Why Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Taste So Different Depending On Where (And When) You Buy Them

Dunkin' may have dropped the baked good that made it famous from its name in order to hawk coffee, but Krispy Kreme has not followed suit. Krispy Kreme doughnuts feel like the platonic ideal of doughnuts. You look at those shiny glazed doughnuts under the welcoming neon light and it feels like they (and by extension, you) are exactly where they belong. And yet, depending on where you are, you can get a wildly varied Krispy Kreme experience. Sometimes you get a hot, fresh doughnut that melts in your mouth; other times, it feels like the doughnut is fighting your teeth. What gives? It's a pretty simply answer, really. Either the doughnuts are fresh, or they're not.

Food tastes different when it's hot or cold due to a number of volatile ingredients and the way they interact with your taste buds. For instance, you may notice that ice cream tastes sweeter when it's melting, or that tomatoes taste bland fresh out of the refrigerator. By the same token, a Krispy Kreme doughnut that's fresh out of the oven (announced by the chain's iconic "Hot Light") is rich, soft, and fluffy. Like all hot doughnuts, the volatile ingredients are activated when fresh and in turn the heat stimulates your taste buds. That same doughnut will become cold, stale, and bland when it's left for too long in, say, a display case at a gas station food court. (If you're in the Midwest, though, you may end up seeing more Kwik Trip donuts than Krispy Kremes.)

If you've set foot inside a Krispy Kreme, you know about the Hot Light. It's the old-fashioned, red-and-black neon sign declaring that there are hot doughnuts available. (If you remember that "back at it again at Krispy Kreme" Vine, it's that thing the backflipping kid crashed into.) When a fresh batch of doughnuts is pulled out of the oven, the sign is lit and you can enjoy Krispy Kreme the way it's meant to be enjoyed. (There are persistent rumors that you can get a free doughnut when the Hot Light is on, but if it's true in some locations it's by no means a blanket policy — you can get free Krispy Kreme doughnuts on your birthday, though.)

For those who are set on enjoying hot, fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts, it may do you good to download the Hot Light app, which lets you know when doughnuts are ready at your nearest location. (It's times like these which make you wish Alexander Graham Bell was still around to see what wonders he's wrought.) If you have too many apps on your phone already, well, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of staleness, is there?