Israel - December, 2016

Roladin (Tel Aviv and Jerusalem)
Web Site: Roladin
Address: שדרות ממילא, Jerusalem, Israel (in the Mamilla Mall nearest the Jaffa Gate)
               Dizengoff St 49, Tel Aviv-Yafo, 6433221, Israel
Rating: 

My love for donuts was reinforced with an aptly-timed visit to Israel during Chanukah in December of 2016. I am Jewish and was well aware of the connection of fried dough (sufganiyot in Hebrew) to donuts.  Here’s some background from Wikipedia (for those desiring to be in the know):

“A sufganiyah (Hebrew: סופגנייה‎ or Hebrew: סופגניה‎;  plural,  sufganiyot: Hebrew: סופגניות‎

Pronounced [ˌsuf.ɡan.iˈah] SOOF-gah-nee-AH, [ˌsuf.ɡan.iˈot] SOOF-gah-nee-OHT) is a round jelly doughnut eaten in Israel and around the world on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried, filled with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar.^[1] At Hanukkah, Jewish people observe the custom of eating fried foods in commemoration of the miracle associated with the Temple oil.”

But, I digress. A good friend gave me the heads up before our Israel trip that bakeries in Israel go all out with extravagantly and exquisitely decorated and extraordinarily tasty sufganiyot well in advance of the festival of Chanukah.  We took full advantage and particularly enjoyed the sufganiyot in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Sufganiyot, at their essence, are jelly donuts.  Traditional sufganiyot are sprinkled with powdered sugar and infused with fruit jam.  But, the sufganiyot at Roladin are deluxe.  These were infused with fancy fillings ranging from fudge to caramel and beyond.  Some even had an infusion tube with alcoholic fillings.  Beautiful to look at and delightful to eat.  An absolutely critical must-not-miss stop when you are in Israel in the six weeks leading up to Chanukah.

              

December 21 and December 23, 2016 

More traditional Sufganiyot

Typically, this blog identifies particular donut shops.  I will make an exception for sufganiyot in Israel during Chanukah.  They are everywhere!  Roladin carries non-traditional sufganiyot with extraordinary decorations and fillings (see my Roladin post). Yet, other shops also carry delicious sufganiyot but of a more traditional sort.  So, here, I provide some additional photos of donuts in and around the Mahane Yehuda Market (tastily traditional) and in the Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh.

I prefer the more upscale varieties but these are still very much worth sampling.

With our guide Yuval, who could match me donut for donut!