A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened ball and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. Pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze, or bits of dried orangezest. A small amount of grain alcohol (traditionally rectified spirit) is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough. Pączki are commonly thought of as fluffy but somewhat collapsed, with a bright stripe around them; these features are seen as evidence that the dough was fried in fresh oil.
Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz wrote that during the reign of Augustus III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, pączki dough was improved so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
Pączki displayed for sale
Traditional pączki serowe (curd-based pączki) or oponki
Home-made glazed pączki
American-made pączki
Etymology, spelling, and pronunciation
The Polish word pączek[ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂɛk] (plural: pączki[ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂkʲi]) is a diminutive of the Polish word pąk[ˈpɔŋk] "bud". The latter derives from Proto-Slavic*pǫkъ, which may have referred to anything that is round, bulging, and about to burst (compare Proto-Slavic *pǫknǫti "to swell, burst"), possibly of ultimately onomatopoeic origin.
Several other Slavic languages have borrowed from the original Polish, where the respective loanwords (ponchik, ponchyk, or ponichka) refer to a similar ball-shaped pastry.
English has borrowed the plural form of the Polish word for both the singular and the plural, writing it as "paczki" (i.e., without the ogonek, the hook-shaped diacritic). English speakers typically pronounce it as /ˈpʊntʃki,ˈpʊnʃ-,ˈpʌntʃ-,ˈpɒntʃ-/. Note that the English spelling should not be confused with the unrelated Polish word paczki[ˈpat͡ʂkʲi], which is the plural form of paczka[ˈpat͡ʂka], meaning "package" or "parcel".
In Poland, pączki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The traditional reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because their consumption was forbidden by Christian fasting practices during the season of Lent.
In North America, particularly the large Polish communities of Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and other large cities across the Midwest and Northeast, Paczki Day is celebrated annually by immigrants and locals alike. The date of this observance merges with that of pre-Lenten traditions of other immigrants (e.g., Pancake Day, Mardi Gras) on Fat Tuesday. With its sizable Polish population, Chicago celebrates the festival on both Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday. Pączki are also often eaten on Casimir Pulaski Day. In Buffalo, Toledo, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, South Bend, Louisville, and Windsor, Pączki Day is celebrated on Fat Tuesday.
In Hamtramck, Michigan, an enclave of Detroit, there is an annual Pączki Day (Shrove Tuesday) Parade, which has gained a devoted following. Throughout the Metro Detroit area, it is so widespread that many bakeries attract lines of customers for pączki on Pączki Day. In suburban Cleveland, Eastern European bakery Rudy's Strudel hosts a large indoor and outdoor Paczki Day party in conjunction with neighboring record store, The Current Year. It is called "the Mardi Gras of the Midwest".
In some areas, Pączki Day is celebrated with pączki-eating contests.
↑Lukach, Adam (23 February 2017). "Paczki day specials from 33 Chicago restaurants and bakeries". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 February 2017. Whether you celebrate Paczki day on Fat Thursday or Fat Tuesday, or both, area bakeries are ready with thousands of the filled treats.
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Fat Thursday
Fat Tuesday
