Pączki
Polish filled pastry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pączki (Polish: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂkʲi] ⓘ; sg.: pączek, Polish: [ˈpɔ̃t͡ʂɛk]; Kashubian: pùrcle Kashubian: [ˈpwʉrt͡slɛ]; Old Polish and Silesian: kreple Silesian: [ˈkrɛplɛ]) are filled doughnuts found in Polish cuisine.
Glazed pączki | |
| Alternative names | kreple, pùrcle |
|---|---|
| Type | Doughnut |
| Place of origin | Poland |
| Region or state | |
| Main ingredients | Yeast-based dough, grain alcohol, confiture or other sweet filling, powdered sugar, icing, glaze, or bits of dried orange zest |
Description
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 orange zest. 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.[1] 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.[2][3]
Although they look like German berliners (bismarcks in North America) or jelly doughnuts, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast, and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. Powidła (stewed plum jam) and wild rose petal jam[1][4] are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and apple.[5]
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.[6]
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".[7] 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.[8][9]
Several other Slavic languages have borrowed from the original Polish, where the respective loanwords (ponchik,[a] ponchyk,[b] or ponichka[c]) refer to a similar ball-shaped pastry.[10][11][12]
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-/.[d][13][14][15][16] 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".[17]
Pączki Day
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday |  Fat Thursday(Tłusty Czwartek) |
Friday | Saturday | ||
| Sunday | Monday |   Fat Tuesday(Pączki Day) |
Ash Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | ||
| ||||||||
In Poland, pączki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20] 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.[21]
In Hamtramck, Michigan, an enclave of Detroit, there is an annual Pączki Day (Shrove Tuesday) Parade,[5] 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.[22] 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".[23]
In some areas, Pączki Day is celebrated with pączki-eating contests.[24]
See also
Explanatory notes
- Ukrainian: пончик, Belarusian: пончык.
- Respelling: PUUNCH-kee, PUUNSH-, PUNCH-, PONCH-.