on donuts and winners

mmmmmm, don't they look yummy?  and pretty?  perfectly fried, nice shiny glaze....

don't let their looks fool you. 

they were baaaaaaaaad donuts.  Mostly, I think, because I used canola oil to fry them.  I should have listened to Glynis.  She warned me about the after-off taste frying with canola oil can give your food.  "Use vegetable oil", she said.  I had momentary memory loss about the frying conversation I had had with Glynis, until my husband goes, "they look good" and then took a bite and said "they taste funny".  Thaaaaaaat's when I remembered the oil thing. 

I guess though, even if they would have turned out more to my expectations, it was a lot of work for a few pesky donuts.  Especially since Lamar's is less than 1/2 mile away. 

So here's the breakdown:

the pro's-  um, it was fun spending the afternoon with a friend, making a mess in the kitchen.

the con's-  like I said, it was a lot of work, it made my house smell like oil for a couple of days, and Lamar's has a way better product.

Have you ever made raised/glazed donuts at home before?  What's your trick if they turned out great?  What's the trick to donut store glaze?  Inquiring minds want to know!

So, if you made it through my donut review, congratulations.  Now you get to see who won the pillow.

and the winner is.....  #42  Paulette Doyle!  

I'll email you in a few to get your info Paulette!

~Penny

Comments

[Lorrie]

I like the flavour of homemade donuts, and knowing that there are no additives and such in them. That said, I rarely make them, but then I never buy them, either. I didn't know that canola oil would make them taste funny.

Congrats to Paulette

[Christy]

i have yet to try homemade donuts. yours look so good. congrats to the winner too!

[Amber]

I saw a recipe on Pioneer woman's blog that looked yummy - but yeah, looks like a lot of work and I do not like that "after-frying oil smell" that lasts for days - yuck!

[Allie]

Now there's something I'd never make - I love jelly donuts and can't imagine trying to get jelly into them, lol! You're right though, they sure do look pretty.
Congratulations to Paulette!!!!!

[paulettte Doyle]

Hi Penny!
I am thrilled to win this pillow!! I saved the tutorial page to my favourites when you posted this pillow!! LOVE IT!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Paulette

[sue brown]

I haven't tried making donuts, they do look nice pity about the taste though :(

[Molly]

Those doughnuts are just mouth wateringly perfect looking. Too bad about the taste. Oh well, might have been a good thing in the end . . . .

Never made doughnuts but I've made homemade pretzels a few times. Those are quite a process but well worth it in the end.

[lesleyandsara]

Penny,
my mouth is watering looking at those doughnuts even knowing they didn't taste good. Your website looks great!

[Chelsea the Yarngeek]

They look good. Too bad they don't taste as good as they look. I'm going to try the baked doughnuts from 101cookbooks.com next weekend to avoid making the entire house smell like oil.

[mommymae]

oh, how i miss lamar's. we had one in st. louis & while there is one here, it's 40 minutes away. not worth an hour and 20 minute drive.

[Thimbleanna]

Congratulations to Paulette! Your donuts look delicious! I didn't realize you couldn't use canola oil. It's been so long since I made donuts (even before the canola oil craze) that I can't even remember any tips. It is a lot of work for a few donuts and I seem to remember that they weren't very good leftover. If only they would last, it would justify all the trouble!

[belinda]

HEEEEEYYYYYY...stop it with the donut thing!!! HA! When I fry I use peanut oil in my fryer... You can fry hotter and faster without the grease trying to smoke or burn and no after taste.

[LollyChops]

Oh deer... I never want to make those. I would eat them ALL!

[beth]

I made donuts a long time ago with vegetable oil. I remember they tasted great...but they looked atrocious! You get a blue ribbon for looks!

[D Spack]

Hmm, I'm puzzled because recently I've been frying batter dipped halibut and doing PW's onion strings. Both recipes call for CANOLA oil. My understanding is that Canola is better to fry with than vegetable. Let's be one of 2,000 commenters and ask Pioneer Woman herself!

[nanette]

Argh. Donuts are so much work. They look beautiful. Strange that it had an after taste.

[sheree]

Oh Penny, that pillow you gave away is gorgeous! Can't believe I missed that..but I already have an amazing pillow from you, so I shouldn't have been greedy anyway! :)

These donuts look good...I just started a diet and fitness boot camp, so I'll have to enjoy looking at them, but not eating them. :(

Hugs,
Sheree

[Renea]

the donuts look so yummy...made me want to break lent! too bad they didn't taste good.
I tried once years ago to make donuts, but they didn't turn out too well.

maybe i need to try again?!

[Amy]

There's really nothing wrong with frying things in canola oil--I generally use either canola or safflower. (Both of these, by the way, count as "vegetable" oils--they come from vegetable sources, as opposed to lard, for instance). However, oil can very easily go rancid, and frying with rancid oil will absolutely make your donuts (or anything else) taste wretched. The best thing is to start with fresh oil, and I tend to buy really high quality oil (Spectrum Naturals or similar brands). I did have one spectacularly bad experience with a grocery store brand oil that a friend left at my house after cooking here once, and I just no longer trust cheaper oils to be at their freshest. Lots of folks save cooking oil apparently, but don't save it for too long or use it for too many frying sessions or the flavor will go off and the smoking point will be lower as the oil starts to break down--and at that point, the oil is no longer good for you anyway, even if it didn't taste awful.