Pączki

Pączki(Polish:[ˈpɔ̃nt͡ʂkʲi];sg.:pączek,Polish:[ˈpɔ̃nt͡ʂɛk];Kashubian:pùrcleKashubian:[ˈpwʉrt͡slɛ];Old PolishandSilesian:krepleSilesian:[ˈkrɛplɛ]) are filleddoughnutsfound inPolish cuisine.
Apączekis adeep-friedpiece ofdoughshaped into a flattened ball and filled withconfitureor other sweet filling.Pączkiare usually covered withpowdered sugar,icing,glaze, or bits of driedorangezest. A small amount ofgrain alcohol(traditionallyrectified spirit) is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.Pączkiare 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.
Although they look like Germanberliners(bismarcksin North America) orjelly doughnuts,pączkiare made from especially rich dough containingeggs,fats,sugar,yeast, and sometimesmilk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered withgranulatedorpowdered sugar.Powidła(stewedplumjam) andwild rosepetal jamare traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, includingstrawberry,Bavarian cream,blueberry,custard,raspberry, andapple.
Pączkihave been known inPolandat least since theMiddle Ages.Jędrzej Kitowiczwrote that during the reign ofAugustus III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland,pączkidough was improved so thatpączkibecame lighter, spongier, and more resilient.
The Polish wordpączek[ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂɛk](plural:pączki[ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂkʲi]) is a diminutive of the Polish wordpąk[ˈpɔŋk]"bud".The latter derives fromProto-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.From Polish the word has been borrowed into several other Slavic languages, where the respective loanwords (ponchik,ponchykorponichka) refer to a similar ball-shaped pastry.
English speakers typically use the plural form of the Polish word in both singular and plural. They pronounce it as/ˈpʊntʃki,ˈpʊnʃ-,ˈpʌntʃ-,ˈpɒntʃ-/and often write it as "paczki", i.e., without theogonek(hook-shaped diacritic).This should not be confused with the unrelated Polish wordpaczki[ˈpat͡ʂkʲi], which is the plural form ofpaczka[ˈpat͡ʂka], meaning "package" or "parcel".
In Poland,pączkiare eaten especially onFat Thursday(Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday prior toAsh Wednesdayand the beginning ofLent.The traditional reason for makingpączkiwas to use up all thelard,sugar, eggs andfruitin the house, because their consumption was forbidden byChristian fasting practicesduring the season of Lent.
In North America, particularly the largePolish communitiesofChicago,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) onFat Tuesday. With its sizable Polish population, Chicago celebrates the festival on both Fat Thursday and Fat Tuesday.Pączkiare also often eaten onCasimir Pulaski Day. InBuffalo,Toledo,Cleveland,Detroit,Grand Rapids,St. Louis,South Bend,Louisville, andWindsor, Pączki Day is celebrated on Fat Tuesday.
The Pączki Day celebrations in some areas are even larger than many celebrations forSt. Patrick's Day.InHamtramck, Michigan, an enclave ofDetroit, there is an annual Pączki Day (Shrove Tuesday) Parade,which has gained a devoted following. Throughout theMetro Detroitarea, it is so widespread that many bakeries attract lines of customers forpączkion 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 withpączki-eating contests.
These pastries have become popular in the United States as a result ofPolish immigrantsand marketing by the bakery industry. Sold in bakeries mainly on bothFat TuesdayandFat Thursdaythroughout Detroit and Chicago, they are particularly popular in areas where there is a large concentration of Polish immigrants:Milwaukee, Northcentral and SoutheasternWisconsin,Chicago,Northern Illinois,Northwest Indiana,Metro Detroit,Greater Grand Rapids,Mid Michigan, GreaterBuffalo, New York, GreaterRochester, New York,Toledo, GreaterCincinnati, GreaterCleveland,Youngstown,Philadelphia,Pittsburgh,Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Northern and CentralNew Jersey, Central Connecticut, andWestern Massachusetts.