I recently tasted three different donuts from the most popular donut places located in the Iowa City area. I wanted to see if I could settle the dispute of which donut place is the best. Dunkin is always the most popular, but is it worth it? I ranked these donuts from best to worse based on texture, flavor, price, and appearance. I purchased the donuts in convenient and local places, all located throughout Coralville. We got all glazed donuts from Dunkin, Hurts, and Hyvee. After testing all three of the donuts, a friend and I decided that the order from best to worst was Hyvee, Dunkin, and Hurts.

Hyvee

Alyson Skala ‘24 and I determined that Hyvee had the best donut. Overall we gave it an 8.5/10, not yet separating it into categories. This donut was our favorite because it had both a good flavor and texture. The flavor was just the right amount of sweetness, and the texture and consistency were not too dry. We didn’t give it the full 10/10 because of the messiness. It was super sticky and it was almost like the glaze was melting off the donut when we ate it. Although it was sticky, it was a quick cleanup and didn’t take off too many points for being the best donut. Another thing we looked at was the size of the donut. Hyvee’s donuts are definitely not small. Although we loved the donut, it was very hard to eat because we were getting full really fast because it was pretty big. The last factor of the donut we looked at was the storage and how long it would stay good. After a few hours, the donuts were still in good shape. The glaze was a bit more dried out, but the donut itself still had a good texture and flavor. Individual scores: 8.5/10 overall, 9.5/10 flavor, 9/10 texture, 7/10 size, 4/10 messiness, 8/10 storage

Dunkin

Skala and I both agreed that Dunkin would not take first place or last place. It wasn’t as good as Hyvee, but it was better than Hurts. We gave the overall donut a 7/10. We enjoyed the flavor as well as the size. Size played a big role in critiquing this donut. Dunkin’s donuts are smaller, compared to Hyvee and Hurts, which for some people could make them turn away from buying it, but after eating all three, Dunkin was the easiest to eat. It wasn’t big enough that it was hard to finish or leave us very full, unlike the others. Dunkin also had a great flavor and was not too messy. The glaze wasn’t melting onto our hands, and it was the perfect type of sweet. The category where we took points off was the texture as well as the storage, or how long it would stay fresh after we bought it. The texture and consistency were drier than the others, which in our case made us like Dunkin a little bit less than the more doughy Hyvee and Hurts. Storage was the other factor that made us take off points. After having donuts from Dunkin for a few hours, the donuts were pretty dried out. The glaze was not as soft and the donut was even drier. The individual scorings that we gave Dunkin were: 7/10 overall, 9/10 flavor, 9/10 size, 6/10 texture, 7/10 messiness, 4/10 storage.

Hurts

This donut was still good, but definitely not as good as the other two. Skala and I ranked this a 6/10 for overall donut quality. The main factors that contributed to the low score were the flavor, messiness, and size. The flavor was the biggest factor for the low score. Compared to the other donuts, Hurts was overwhelmingly sweet and sugary. Mixed with the large size and the super sweet flavor, this donut was a little too much for our liking. Hurts also had a very very messy glaze and were the second messiest donut, besides Hyvee. The best thing about Hurts was the texture. The glazed donut had a perfect doughy and not too dry consistency, and it made it taste super good with the combination of the glaze. Other donuts I have had at Hurts were cakier, but the glazed one was not. Like Hyvee, after having the donuts for a few hours, the only thing I found wrong with it was the glaze had dried out a bit. The inside of the donut was not too dry, just the glaze. Although the donut was ranked last in the three that we tried, it was still a good donut, there were just some different factors that the other donuts had more of and were better. Individual scores: 6/10 overall, 6/10 flavor, 7/10 size, 9/10 texture, 7/10 messiness, 7/10 storage.

After settling the dispute to see where to get the best donut, we agreed that not only is Hyvee the best donut, but it is also a lot more convenient. There are many more Hyvees located all throughout the Iowa City area than there are Dunkin’s and Hurts. If you are looking for a glazed donut treat, Hyvee is by far the best place to go.