Tour de Donut Nominations: Wild Card

It’s about that time of year again. Time to go donut picking. But it doesn’t quite feel right yet. School has started, but I’m still wearing shorts and sandals. Instead of raking, I’m mowing. And yesterday I broke into a sweat just standing around outside.

Still, people are heading out to our local orchards for donuts and apples, because that’s what you do in the Capital Region when September rolls around.

So when will we have this year’s Tour de Donut? I don’t know. Most likely it will be some time in October. Part of the joy I take in the fall tour is getting to drive around in the countryside when the air is crisp and the leaves are peaking.

However, before heading out to five different orchards to taste and evaluate apple cider donuts, our custom is to open the floor to nominations. And we’re going to do that today. But this year’s tour is going to be a bit different from that in year’s past.

To explain, we’re going to have to go back in time.

This project of looking for the very best apple cider donut in the Capital Region started all the way back in 2010. And almost every years since then we’ve visited five completely different places.

Last year was different. We went to the best of the best orchards, within a reasonable driving distance. That left out two previous winners. Hicks Orchard and Cider Belly. Hicks is amazing, but it’s just too far away. And Cider Belly, downtown Albany’s excellent cider donut shop, does nothing but make apple cider donuts all day.

The plan was for the best of the best to go head to head against Cider Belly in the finals. After the results from last year’s tour, that would be Golden Harvest in Valatie Terrace Mountain Orchard in Schoharie [NOTE: Golden Harvest was my personal favorite, which is why I mistakenly remembered it to be the winner of the tournament of champions.]

But then we realized at least one excellent cider donut place was overlooked. And looking back, there were other orchards along the way that just had a bad day when the Tour de Donut rolled through.

So there has been a small change in plans.

We are adding a wild card round to the Tour De Donut. And the winner of this one will go up against Cider Belly and Golden Harvest Terrace Mountain Orchard in the finals. So this is your last chance to nominate an orchard for consideration. But first, I’ll ask to take a look at where we have been.

Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Year Four
Year Five
Year Six
Year Seven

After the Tour de Donut last year I finally got to taste the cider donuts at Lansing Farm. Without a doubt, this very local 8th generation farm on the Colonie and Niskayuna border deserves a shot.

Saratoga Apple had bad oil when we visited them in 2012. But I have every reason to believe this was an anomaly. They should get a second chance.

Lindsey’s was the first stop in 2013, and made an excellent donut. But they seemed to have been rushed, or the oil wasn’t quite hot enough at opening, because the two sides cooked unevenly. That was just a case of bad timing.

Bellinger’s Orchard in Fultonville was running on just one robot in 2015 and the continuous additions of cold fat to keep production moving had in impact on the crispiness of one side. My hope is that a return visit would find a fully functional donut station.

What else?

We could return to Bordens, but maybe earlier in the day so we could get some fresh donuts instead of the clamshell packaged leftovers from the morning.

Or we could hit George’s Market & Nursery in Latham. They have a fryer, they are close to the others under consideration, and have somehow never been included on a previous tour.

Or maybe there is a worthwhile place that I haven’t even considered yet.

I’ve mostly come to peace with the idea that we will not be able to sample every single cider donut offered in and around the Capital Region for this tour. So we’re just going to have to do the best we can.

That said, now is your chance to weigh in on this final outing. The nominations are open. But please remember, when you suggest your favorite cider donut, to include a bit on what makes it so good. And the fact it’s “to die for” tells us nothing. Details matter. Let’s talk about the crust, crumb, flavor, texture, sugar coating, spices, moisture, warmth, or any other qualitative factor you can bring to bear.

As the weather cools down, and it’s looking more like donut season, I’ll announce the date and final itinerary for the Tour de Donut: Wild Card. Stay tuned.