Earlier this month, Dunkin’ unveiled the Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut, a picante pastry that piqued the interest of culinary daredevils across the nation. But for every brave soul eager to try it out, there were plenty of other Dunkin’ customers whose eyes never strayed from the basket of sweet, reliable glazed doughnuts.
It’s hard to overstate the popularity of the glazed doughnut. Data crunchers at The Waycroft, a luxury apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia, analyzed Google Trends searches from the last 12 months and found that it’s the apparent doughnut of choice in a staggering 15 states. But while folks clearly appreciate a time-tested treat, they’re also willing to make room in their hearts and stomachs for newer innovations; as Time Out reports, the second most popular kind of doughnut isn’t exactly a doughnut—it’s a cronut.
The croissant-doughnut hybrid was invented by Parisian pastry chef Dominique Ansel just seven years ago, and it rapidly rose from humble beginnings at his New York City bakery to international acclaim. Since the cronut is, according to Ansel’s website, “rolled in sugar, filled with cream, and topped with glaze,” you could consider it a descendant of the sugar doughnut, the Bavarian cream doughnut, the glazed doughnut, or all three. Though the cronut’s birthplace, New York, did claim it as the state favorite, it’s definitely not a regional phenomenon—it topped the list in six other states, including both Dakotas, Montana, Vermont, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Other doughnut varieties, on the other hand, may be tied to certain regions. The only two states to choose blueberry doughnuts were Midwestern neighbors Indiana and Ohio; and two of the three states that favor apple fritters are in the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon).
Do your own doughnut proclivities match the trends in your state? Scroll down to find out.
[h/t Time Out]
