I don’t know what you think of when you hear the phrase “Tis the Season,” but when I think of it, I most definitely think of…Soofganiot (Donuts).  It’s Kislev hear in the Jewish world, which means that bakeries are out in force making these delectable holiday goodies. My goal over the next few days is to take you on journey through the various bakeries of Jerusalem, sampling all there is to offer.  I am planning on averaging 5 donuts a day between myself my partners in crime, and my guest partners in crime: Ben Freed (Ann Arbor), Elliott Cohen (from Britain), Daniel Grover (Alexandria, Virginia), Kevin Landsman (Rockville, Maryland.), Ariel Wolpe (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and Micah Tuttle (Eugene, Oregon).

*Note: it is a scientific fact that donuts taste better in the month of Kislev, and that high cholesterol cannot be caused by religious and cultural practice.

How to Grade a Soofgania

There are eight stages to the grading process for these delicious delights:

1. 1.Texture: How doughy is it (slightly raw, too heavy, light, overly cooked, etc…) and how fluffy is it (does it spring back after each bite, or does it remain compressed?)
   

2. 2.How is the powdered sugar ratio (does it cover the top of the soofgania?)
   

3. 3.Where is the filling located (in the middle, off to a side, throughout the soofgania) and ratio of filling to soofgania (too much, too little)
   

4. 4.How good is the filling (too sweet, too heavy, too thick?)
   

5. 5.How does the donut taste (actual soofgania, without filling)
   

6. 6.What is the overall taste of the soofgania?
   

7. 7.What is the overall appearance of the soofgania?
   

8. 8.How was the overall experience of eating this soofgania?
   

    Naturally the price is important, but because the price should never prevent someone from enjoying life to the fullest, it is not one of the core ingredients to a good soofgania, one could say that is a guide, or helper (possibly a shamesh).  Also, each category had a possible maximum of 8 points…not 10.  Why not 10 you might ask, because 10 is too common and 8 holds a special significance to the soofgania (mythical maximum consumption in a single hour stretch, also the 8 days of holiday).

Kaldron Bakery

1. •Texture: 8 for doughiness and 6 on fluffiness (collapsed upon consumption, started off very airy)
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 0, absolutely no powdered sugar was present on this pastry
   

3. •Filling: 6, centered in the donut but wasn’t as great of a ratio as desired
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6, a little thick and heavy, but still good
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7, very solid donut base
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6.5, very aesthetic dollop at the top
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, the caramel was not too overpowering of the donut, recognizable balance
   

8. •Price: 3 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6.5, a solid caramel soofgania even though the filling was a little heavy, “I like this one, it tastes good”
   

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 4 on fluffiness (not fairy at all, possibly a result of the jelly and “side-fill”)
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, covered 2/3 of top
   

3. •Filling: 8, centered on donut, but spread throughout perfectly
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7, very solid jelly, a little too sweet
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7, very solid donut base
   

6. •Overall appearance: 4, many indentations, not as appetizing as other donuts, jelly was smeared all over exterior, which caused neighboring donuts to look “messy” and “poorly produced”
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, one of the best jelly-filled soofganiot
   

8. •Price: 2.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6.5 flavor compensated for lack of appearance, “I would definitely buy this again”
   

Located on Et Hayim and Jaffa, outlet store is on Jaffa next to the bus stops in front of Mahane Yehudah

Bakery at Corner of Ha-Eshkol and Machane Yehudah

1. •Texture: 6 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness (was a little too light, did not feel like true soofgania)
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 8, beautifully sugared, no part left sugar-free
   

3. •Filling: 3, solely in the middle of donut and not spread throughout pastry
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6.5, pleasantly light for a caramel, very refreshing
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, very simple and light
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, very good looking, definitely worth glancing at twice
   

7. •Overall taste: 6, nothing special, the filling was definitely insufficient
   

8. •Price: 3 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “it was okay, not nearly as much filling as I would’ve liked”
   

1. •Texture: 6 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness (was a little too light, did not feel like true soofgania)
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 7.5, very well-sugared, almost no part left sugar-free
   

3. •Filling: 5, on sided affair (not in the middle) and unsatisfying ratio
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 4, way too sweet for a jelly donut, possibly because it was neon Israeli jelly (token jelly for sandwiches in Israel, not good)
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, very simple and light
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, very good looking, definitely worth glancing at twice
   

7. •Overall taste: 6, donut was good but the jelly was overpowering
   

8. •Price: 2.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 5.5, “It is not worth buying again because the jelly is too sweet and not reminiscent of an known fruit”
   

*Side-note: it is now strawberry season in Israel, they are good, but not nearly as good as those found in America

Mehgdania Dovshanit

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 8 on fluffiness, really great texture, nice and airy, but not too light
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, very lightly sugared, adequate amount, but still room for improvement
   

3. •Filling: 5, one sided affair (not in the middle) and unsatisfying ratio
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 5.5, neon jelly, but better than other neon filled soofganiot, a little too sweet
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, plain and simple, nothing special, but still good
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6, not mouth-watering, but still looked good
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, plain donut offsets sweeter jelly
   

8. •Price: 2.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “Mediocre soofgania, not incredible, but not a waste of money, there are better options”
   

Dulce de leche/Toffee (center/top-fill)

1. •Texture: 5 on doughiness and 4 on fluffiness, too heavy and not airy at all,very thick
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, lightly sugared, not thick coating of sugar
   

3. •Filling: 2, off-center  only small glob (roughly 1 tablespoon worth of filling)
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 5.5, interesting taste, although too thick
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 3.5, very plain, almost non-descript
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6, nothing special, but not nasty looking
   

7. •Overall taste: 4, worst donut tested
   

8. •Price: 3 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “This is crap, I really don’t like this, I think I’ve eaten shoes that taste better than this”
   

*Disclaimer: This is for custard lovers, those who don’t like custard are not regarded in the tasting and evaluating of this donut (Guest tester is Dan Grover)

1. •Texture: 5.5 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness, a little too dry, but still airy
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, sugar is modestly distributed, nothing special
   

3. •Filling: 3, strictly center of donut, only small glob like toffee soofgania
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7, very light and refreshing even though it is custard
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, plain and simple
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7, powdered sugar and dollop on top make soofgania look delicious
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, “almost scrumptious, but not worth salivating over”
   

8. •Price: 3 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6.5, “Very unique among other soofganiot in the market,  only for custard lovers, dough is a little too heavy, but is offset by the delicious custard, of which there is not enough”
   

-On Mahane Yehudah

Judaean Bakery

1. •Texture: 7.5 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness, really great dough, light and airy, yet still with a substantial feeling
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 7, very well coated but a little too skimpy for the likes of the testers
   

3. •Filling: 6, very well centered and spread out among donut, but still not as much filling as desired
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7.5, pleasantly light, “This is THE caramel,” very refreshing flavor
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7.5, incredible
   

6. •Overall appearance: 8 “nicest one yet, looks lovely, Santa could’ve made this” *Disclaimer: Assuming Santa’s cooking is a good as  his sleigh riding”
   

7. •Overall taste: 7.5, “I think this is the best Caramel in Jerusalem, and possibly Israel (assuming  Jerusalem has best soofganiot in Israel)”
   

8. •Price: 5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7.8, “possibly the best donut out there, definitely worth the extra money”
   

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, really good dough, airy but not too delicate
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 7, a little too much powdered sugar, caused clumping (not necessarily bad)
   

3. •Filling: 5.5, slightly off center, not nearly as much filling as desired
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7, very nice strawberry jelly, definitely not a neon-jelly associate
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 8, exceptional
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6.5, over powdered (clumps) and un-even top (unusual bumps caused by too much liquid in batter)
   

7. •Overall taste: 7.5, really solid jelly soofgania
   

8. •Price: 5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7.5, very well made jelly soofgania, only drawback is the filling to donut ratio
   

This was quite possibly the best donut out there and should definitely be given a chance by any and all visitors to Jerusalem.  It is located next to Melekh Ha-felafel on King George, a block from Jaffa and Ben Yehudah

English Cake

1. •Texture: 7.5 on doughiness and 8 on fluffiness, really great textured dough
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 4, it had powdered sugar spread across donut, but wasn’t present in any great numbers
   

3. •Filling: 6, strictly centered, lots of filling
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6.5, decent caramel filling, not too heavy and not too light, but still not incredible
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7, solid
   

6. •Overall appearance: 5.5, nothing special, but did have a dollap at top and some powdered sugar
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.7, donut and filling didn’t complement each other that well
   

8. •Price: 5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6.7, a little expensive for the quality of donut, the employees were not nice
   

1. •Texture: 6 on doughiness and 8 on fluffiness, very airy dough, a little to light
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6.5, nicely apportioned powdered sugar, but clumpy
   

3. •Filling: 2, strictly centered, almost no filling
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6.5,a little too sweet, but still nice ( I think, there wasn’t enough filling for a second bite)
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 5.5, bland
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7, nice powdered sugar and jelly dollap at top
   

7. •Overall taste: 6, bland donut, no jelly, but powdered sugar really helped the soofgania taste better
   

8. •Price: 4.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 5.5, way too expensive for such a bland soofgania, not nearly enough filling as needed
   

English Cake did have the most variety of all of the shops visited: Chocolate, custard, caramel, plum jelly, strawberry jelly, halva, blueberry jelly, and mini soofganiot that were also very expensive.

-located al throughout Jerusalem (one is on Agrippas across from Mahane Yehudah, the other is across King George from Melekh Ha-felafel)

No Sign: across from Eshkol on Machane Yehudah

1. •Texture: 6 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, very airy and light, too light
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, not fully powdered, but yet very clumpy where there is sugar
   

3. •Filling: 5.5, very off center, not nearly enough jelly
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6, jelly was little too sweet
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7.5, really good
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, needs more powdered sugar
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, a little awkward on palette, but crispy exterior was great
   

8. •Price: 2 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6.5, “not enough jelly”
   

No Sign: next to the Russian Pharmacy on Machane Yehudah

1. •Texture: 7.5 on doughiness and 6 on fluffiness, not too heavy, appears very airy, but collapses upon consumption
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 7, very nicely powdered, could still use a little more
   

3. •Filling: 5.5, off center, very little jelly
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7, not bad for a neon jelly
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 8, really great dough with a crispy exterior
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7, needs more powdered sugar
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, a little awkward on palette, but crispy exterior was great
   

8. •Price: 3 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7, “crust on exterior was incredible, a little too expensive for a neon jelly”
   

Mehgdanit Pe-ar

1. •Texture: 4 on doughiness and 4 on fluffiness, way too stiff (possibly because of staleness, but I don’t think so, looks fluffy)
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, moderately powdered
   

3. •Filling: 6.5, centered, but not sufficient filling
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 3, very poor caramel
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, a little too sweet
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7, really nice looking donut, even though it was missing some sugar
   

7. •Overall taste: 5.5, bad caramel and slightly sweet donut
   

8. •Price: 2.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 4.5, “looked nice but taste was incredibly disappointing, especially the caramel”
   

1. •Texture: 5 on doughiness and 2 on fluffiness, not at all related to a fluffy soofgania
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 7, even coat but a little clumpy
   

3. •Filling: 6, a lot of filling the was constrained to one side
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 5, standard neon jelly
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, mediocre
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6, unusual lumps, clumpy powder, uneven top and sides (not resembling a disk or circle)
   

7. •Overall taste: 4, general taste was poor, and there was a not-so-pleasant aftertaste, overcooked
   

8. •Price: 2 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 3.5, “powdered sugar was only redeeming quality, aside from grease”
   

-located on Etz Hayim, about halfway between Jaffa and Agrippas

Favored Cake (Oogat Chan)

1. •Texture: 6 on doughiness and 6 on fluffiness, a little above average, but not much
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 8, “gorgeous”
   

3. •Filling: 2, very little filling and off center
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6.5, tasted like a jolly rancher, a little too sweet for a good jelly soofgania
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, good, but a little too sweet
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, looked really good
   

7. •Overall taste: 6, very average
   

8. •Price: 2 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “jelly was too candy-like, not nearly enough jelly”
   

-located on the opposite side of Etz Hayim from Mehgdanit Pe-ar

Yaelah Bakery

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, very nice and dough was expansive, but didn’t taste too light or heavy
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 8, “really solid, well done”
   

3. •Filling: 5, not great, off enter and poor ratio
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6, neon jelly, less sweet than standard
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7.5, delicious, well above average
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7, nice powdering covered up any defects, but there were defects
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, jelly ruined the great donut flavor
   

8. •Price: 2.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7, “without jelly it would’ve been incredible, but it was still very nice”
   

Ha-Baruch (It has no sign, but the guy said this was the name) Bakery

1. •Texture: 6.5 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, a little too light, but still good
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 5.5, very weak on most
   

3. •Filling: 5, very off-center and not nearly enough
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 5.5, neon, slightly better than regular
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, a little sweet
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, really even and beautifully proportioned donut shape and size
   

7. •Overall taste: 6, nothing spectacular, very sweet
   

8. •Price: 2 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “respectable soofgania for 2 shekels, not nearly enough jelly”
   

Cafe Na’aman…no picture, sorry

Caramel (center/top-fill)

1. •Texture: 8 on doughiness and 6.5 on fluffiness, perfectly cooked, slightly raw near middle but not heavy, donut collapsed after bite
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 8, “incredible, marvelous”
   

3. •Filling: 4, very off-center and not enough
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 5, “not a bad taste, but a lack of taste”
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 7, very nice
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, tantalizing
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, powdered sugar really complemented the donut nicely, lack of caramel taste was acceptable, crunchy exterior
   

8. •Price: 5.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7.5, “crunchy exterior was very pleasant on the palette, beautiful doughy consistency, donut alone was very solid, slightly expensive for a caramel without any taste”
   

Jelly (side-fill)

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, a little too light, but very expansive and airy
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6, not enough, but still clumpy and did not cover up the defects of the donut
   

3. •Filling: 6, off-center, but a fairly decent ratio
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 6.5, a little too sweet for a non-neon jelly, “not that bad”
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6.5, plain, except for “a slight cakey aftertaste (not the good type of cake)”
   

6. •Overall appearance: 6, batter was too wet, which caused bumps and lumps over entire donut, not enough powdered sugar
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, respectable flavor, not incredible, but sweetness of jelly compensated for “cake-like” flavor
   

8. •Price: 5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 6, “expensive, employees were very nice and helpful, “powdered sugar was nice, unless inhaled while attempting to take  bite”
   

-Located all throughout Israel, very decent donut, nothing spectacular about overall taste, but it is consistent with the bakeries, I have had multiple donuts from different Na’ama locations.

Marzipan

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness, very nice and airy, solid doughy consistency
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6,
   

3. •Filling: 7, center and top, really solid ratio, possibly too much for a caramel donut, “you don’t want too much caramel in a soofgania because it will overpower the flavor of the soofgania”
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7.5, possibly the best caramel yet, very true to what a caramel should be
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, plain
   

6. •Overall appearance: 8, perfect, “everything one wants when looking at a donut (except for the sign in English”
   

7. •Overall taste: 6.5, caramel overpowered the flavor of the donut
   

8. •Price: 4 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7, very good donut, “holds true to Marzipan standards”
   

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7 on fluffiness, very nice and airy, solid doughy consistency
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 6,
   

3. •Filling: 6, center and top, good, but could’ve used a bit more
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7.5, “not too shabby, very nice”
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, plain
   

6. •Overall appearance: 7.5, beautiful (jelly dollop didn’t look as good as caramel dollop)
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, very solid
   

8. •Price: 4 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7,solid donut, a little too pricey, but understandable because it is a famous bakery and they have standards
   

-Located on Agrippas, just outside of Machane Yehudah, if you have never been here, there is probably something wrong with your taste-buds

Angel Bakery

1. •Texture: 7 on doughiness and 7.5 on fluffiness, nice consistency, could be a little better but very expansive
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 8, “the best powdering I have ever seen, they powder it in front of you…individually, A+”
   

3. •Filling: 4, center and top, really disappointing ratio for such a well established bakery (possibly a bad a egg)
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 7, “pretty, pretty, pretty good” jelly - Larry David
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, fairly plain, but still good
   

6. •Overall appearance: 8,
   

7. •Overall taste: 7, solid donut
   

8. •Price: 3.5 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 7, good except there wasn’t enough jelly, there was a good deal of 2 for 5 NIS, but I didn’t have enough money for the second one, “personal powdering was a great touch, really nice staff”
   

-Located all throughout Israel, one is on Jaffa across from Etz Hayim (next to Mahane Yehudah)

Chava Bakery

1. •Texture: 2 on doughiness and 5 on fluffiness, bread-like
   

2. •Powdered sugar: 0, absolutely none
   

3. •Filling: 3, off-center, very poor ratio
   

4. •Flavor of filling: 3, terrible neon jelly
   

5. •Flavor of donut: 6, “tasted like bad white bread, or maybe it was decent white bread, but because i was expecting something sweet, it didn’t register as something good”
   

6. •Overall appearance: 5, very simple and plain, but no powdered sugar, “sugar really would’ve made it look it incredible”
   

7. •Overall taste: 3, not good, possibly the worst tasting donut yet
   

8. •Price: 1 NIS
   

9. •Overall experience: 3, best 1 shekel soofganiot yet, at the same time, it was by far the worst soofgania I have ever had, the only donut that I was not capable of finishing, I only ate enough to reach the filling
   

-Located on Etz Hayim in between Agrippas and Jaffa

More to come…Maybe

“Success!”-Avery’s stomach

“Noooo, don’t do it”-Avery’s arteries