VIM blogging topic suggested by debcoart:
MEDIOCRITY
The word mediocre comes from Latin derivation meaning "halfway up a mountain, from medius middle + ocris rugged mountain." Synonym is ordinary.
Mediocrity is mediocre ability, accomplishment, or performance.The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Thanks Deb, this topic allows my CURMUDGEON side to show through.The year 2003 was a pivotal year in my life; I turned '50' and Dunkin Donuts dropped from their menu the FABULOUSLY POPULAR twisted delight,
THE NEW ENGLAND CRULLER. They 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!
crullerSYLLABICATION: 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 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.
Nutrition: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)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!
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/
