As I’ve consumed more and more donuts over the years, there has been an evolution in my critiquing process. In the beginning, the criteria was basic when I was judging a donut. Was the donut YUM, meh, or YUCK? However, a more detailed qualitative analysis emerged over time. I started gauging the taste, texture, freshness, quality of ingredients, etc. to determine whether I would recommend a donut. This level of refinement for my palate was only possible after thousands of donuts consumed.
Lately though, I have not been completely satisfied with solely using a qualitative approach. I wanted a way to differentiate the donuts that I think are a 5/5. I’ve narrowed down a few factors that I can use to more quantitatively analyze – a donut science of sorts! Combined, I’m calling the results of the qualitative and quantitative analyses the “Donut Critic Index.”
Here are a few factors that will be used to measure:
- Bite Integrity
- Measured by taking the height of the donut before and after a bite is taken. A multiple will be calculated from the dough compression converted into a percentage and measured against and acceptable range. A future post will dive in deeper on details.
- Symmetry
- This factor is less about quantifying specific weights or measurements and more about assigning a ratio for toppings to dough. Perfect symmetry between toppings and dough is optimal. Too much or too little toppings will affect the Donut Critic Index score. A future post will dive in deeper on details.
- Dough Density
- Measured by calculating the density of the donut and comparing it against averages. Over time, a range of optimal densities will be established. (i.e. too light and airy vs too heavy or too much dough, etc.). A future post will dive in deeper on details.
In addition to expanding on the three factors, I will share my Donut Critic Index scores for a few donuts. I will create a shareable chart and will work on updating it with scores of other donuts tested.
Do you have any factors you use to score donuts? I would love to hear your experience and methodology so we can continue to build the ‘donut science.’ Comment or message me on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/donutcritic/
