Thursday, June 5, 2008

Death of the Texas donut

yep pardner

I ask : TEXAS DONUT- where are you ?


Friday is National donut day.... (learn more about it, about in earlier post)

Goodness, national donut day is a mere day away.
There simply isn't a giant donut to be found anywhere. The closest I've found is a 7 inch one. Sorry, that falls at least 5 inches short of how I remember the Roses deli giant glazed donut.

For you donut fans, I learned just yesterday, that the giant donut was a specialty of the Beaverton, Oregon Roses deli was privately owned . That was a good 15 years ago.

There may be an isolated Texas donut "out there" somewhere, but I would want to confirm the size and quality. (yumm).
Until I am convinced otherwise, I have come to the conclusion the REAL Texas donut is no more.

So why do good things become extinct?

In the case of the giant donut at Roses deli several factors:

Life can and does happen, the owners of the Beaverton roses, sold their business.
Corporate Roses, decided to "carry" only certain items, although from what I have heard the giant donut has been much requested.

A lack of sharing contributes to extinction . An article in the newspaper many years ago, regrettably shared the story ,of the death of the donut man. He kept his talents a guarded secret. How sad, the art of how to do what he did ,was lost.

A similar sad tale, happened in our own family. My husbands mother, was not patient enough to show how she made her fabulous, delicate fried sugar pies. Another lost art. I tried to learn, but she never seemed to have the time/patience, to allow me to get the knack. ( I am an excellent cook and have mastered and or developed many difficult recipes/methods, she just had a special way, ) .

"Moral" If you have some family "secret" recipe, or skill , share it with someone who has the passion or desire learn from you. The world will be richer and you will be blessed, long after you are gone, with many favorable memories. Wouldn't it be better not to have regrets that you kept things to yourself, or didn't take the time or patience to teach when you were given the opportunity?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I grew up in Salem, OR and at Lancaster Mall we would get the best Texas Donuts ever. Glazed or with maple icing! Several years ago, I was in Bales Thriftway on Farmington Road in Aloha and they had glazed Texas Donuts. I quickly added them to my collection knowing that if my kids missed this legacy in their lives, they would be ruined! (yes, they were a big hit, as they were in my childhood). Today is my youngest son's 10th birthday, and donuts were on the breakfast menu. I called Bales and they told me that they will make them as a special request, but don't normally shelve them anymore. Sadness. How many people will think to ask? I know we will add that to the birthday list of things to pre-order for the future, but what about all the kids who will miss this part of their legacy because they aren't sitting there on the donut shelf as a daily option? Call them on donut day or any other day, to enjoy a trip down memory lane!

betty said...

Tamara, I am so excited to find this out. I called our local
Bales Thriftway and YES they will special order them..our TRADITION can come alive again
( like you the giant Texas donuts
are part of "our" heritage :-) we use to get 1 for each child during the Christmas season..won't the be surprized this year !! Hey I am thinking of adding them to our National Donut Day, in remeberance of the loving sacrifices of the Salvation Army Lassies....