U.S. Campus Life Time to buy doughnuts By Masako Yamada	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
そろそろドーナツを買わなくちゃ ボストンにある Dunkin Dounuts 。

For the past two Fridays, I have been going to a Dunkin Donuts shop to pick up a box of mini-doughnuts called "Munchkins" before heading off to my lab. One of my labmates started the tradition of bringing doughnuts every Friday morning, and before heading off on a trip to Brazil, he gave me some money so that I could continue the routine in his absence. I'm always one of the first ones to dig into the box doughnuts, so my guess is that he figured I wouldn't forget to buy them.

I don't think it's just my imagination that doughnuts seem to be increasing in social status lately. Doughnuts used to be considered an unfashionable food. In TV parodies, doughnuts have long been associated with bloated Southerners (Elvis and Bill Clinton come to mind) and lazy cops. I think many yuppie Northeasterners grew up thinking they were "above" the doughnut-eating crowd, perhaps forgetting that the Dunkin Donuts chain was founded outside Boston.

Now, it seems that Krispy Kreme is all the rage in New York, and proper Bostonians are eagerly anticipating the arrival of this chain, as well. The New York Times recently published an article on a McDonalds branch in Manhattan that serves freshly-fried doughnuts. I've seen doughnuts on the dessert menus of many trendy bistros in Boston. Doughnuts have been served at fancy cocktail parties, and I've even heard that brides can get "wedding cakes" made of doughnuts stacked into large pyramids.

At least in the Northeast, it seems that many new doughnut eaters are simply following a trend. Eating doughnuts seems to be a fashion-statement for those who want to flaunt their sense of irony and kitsch. "I'm rich but I understand The People. I'm slim but I eat doughnuts," they seem to be saying. I wonder whether doughnuts will ever be a part of their diets again after the trend is over.

Eating doughnuts doesn't make me feel superior, but it sure makes me feel good. Being a doughnut fan, I know that the doughnut story doesn't begin and end with Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme. I recently enjoyed a handmade doughnut made in a small shop in a suburb of Boston. I enjoy the infinite regional variety of fried dough even more: sopaipillas, funnel cakes, zeppole, elephant's ears, beignets, Chinese crullers . . ..What makes these variations so special is that they are typically served hot out of the fry kettle at street fairs.

For such a humble food, doughnut making is quite laborious, and I know this firsthand because I've made them many times at home. I can't fly to different locales just to eat a piece of fried bread, so I'm forced to make regional specialties myself. My homemade doughnuts usually turn out quite well, but it's hard to replicate the big commercial deep-fryer with a little pot at home. Making doughnuts with yeast can take several hours from start to finish and handling large amounts of oil is a hassle, so it's a lot of work to invest for a small snack.

I fully appreciate the efforts of doughnut makers, even though they don't earn the same respect as bread bakers or pastry chefs. There used to be a famous series of TV commercials for Dunkin Donuts, where a tired-looking, middle-aged doughnut maker forced himself out of bed in the early morning and drifted off to work chanting "Time to make the doughnuts. Time to make the doughnuts."

People often ask my opinion on food because I used to write restaurant reviews. The truth is I don't know much about fine dining, but I'm definitely a junk food expert. The best doughnut I've ever had was in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It was a delicious Cajun doughnut called a beignet. New Orleans was indeed settled by many French, but I do not know whether there exists such a delicious doughnut in France. It seems too rough, too humble and too greasy to be a proper French dessert. Perhaps Southerners do have a knack for making doughnuts. I've been trying to recreate that taste at home, but to no avail.

While I try to perfect the beignet recipe and while I wait for Krispy Kreme to make its way into Boston, I'll have to satisfy my doughnuts cravings by heading to Dunkin Donuts. Luckily, there are five within walking distance of my home and university.

Shukan ST: June 28, 2002

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