Put a ring in it and drool

THE BEST DONUTS: KRISPY KREME, FOOD LOVER’S MARKET AND MCCAFE

Sink your teeth into a just-baked feeling of wellness at any time of day.

Donuts or doughnuts. Which came first, the ring or the hole in the centre. But who cares? It’s the stuff of fantasy and every cop on every American detective show’s coffee pairing.

Before the arrival of Krispy Kreme a handful of years ago, these sweet fat cakes were stuck on the road less travelled.

Now, donuts are mainstream and weigh in as a snack of preference. They’re everywhere, not just hiding in supermarket bakeries.

And thank goodness for that. Dunkin’ Donuts never made it to Johannesburg. Cape Town had outlets for a while and I had the opportunity to sample them, compare taste and texture, and understand why the stores aren’t there anymore.

Dunkin’ Donuts were delicious and could have given Krispy Kreme a decent run for its money in Gauteng.

I still don’t know why it disappeared. The closest we’ll come now would be drooling over a policeman dunking his donut into a steaming black coffee. Ah well.

It’s not a challenge to find a great donut. But to find a truly remarkable incarnation is a treasure hunt.

Some of the best donuts are made at Food Lover’s Market. They’re always fresh, attractive and delicious. It reminds me of Doug’s Doughnuts, a Sandton City landmark for decades.

Its donuts come in a few traditional tastes, chocolate, pink ones, white ones and, on occasion, green and caramel yellow. The price, too, is comfortable.

Food Lover’s Market donuts score eight out of 10.

McDonalds’ McCafe sometimes has donuts. It may depend on the time of day you mosey into the store.

But they do not disappoint. Especially the chocolate donuts. They’re not oily or greasy; soft and moist to sink your teeth into, and the chocolate glaze is neither too sweet nor too cocoa-ish. It’s just right.

Greater variety would be a welcome addition to the great coffee served at McCafé’s.

McDonalds donuts score eight out of 10.

I have often wondered what makes donuts so irresistible.

Some desktop research quickly revealed that it’s the sugar and fat combination. As we know, the more sugar we eat, the more we crave it.

But for me, it’s also the yeasty fragrance combined with the sensation of biting into it, literally consuming a just-baked feeling of wellness.

And while gourmet is great, simple, traditional donuts rock my world.

Traditional glazed donuts that line the counters at Krispy Kreme are the ultimate seducers of a sweet tooth. They taste a bit like honey, have a slight tang and are always fresh.

Its gourmet donuts ooze generous fillings and give your taste buds the kind of good time they should be punished for later. It’s that good... and moreish.

Krispy Kreme tops the list of Joburg’s best donuts at nine out of 10.

If gluttony wasn’t a deadly sin and a sugar rush more pleasant, I’d have Food Lovers’ chocolate donuts for breakfast, pop to a McCafe for a donut and coffee at lunch and end off at Krispy Kreme, where traditional glazed donuts are served as the starter, any one of their gourmet donut pies as mains and a chocolate-sprinkled ring-donut for dessert.