Wednesday 4 March 2009

Nom Nom Nom in The Peg: Jambusters


When I was a little girl, a huge treat was being sent to the bakery downtown to buy a couple of jambusters. They were lovely round doughnuts, deep-fried and covered in granulated sugar. Inside was sweet white dough with raspberry jam at the very centre of the bun. The bakery clerk would put the jambusters in a brown paper bag and I'd bike home with them. By the time I arrived, there would be a big translucent grease stain on the bag courtesy of the treasure within. Yum!!

Apparently, Manitoba is the only place in Canada (and indeed, the world) where these particular doughnuts are called "jambusters." Others call them jelly doughnuts, Berliners or Bismarcks, but those terms seem odd and inadequate to me. Now that I live in Alberta, I am slowly converting this province (one person at a time) to use of the correct term "jambuster." Incidentally, if you live in Edmonton, the absolutely best jambusters are found at the Portuguese Bakery, 5304 - 118 Avenue. They are as delicious as the jambusters of my childhood, which is no small feat.

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