16 Identity Crisis Driven Foods to Try or Avoid
By Kalistrya
Cronut: A Doughnut That’s Also A Croissant
A buttery flaky croissant is French pastry perfection, but in May 2013 Dominique Ansel decided that it wasn’t enough to stick with the traditional version. He jumped on the Everything Is Better Deep Fried train with his laminated dough know-how. With a modified croissant dough, shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the center, fried until crispy, and filled with custard, the world completely lost its food mind over the Cronut. These things are really a prime example of an identity crisis driven food.
Fans of the Cronut lined up for hours to get a hold of one at Dominique Ansel Bakery and a black market formed around Cronut staplers reselling the hit items for ridiculous amounts, even on eBay. Articles about Cronuts flooded the web and even more people rushed to satisfy their curiosity and need to get in on the much publicized trend.
According to the Wikipedia article, others have claimed earlier croissant-doughnut hybrids:
"Chef Alina Eisenhauer of Sweet Kitchen & Bar in Worcester, Massachusetts, claimed that she was the first to fry croissant dough and has been serving her “dosants” since 2008. Baker Roy Auddino says he has been making “doughssants” since 1991."
Tell Us What You Really Think
I can’t speak to the taste of any of these specific instances, but I think it really speaks to the power of good marketing choices. “Cronut,” which Ansel trademarked 9 days after selling the first one, is a superior name, easily remembered, spelled, and tied to the two parent foods.
Despite some eye rolling over the trendiness and high level of hype, Cronuts continue to be popular and other bakeries come up with their own versions using other names. Ansel’s bakery comes up with a variety of mouth-watering flavors and still has a 2 per person sales limit at the store.
Those of us not within range of NYC will have to settle for local versions. Beware though, not every iteration looks as good as the photos of Ansel’s bisected creations. I’ve tried only one here in DC and it was a poor imitation with a laminated dough not tailored to resist becoming an oil sponge in the fryer, enough that I could only eat one bite before rejecting it.
Despite that experience, I think that some croissants really are meant to be doughnuts.
Next: Cruffin: A Muffin Gets Its French On