WORCESTER’S CRAFT DOUGHNUT CRAZE COURTESY OF JOE JACOBS
written by Bernie Whitmore
Back in the days when munchkins meant ‘little people’, the important discoveries of fried dough and powdered sugar came together on some country fairground to ignite a tasty tradition that has never stopped innovating. Add a hole! Coat with icing! Inject them with jelly! The modern donut was born.
Since then, the humble donut has been scientifically calibrated and mass-produced, sold from gas stations and machine-fed at a terrifying rate into Homer Simpson. And now, across the nation, regions are locked in competition for the most leading-edge donut culture. West Coast cities brag that they’re out front on the donut curve. But here in the Worcester area, home to a rich tradition of family donut shops, there’s a group of newcomers defying standard donut logic to give us the distinct edge. To investigate, we tossed rational blood sugar concerns aside and set out on a binge tour of these pioneering donut shops to taste for ourselves how they’re advancing this frontier. At each shop we would select three different donuts; one of which, the basic glazed, would serve as the control group; an anchor to the past. Then, back in the tasting lab, we’d subject them all to a battery of taste tests and make scientific tasting notes. Here are the results.
Glazy Susan REIGNcafe 50 Foster St., Worcester
After waiting a half hour in line, I was finally admitted into the donut salesroom where Michael emphasized that Glazy Susan donuts are made from scratch, even the icings and glazes, using locally sourced ingredients such as Hebert’s chocolate. I was early and, consequently, fortunate to find their shelves packed with fresh donuts and all varieties available. This complicated the decision-making process, but here’s what I selected: Ube Coconut. Michael explained that ube is a purple yam used as a natural sweetener in confections and ice cream. This was news to me and challenged my bias against vividly colored donuts. The Ube is a bright purple cake donut covered with bits of shredded coconut, sweet and moist but not cloying. With each of my selections it became more evident that the Glazy Susan baker has a solid understanding of flavor balance; a knack that allowed the mild coconut flavor to transcend. Boston Cream. This one really stood out; it’s a raised donut with a hole in the center, but the donut is filled. How do they do it? Where are the injection points? On close inspection I couldn’t find them anywhere on the donut’s surface, so I concluded they must be on top, obscured by the thick chocolate icing. Clever. That Hebert’s deep chocolate flavor was thick and rich – but not fudgy… this was a classic raised donut with gobs of honest eggy custard in every chocolaty bite. If your last Boston cream pie was from a grocery store, do yourself a favor and grab some Glazy Susan Boston cream donuts. Honey Glazed, aka the Glazy Susan. A delicate thin glaze that fractures on touch is coated over an even-textured raised donut. Fried to a nice light golden brown, it was masterful. After sampling this gorgeous donut, I understand why they’d rest their name and reputation on it. Our overall reaction to Glazy Susan: Three is not enough! We want more!
