MEDIOCRITY =Dunkin Donut's STICKS v New England Crullers

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republished from one of my earlier blogs, 17.3.07
MEDIOCRITY: Dunkin Donut's has no NEW ENGLAND CRULLERS!

Below, Delightfully delicious assorted donuts and crullers from Allies' Donuts, Kingston, Rhode Island (RI), the perfectly formed NEW ENGLAND Cruller is to the left, YUMMY.

The year 2003 was a memorable year for me; I turned '50' and Dunkin Donuts dropped from their menu the FABULOUSLY POPULAR twisted delight, THE NEW ENGLAND CRULLER. Which is worse, the fact that the beloved New England favorite, "Dunkees" began machine EXTRUDING the dough to create oblong shapes which bare NO resemblance to the hand twisted traditional crullers. Their NEWER VERSION is called THE STICK, perhaps Turd, would have been a better name.!

cruller

SYLLABICATION: crul·ler
PRONUNCIATION: krlr
NOUN:
1. Chiefly Northeastern, Central Atlantic, & Upper Northern U.S. A small, usually ring-shaped or twisted cake of sweet dough fried in deep fat.
2. Chiefly New England & Pennsylvania An unraised doughnut, usually twisted but also shaped into rings or oblongs.
ETYMOLOGY: From obsolete Dutch krulle-koken, rolled-up cake, from Middle Dutch crulle-koken, to curl, from crulle, curly. (1)

-The French Cruller~~~~The Mexican Cruller (Churros)

The New England Cruller is a ARTISAN piece, a hand twisted oblong of delicious dough, fried in LARD-- an LDL nightmare. The twisting creates crusty ridges that adds to the texture and goes hand in hand when SAVORING this tradition. A modification in cooking oil that is lower in cholesterol and boosts the HDL is possible, albeit it does change the flavor it a bit- HOWEVER, the Hand twisting IS AN INTEGRAL part of the creating of this FAMOUS CRULLER.

Dunkin Donut's MEDIOCRITIZATION of a prized NEW ENGLAND tradition is, IN PART, emblematic of what is happening on all levels of society. In an article Joseph P. Kahn wrote for the Boston Globe on October 25, 2003 he interviewed Dunkin Donut's chief test baker who reported that the HAND MADE CRULLER had to go.

"We introduced a new doughnut mix over the summer, one which is lighter and moister and all machine-made," says Pitts. Handcut products, he adds, were beyond the capabilities of these machines, which can produce rings and sticks but not braided pastries. Therefore, something had to go. The cruller went because it could not be machine-produced, like the jelly stick, but required human hands." (3)

Oh, the horror,requiring human hands to uphold tradition, quality and EXCELLENCE!
But, alas, this corporate profit-first attitude is prevalent, so the mass market producers will continue to lower their standards and how low will they go?

Many of you may be reading this and asking yourselves what standards Dunkies ever upheld. If you are 50 or older, you know that Dunkin Donuts acted more like individual neighborhood bakeries in the old days. Many Dunkin Donuts entrepreneurs BAKED THEIR OWN in back room kitchens. The twisting of the cruller was done by your neighbor and you ate it freshly baked with your fresh brew.

I am finished with Dunkin Donuts! Try your local Artisan Bakery and enjoy a TRADITIONAL TWIST!


Dunkee's Nutrition Statement:

Serving Size 1 stick

Servings 1

Calories 420

Calories from Fat 260

Donut Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Barley Malt, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Water, Sugar, Soybean Oil, Nonfat Dry Milk, Egg Yolk Solids, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Soy Flour, Wheat Starch, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Phospholipase, Sodium Silicoaluminate (Anti-Caking Agent), Salt, Toasted Wheat Germ, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Vegetable Color (Annatto, Turmeric), Konjac Flour, Carrageenan. (2)



end notes:

1.http://www.bartleby.com/61/60/C0776000.html
2.https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/nutrition/Product.aspx?Category=Donuts&id=DD-699
3.http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2003/10/25/with_progress_a_cruel_twist/
Posted by VIM at 20:28 8 comments Links to this post
Labels: crullers, Dunkin Donuts, mediocrity, New England, tradition