The Pazcki Challenge

Samson Sous Chef:

For the first time ever, local Ann Arbor institution, Zingerman's, decided to make pazckis. You see, Fat Tuesday in the Detroit metro area is more often known as 'pazcki day'. It is a Polish-Detroit thing.

I decided that a comparison needed to be done. I pre-ordered a pazcki from Zingerman's, and picked one up from local bakery Dom's. The first difference was the price. Dom's was $1.25, and Zingerman's was $2.95. At first glance, the Zingerman's pazcki is much smaller. Dom's is huge, with a thick glaze.
My next step was to cut each pazcki in half to examine the filling. Dom's pazcki had a much larger amount of filling (both were raspberry) and was the typical gelatinous doughnut filling. Zingerman's pazcki had much less filling, but had the appearance of raspberry preserves.

The taste test was conclusive. Zingerman's pastry was light, airy, and springy. It had a more 'chewy' texture, and yet was soft. Dom's was a more cake-like texture with a higher density. In my opinion, Zingerman's had better flavor, and with all these factors, Zingerman's was the clear winner.

This was also the case with the filling. Zingerman's raspberry filling was more tart, obviously had a higher fruit content, and had a fresher fruit taste. Dom's filling was much more sugary, more gelatinous.

The only drawbacks to the Zingerman's pazcki was that it was much smaller and over twice the cost. However, since I don't eat doughnuts very often, for the once a year splurge, I think I'll go to Zingerman's.
Samson wasn't even too impressed with Dom's!