Paczki
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Pączki (Polish: pączki, pronounced: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂkʲi] MP3 Pronunciation File) are traditional Polish doughnuts. Pączki is the plural form of the word pączek (pronounced: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂɛk]) in Polish, but many English speakers use pączki as singular and pączkis as plural.
A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. A traditional filling is jam made from fried rose petals. Fresh pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of fried orange zest. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of August III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, pączki dough was improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
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[edit] Pączki Day
Traditionally, the reason for making pączki has been to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent. They are eaten especially on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent (Polish: Tłusty czwartek, not to be confused with Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday). In Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Hamtramck, Milwaukee, and South Bend, Pączki Day is more commonly celebrated on Fat Tuesday instead of Fat Thursday. Chicago celebrates both Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday, partially due to its sizable Polish population.
[edit] Pączki in America
Although they look like Bismarcks or jelly-filled pastries, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. These pastries have become popular in the United States as a result of Polish immigrants and marketing by the bakery industry. They are prepared exclusively for Lent and are hugely popular in many parts of the country. In Hamtramck, an enclave in Detroit, there is an annual Pączki-Day (Fat Tuesday) Parade, and lines at bakeries can be seen up to 24 hours before the deep-fried delights go on sale Tuesday morning. Many bars in town open early in the morning, and provide free entertainment, a party atmosphere, pączki-clad mascots, and at at least one bar, pączki filled with Jagermeister. The Pączki-Day celebration in this town is even larger than many areas have for St. Patrick's Day. Prunes are considered the traditional filling, but many others are used as well, including lemon, strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and rarely apple. Due to French influence, pączki are eaten on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) rather than on Fat Thursday. In the large Polish community of Chicago, and other large cities across the Midwest, Pączki Day is also celebrated annually by immigrants and locals alike.
Another cultural phenomenon is the emergence of the "Pączki Challenge", an eating contest in which individuals attempt to race from one side of a room (non-standard) while eating as many pączki as they can before reaching the other side. The person who arrives first and has eaten the most pączki wins. Typically a ratio of 1 pączek for every 10 steps is considered competitive.
[edit] Pączki in Israel
Meanwhile, Polish Jews fried pączki (Yiddish: פּאָנטשקעס , pontshkes) in oil, and ate them on Hanukkah[citation needed]; this custom was imported to Israel and spread to other Jews, who know them by their Modern Hebrew name, סופגניות, sufganiyot (singular: סופגניה, sufganiyah).
[edit] Pączki variations worldwide
In Russian cuisine, the word "pączki" transformed into "pyshki" (especially in St. Petersburg) and "пончики", ponchiki. The latter may refer to both "pączki" and "pirozhki".
In Ukrainian cuisine, they are called "пампушки", pampushky.
In German and Danish, they are called Berliner. In Austria they are called Krapfen.
In Lithuanian cuisine, they're called spurgos.
In Portuguese tradition, a similar confection called the malasada is made during Fat Tuesday. In Hawaii, where Portuguese immigrants worked the sugarcane and pineapple plantations, malasadas are a popular breakfast or dessert item that can be purchased at countless malasada bakeries.
In Brazil, it's called Sonho - Portuguese for "dream".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Paczki Day PSA, an account of Detroit area Paczki Day traditions in 2008
