Historical Donuts: Part One

Of all the foods in my life, my experience with doughnuts can chart the course of my life.



Part One: Early Doughnut Adopter

Like most people, my first memories of doughnuts is as kid. Sometimes my mom would by a dozen doughnuts on Friday and then on Saturday morning, we would have doughnuts! All varieties too. And almost always, these doughnuts were popped into the microwave to be 'nuked' for a handful of seconds before the frosting slide off from the heat and the jelly became lava.

I also remember the not-super-frequent trips to the Donut Hole, the donut shop in my medium-size North Dakota town. At the Donut Hole, we got to pick out our own doughnuts. There were so many varieties, this is where I started developing my taste of exciting, unfamiliar foods. My mom would try to steer me away from the doughnuts that she though were out of my taste preferences. I don't blame her for this limiting of my pastry exploration; a child with a doughnut they do not like is probably one of the worst pastry related dramas. But at the Donut Hole, that is where I met my true love: Bavarian Cream. Initially, Bavarian Cream was a doughnut deemed too sophisticated for my taste, as evidenced by my mom suggesting I get a Bismarck if I wanted a filled doughnut. But I knew jelly-filled is no match for pudding-like cream filling of the Bavarian Cream. When those white pastry boxes would show up in our fridge I would search through for Bavarian Cream, biting into decoy doughnuts that contained no filling. My disappointment of finding just more doughnut was staggering (not really) but did not dissuade me from the search. I have eaten many bites of the chocolate frosted doughnut look-a-likes in my search for Bavarian Cream. I remember being at a slumber party where doughnuts were provided for breakfast. I saw two Bavarian Creams sitting in the box and my thrid grade heart swelled, but as soon as doughnut choosing time happened the father scooped his hand in and removed the two Bavarian Creams stating "These are parent donuts."

Why does it seem that Bavarian Cream has an adult reputation? I would argue it is the most kid-friendly of all the doughnuts. First, chocolate frosting. Chocolate frosting is recognizable, familiar and consistently delicious. Second, the round shape provides more frosting surface area and it also a familiar shape. Third, pudding cream filling. Pudding is one of the classic treats for kids. The pudding filled donut is more palatable that the jelly filled Bismarck, especially since the Bismarck tends to have a harsher jelly, which is unlike any jelly a child would have experienced in a PB & J.

The Bavarian Cream is not an adult doughnut. Also, not all kids have the same tastes. And, the more you say 'no' to something, the more I (and your children) will want it.

Bavarian Cream is my favorite doughnut. Do not try to get between my true love doughnut and I.

This is Part One of a multi-part series.