Living Outside The Lines: “A Doughnut Like No Other”

by, Becky J Miller, exclusive to Corridor News

‘Mercia loves doughnuts. As a country, we consume an estimated 10 billion of the fat and calorie laden delicacies annually.  Boston leads the nation with the most doughnut shops per capita, followed closely by Long Beach, California and our very own Dallas, Texas!

Although Americans may have mastered the art of doughnut ingestion, it is the Dutch who are credited with their introduction via the oliekoecken treat.  We can thank a Russian, Aldoff Levitt, for inventing the first doughnut machine in 1920.  

Pop culture introduced us to the idea of milk with doughnuts when Clark Gable dunked his in 1934’s, “It Happened One Night.”

Not only are doughnuts mouth-wateringly delicious, in 2012 they brought in $11.6 billion dollars in revenue! That’s a lot of dough, pun intended.  In 2011 Krispy Kreme hit $108 million in sales.  The following year, Dunkin Donut boasted 11,500 shops worldwide.

What a perfect segue into the very reason I chose to write on this topic; Krispy Kreme.  In my mind, there simply is no other doughnut worth eating.  Founded by Vernon Rudolph, 1937, in Salem-Winston, North Carolina, Krispy Kreme was primarily a Southeastern chain, explaining why they were an integral part of my Southern upbringing. 

Fortunately, by the time I discovered Krispy Kreme, hot doughnuts were available throughout the course of the day, but in the beginning, they were only served hot between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. 

Seeing the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign was always an extra treat for us kids especially when our parents were already planning to buy a dozen. Those fresh, hot, confections just melted in your mouth, no chewing required.

Not only is Krispy Kreme famous for their fabulous doughnuts, they are also community minded, delivering 50 to 60% profit margin on fundraisers for local groups. 

In the eighth grade, my junior history club sold Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts by the dozen, raising enough money to send us on an unforgettable spring break trip to Washington D.C. 

I pulled my little red wagon throughout our neighborhood making doughnut deliveries.  My friends and I still laugh about the memories we made visiting our nation’s capital.

In addition to the standard flavor offerings, Krispy Kreme also sells seasonal doughnuts such as pumpkin spice cake, salted caramel latte, Ghirardelli chocolate mint, and strawberry glazed. 

They get even more creative with holiday shapes such as Easter Bunny Bums, Easter Chicks, Footballs, Snowmen, Santa Claus bellies and Halloween mummies.

My two all-time favorite flavors are the chocolate iced with Kreme filling and the glazed raspberry filled.  When we first moved to Texas in 1984, Krispy Kreme had not yet infiltrated the state. 

Imagine my disappointment trying to get a chocolate iced Kreme filled doughnut elsewhere.  The Krispy Kreme filling is some kind of super secret fluffy white concoction, but every time I tried ordering that elsewhere the staff would try to sell me a custard filled imposter.  Yuck!!  No, thank you.

The first trip we made to Florida after moving to Texas included a search and seizure mission to locate a Krispy Kreme shop. 

Finally, in the 1990’s Krispy Kreme expanded their market and this Southern girl could once again feast on her favorite doughnut outside of the Southeast.

Although my runner’s race day training diet does not permit indulgences of the doughnut kind often, you can be sure that when I do splurge, it’s going to be on Krispy Kreme.  After all, any other doughnut is well, just a doughnut.

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”

Becky J Miller writes a bi-weekly column and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.