Honey bun


A honey bun is a fried yeast pastry that contains honey and a swirl of cinnamon in the dough and is glazed with icing. Unlike most sweet rolls, which are generally the product of bakeries, honey buns are common convenience store and vending machine fare. Normally sold individually wrapped, alone or in boxes of 6 or more, they are a popular grab-and-go breakfast, eaten cold or heated in a microwave oven.

Culture

The honey bun has become an iconic food in the United States.
Honey buns are also used as currency in United States prisons, where they are sold from prison commissaries. In the state of Florida, 270,000 are sold per month as of 2010. In a highly publicized instance, honey buns were used by guards in Miami to pay for the beating of a teenager in a youth detention center, resulting in the teen's death. Referring to the case, a public defender was quoted as saying, "In here, a honey bun is like a million dollars."

History

According to legend, Howard Griffin of Griffin Pie Co. in Greensboro, North Carolina, developed the first honey bun in 1954. Flowers Foods acquired Griffin Pie Co. in 1983. Although the Greensboro bakery is now closed, honey buns remain a best-seller for Flowers.