Rant: Cider Donut Supremacy

During the summer, and especially during the fall, one of my top pleasures is enjoying a fresh and warm Cider Donut. Though they can be found at some supermarkets, small food shops, and even restaurants, it is hard to beat buying them at a local apple orchard where they can use their own freshly picked apples.

Yesterday, I stopped at my favorite spot, Russell Orchards in Ipswich, and picked up a dozen cider donuts, and they were fresh off the line, still hot. Pure gustatory bliss. At Russell Orchards, they make their donuts from scratch, using their own special recipe as well as their own apples. During this time, you often can see their staff making the donuts, dropping the dough into the fryer and then seeing the fried donuts moving down a conveyor belt where they will be bagged. It is said that Russell Orchards sells approximately 200,000 cider donuts each year and it is easy to understand why.

For me, their donuts (pictured above) are soft and moist, with a slightly crusty exterior, and the right balance of apple and spice flavors. And when they are warm or even hot, it's hard not to eat several on your way from the cash register to your car. I'm glad that I don't live closer or I'd stop by more frequently and devour far too many cider donuts.

However, not all cider donuts are like that. There are basically two types of cider donuts, the soft ones like at Russell, and heavier, more cakey cider donuts that you can find at plenty of other places. To me, the softer. lighter donuts at Russell Orchard easily defeat the more cakey ones. It's not even a real contest to me. However, there are some people who prefer the cakier donuts though I don't understand why.

I think that the heavier style tend to be more dry, less moist, and you need to have a drink with them to help wash down each bite of the dry donut. They also feel heavier in your stomach so that you rarely want more than one. Even warm, they still feel heavy and dry, and just don't satisfy like the lighter style. Why would anyone prefer the heavier style?

If you prefer the heavier, more cakey cider donuts, please tell me why. Try to persuade me as to the allure of that style of cider donut.