While listening to your caller talk about calling jelly donuts "bismarks" I couldn't help but wonder if the reason no one calls them that is because they're a different snack. A local bakery here in Salem, MA, is locally famous for their "real cream bismarks". The bismarks I'm familiar with are a long "donut" (crueller shaped) and are split along the top, filled with jelly, topped with whipped cream, then dusted with powdered sugar.
Their traditional round donut version of this is a Polish treat called "Packzi" (pronounced something like pootch-key). Either one is delicious, as I can attest to. I couldn't stop thinking about bismarks after listening to your podcast and as soon as I got out of work I ran down and got one of each. My waistline is not happy with you.
Lychee, thanks for this new information. (And I have to confess, I did the exactly the same thing! My waistline's not happy with us either! I think from now on we should alternate calls about food words with calls about exercise words. What do you think?)
I believe it it spelled "bismarck". In any case, I need to find a bakery here in S. CA that has them. I don't even care if it's a "packzi"! At least we are clear, Martha, that they are not toroidal. :^)
The gentleman from Illinois called regarding "bismarks" really hit home. I grew up in a German enclave in northern Alabama, Cullman. It was settled by German immigrants in the late 1800's that made stopovers in Cincinnati and Chicago before coming South to found a colony in Alabama, north of Birmingham and south of Huntsville. We had and still have a German Bakery, the Duchess Bakery, that makes "bismarks" even today. The bismark resembles an eclair in shape but is filled with custard and creme filling, not unlike a Boston Creme Pie. The bismark is fried like a regular doughnut and is between 5-6 in. long. The Duchess Bakery only sells two varieties of the bismark, plain and Chocolate covered. They do however sell regular jelly-filled doughnuts. I think the name has to do with the "German-ness" of the populace where the bakery is. I have seen "bismarks" in other cities that were similar, but never as good. When I lived in Elizabethtown, KY and Christiansburg, VA we would call ahead to insure there would be some waiting for us at the "Duchess" when we arrived. We now live just outside of Memphis, TN and still call if we are going to be in the vicinity of my hometown bakery.
Next door to this Bakery is a nice shop named a "Touch of German". Each year Cullman has an Oktoberfest, yet is in a "dry" county; figure that out. There are lots of German names in my hometown's past as well as mine, both my mother and father have Yeagers in their family tree. My home church was originally called the "German Baptist Church" before falling prey to anti-German sentiment during WWI and henceforth became Seventh Street Baptist Church.
My love of language was cultivated by my aunt that taught school in Chula Vista, CA for many years before retiring to move back home to Alabama. She taught me the difference between learning and comprehension.
Best, and keep on wording.
I live in Tulsa, OK and am familiar with Bismarks (not sure of the exact spelling used) sold in at least two of our neutral-heritage bakeries. My understanding is that the Biskmark is the cream-filled version of a "jelly" donut... I might need to do more research to figure that out for sure, though!