It's fall, which means that the apple cider donut — that sweet and tasty treat that is ubiquitous around New England this time of year — reigns supreme. Instagram influencer Alex Schwartz joined Boston Public Radio Friday to share about his travels in pursuit of the best cider donuts our region has to offer.
“I live a duality of lives. I run a startup tech company and then on the side I am a self-dubbed donut reviewer,” Schwartz, a self-described "Cider Donuteur," said. He has amassed thousands of followers on Instagram, where he goes by @ciderdonuteur, with his reviews of the treats and reports from his travels from Maine to Connecticut.
Schwartz began tasting and reviewing cider donuts in 2020 after trying to find fresh treats in New Hampshire.
“I was just driving up to New Hampshire, Vermont, and Western Mass. to go hiking and be out in nature alone,” Schwartz said. “I would be somewhere and go, man, I wish there was a place that was selling apple cider donuts and making them hot and fresh.”
According to Schwartz, there are four key criteria that influence his donut rating: how it’s fried, what's inside, the cinnamon-sugar coating, and whether the donut is freshly made. Reviewing donuts may not be the most lucrative side project, but it's one that has gained him notoriety throughout New England.
“I have made a total of $300 dollars in three years," Schwartz said. "I took one photo of an apple cider donut in front of an apple cider place and the Massachusetts Travel Commission reached out and said, 'hey can we use that photo?'”
Apart from posting his reviews on Instagram, Schwartz also logs them on his New England Cider Donut Map, which has more than 2.6 million views on Google Maps and promises to keep donut enthusiasts busy all fall with more than 300 different bakeries and orchards he has already visited.
