What the Hell is a Kringle? I'll Tell You What a Kringle Is!

Duane Kuiper was a major league ballplayer, an alum of the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants from 1974 - 1985; a lifetime .271 hitter with a decent glove. He's one of a few in major league baseball lore to have a substantial career in the number of years he played in the "show" but only a single home run to show for it. Upon retirement from the game he found his calling literally calling games, becoming the Giants TV play-by-play broadcaster teamed with another former Giant, his old teammate Mike Krukow. They've been a tandem since 1993. Although I'm a true blue Dodgers fan, I appreciate the Giants TV broadcast team, and consider them one of the best in the game. Baseball, though, is only peripheral to this story.

While not a Giants fan by any measurement, I would watch the Giants broadcasts to get my National League fix, largely rooting against them as a general rule (remember I bleed Dodger Blue). Whether you like a team or not is inconsequential as long as you are a true baseball fan, and the local team that you may not be a fan of  has captivating broadcasters. In this, the Giants TV guys tick the box.

Listening and watching Krukow and Kuiper ("Kruk and Kuip" as they are known in the region) is always an enjoyable experience. As former players they know the game, the history, and as employees of the Giants, they do a real good job keeping the "homer" quotient to an absolute minimum. The Giants radio guys can take a lesson. Both Kruk and Kuip share enough about themselves personally to maintain a genuine connection to the viewer. Their popularity, both as a broadcast team and individually, is as strong as any current or former player, save Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, or the late Willie McCovey.

Duane has let us in on various tidbits of his life. Through the broadcasts we know that he was born and attended high school in Racine, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. His family operates a 300 acre farm in Sturtevant, and Duane tells many stories about the back-breaking work he and his siblings experienced helping out as youths. When the Giants go on their Midwest road trips, Duane always reports on the family's comings-and-goings, updates life on the farm, and describes various local delicacies that he misses from back home. One that he speaks of every time he's in Milwaukee is something called a Kringle.

Through the years, Duane would describe a Kringle waiting for him at the farm, and that it would be consumed quickly. Duane would caution that multiple Kringle's would need to be bought to ensure one wouldn't miss out if a large party of folks all had their eye on one. He never went into too much detail, and, as a local Milwaukee/Racine delicacy, I had never seen one, heard it described, or tasted one. I honestly couldn't even picture one in my mind, and only knew it was some sort of pastry. Since I was not in need (as opposed to "want") of baked goods, and always have had a go-to bakery of epic proportions, I would quickly forget about Kringles until the next point of reference, which always came from Duane during Giants broadcasts. I was definitely curious, but not so curious I'd spend any amount of time researching the subject. Remember, I didn't "need" one.

Fast forward about a decade. I'm sitting in my office when our office manager calls and says I have a package in reception. Not expecting anything, I wander to the reception area to discover what resembled a pizza box from a Racine bakery called O&H. No clue what it was or who it came from. Opened the box to discover an inner wrapping with the words DANISH KRINGLE in big block letters above the O&H logo. If you can recall any child-like excitement surrounding sweets, such as  your first ice cream sundae, donuts, or an endless bowl of candy, you'll know how I felt when I realized the elusive Kringle I had only heard about was now at my beck and call.

Turned out one of our Salesman, a guy we'll call Travis, who hails from Racine, had sent me the Kringle as a thank you for some above-and-beyond effort  he felt I had made with one of his customers. I immediately called to thank him for the gesture, and to tell him about my decade-long passive interest in Kringles based upon Duane Kuiper's prose. Turns out O&H was the exact same bakery Duane would reference on the broadcasts. I cracked the box open, removed the Kringle from the inner packaging, and put it out in the common area to share with my colleagues. It lasted all of five minutes!

To suggest that the O&H Kringle was excellent would require a whole new definition of the word excellent. This was possibly the best baked good I have ever experienced, and as I indicated earlier in the blog, I've aligned myself with some ridiculously great bakeries throughout my life. I have rarely been in need of great bakery items, even though I don't "need" it (you get the picture).

To describe a Kringle you must first picture a thin, large, somewhat flat donut, but one that is probably 50% bigger than a vinyl record album (youngsters, if you don't know what a record album is, ask your parents). Cut into generous pieces, the yield is around 12 servings. Although Kringles come in an array of flavors and styles, Travis did a solid by sending the generic Almond Kringle, which was just perfect for my often picky tastes. Out of the packaging it is a perfect oval with a thin spread of icing on the top. Given the small amount of icing, it appeared to be less sweet than I had imagined. Boy was I wrong!

While the top of the Kringle has just a sampling of the tasty icing, the flaky insides produced a generous layer of icing that surprised, satisfied, and possessed. They say it takes one heroin experience to become addicted; can't speak to that, but I can speak to the addictive nature of the Kringle. Duane was right; one will never do.

When the Holidays came around I used the O&H catalog (which I now get every so many weeks) to send Kringles to a few select friends and, of course, one to our house. When it arrived, my wife indicated that she was fairly certain you could buy a Kringle at the local Trader Joe's. I agreed but assumed it would be no where as good as the O&H offerings. When we opened the package and she saw the logo, she indicated that she was sure it was O&H's Kringle's that were for sale at the market.

I said no way; how would a little bakery in Racine, Wisconsin sell their product at a national chain? We enjoyed the Kringle during the Holidays; once it was finished I knew it would be unhealthy to have one delivered on a regular basis, so I appreciated the treat and quickly removed Kringles from the forefront of my mind.

He's clearly a fan!

OK, back to baseball. As the 2018 MLB season was coming to an end, it became clear to both Travis and I that there was a real possibility that my Dodgers and his Brewers would meet for the National League title. A friendly wager was needed, and I knew exactly what my win would produce if the Dodgers won. Travis readily agreed, but indicated that although O&H was decent, there were other Racine bakeries that specialized in Kringles, and that if the Dodgers won, he'd be sending me treats from a competing bakery. If the Brewers won, he'd be receiving a basket of Chocolate items from the venerable Ghiradelli Chocolate Company of San Francisco.

When it became apparent that The Dodgers and Brewers would indeed meet for the league title, I mentioned to my wife and daughter that we could be receiving a Kringle  shortly if the Dodgers win the series. This brought back the conversation about the O&H Kringle being available literally around the block at Trader Joe's. I needed to put a stop to this madness, so I challenged my wife to go to the market and show me the elusive Kringle.We made two full passes around the market, when on a distant table in, of all places, the produce area sat a stack of packaged Kringles, almond in variety and absolutely from the O&H Bakery, Racine Wisconsin. When I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and boy, was I wrong!

With the Dodgers advancing to the World Series, Travis provided not one, but two different Kringles; An interesting Pecan and a chocolate caramel turtle offering that was off the hinges sweet. They both quickly disappeared!

Discovering that I can buy not only A Kringle, but THE Kringle in my neighborhood has made life worth living again. I'm no longer jealous of those in the greater Milwaukee metro area.I'll of course need to practice restraint for the obvious reasons. If you've never had a real Danish Kringle and do not have friends or relatives in Wisconsin, you still have options. Check your local Trader Joe's, find a bakery that specializes in Danish goods, or contact the good folks at O&H Bakery (ohdanishbakery.com) and request one of their full-color comprehensive catalogs. You'll be amazed at the selection, and although they ship throughout the country, the goods arrives in pristine shape (not sure how but take my word for it).