당신은 당신의 인생에서 좋은 생과자 한두 개를 먹었다 고 생각할 수도 있지만, 당신은 pączek (복수 : pączki, 발음 " pawnch-kee "또는 " poonch-key ")를 먹기 전까지는 진정으로 살지 않았습니다 .
This round Polish donut is a warm, fluffy treat associated closely with the pre-Lent religious holiday Fat Tuesday , or the Tuesday that falls before Ash Wednesday every year. And, let's face it — Mardi Gras wouldn't be Mardi Gras without it.
How Do You Make Pączki?
The word pączek roughly means 'bud,' likely referring to its round shape, which is practically bursting at the seams with filling. Rose filling (and sometimes fried rose buds) is a component of a traditional pączek.
"It's got sugar, butter, eggs and savory flowers," says Sandy Bakic, whose parents became owners of the New Martha Washington Bakery in greater Detroit in 1973, where she's been working since she was a teenager.
The sweet treat is made of yeasty dough and comes covered in an icy glaze or powdered sugar. It also typically contains some type of cheesy cream or fruit-based filling, like cannoli cream or marmalade. Typical flavors include raspberry, strawberry, apricot and rose.
"My favorite filling in pączki is apricots," Bakic says.
Making the dough is a painstaking labor of love, which Bakic describes as a "lengthy process." "You make the big balls of dough. Then you wait till they rise. Then you make smaller individual pączki, then you let those rise, and then you fry them," Bakic says.
Although Bakic says that you could opt for a non-traditional pączki without filling, you'd really be missing out on the true flavors of the dessert. "We sell a lot more filled pączki than non-filled," she says.
The History of Pączki
Pączki originated in Poland in the Middle Ages, but became more commonplace in the U.S. in the 20th century as Polish immigrants populated urban centers and brought their food traditions with them. Pączki evolved from a Polish pastry into a Midwestern regional treat.
"I read that every Polish person eats 2.5 paczki on Fat Thursday," said Bart Kolatek, the second-generation owner of Kolatek's Bakery & Deli, in a 2020 interview with Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW.
Each year, tens of thousands of people in Polish-heavy communities in the midwestern U.S., such as Chicago and Detroit, flock to local bakeries to purchase the confection on Fat Tuesday, also informally known as "Pączki Day" or "Polish Mardis Gras." Some people also celebrate the event on the previous Thursday, known as "Fat Thursday."
As Bob Dombrowski wrote in his book, "Paczki Day," pączki's association with the pre-Lent holiday Fat Tuesday stems from the Ash Wednesday religious ritual, which marks the beginning of Lent.
At the approach of Lent , which requires giving up something — often a favorite food — Polish families would combine any excess sugar, flour and jam, which is how they came up with pączki.
Bakic's family is of Serbian origin from the former Yugoslavia, and they immigrated to the U.S. in 1969. But they still use the recipes provided by the original Polish owners.
Bakic에 따르면 베이커리를 열었던 폴란드 남자는 세상을 떠났지만 그의 아내는 그의 요리법을 Bakic 가족에게 맡겼다. Bakic은 "그녀는 저에게 그것들을주었습니다. 그리고 그것들은 우리가 계속 사용해 왔던 것과 같은 요리법이었습니다."라고 말합니다. "이곳은 폴란드 제과점입니다. 우리는 모든 폴란드 제빵사들과 함께 일할 수있는 즐거움과 특권을 누 렸습니다."라고 그녀는 덧붙입니다.
Bakic은 도넛의 종교적 연합을 알고 있지만 그녀에게있어 치료는 종교적인 것보다 더 큰 문화적 중요성을 가지고 있습니다. 어렸을 때 Bakic은 세르비아 가정에서 pączki와 같은 달콤한 간식을 먹고 자랐습니다. 그녀는 "주전자에서 나 오자마자"먹었습니다.
"[In] the European countries, whether you come from Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, our grandmas made these scrumptious little treats, just before Lent," Bakic says.
Are Pączki Donuts?
Bakeries and websites typically describe this sweet treat as a Polish donut. Indeed, donuts and pączki share many similarities, from the familiar round doughy shape to the glaze on top.
But, technically, the donut has an entirely separate American history, having been brought to the states by the Dutch or the English, long before the arrival of Polish immigrants.
Some bakers feel that it's better to just leave donuts as donuts, and call pączki by their real name.
"It is not a donut; it is a European treat," Bakic says.
Pączki Is Also a Dyngus Day Staple
올해 Pączki Day를 놓쳤다면 걱정하지 마십시오. 매년 부활절 다음 월요일에 폴란드 공동체에서 열리는 폴란드 종교 휴일 인 Dyngus Day를 포함하여이 맛있는 페이스트리를 먹을 수 있는 기회가 더 많습니다 .
딘 구스의 날에는 향연 자들이 음악을 연주하고 폴란드 국기의 붉은 색과 흰색으로 옷을 입히고 물론 pączki를 먹습니다. 뉴욕 주 버팔로는 스스로를 "세계의 딘 거스 데이 수도"라고도합니다.
물론, 당신이 재능있는 제빵사 라면, 도전에 응한다면 일년 내내 pączki 를 만들 수 있습니다 .
"You have to be basically a master baker to know the chain from measuring to mixing, because when [you] get them frying, the next batch has to be ready to get fried," Bakic says.
"Otherwise, you'll never have enough pączki."
Now That's Interesting
According to Michal Korkosz's cookbook, "Fresh from Poland," here's the description of the perfect pączki: "A perfect donut should be still warm and very fluffy, well-fried but not burnt, and with a bright stripe around the center. The glaze should glitter and stick to your fingers."
