilla is the one traditionally soaked in honey. The other two “rosquillas” are sweet and are also known as “tostacas” and “quesadillas”. The tostacas are a wafer of the rosquilla dough with a circle of pure sugar cane spread or sprinkled on top before it is finished baking. The quesadillas are a shaped like a pirogue or empanada and stuffed with a sweet filling made with a soft cheese, pure sugar cane, and some spices which we believe to be along the lines of cinnamon, cardamom, and a few other complementary spices. By far we have determined the sweet ones to be our favorite, with the tostacas leading the pack.
If there is a larger Honduran immigrant population in the US who happens to read this, it would be interesting to hear from you. Otherwise, it is in our opinion that rosquillas are not going to break into the US coffee-dunkers niche anytime soon. But, if they do, we will be prepared.