It's Fat Tuesday. If you're in an area with large Polish populations, it's also Paczki Day. Learn more about these tasty yearly pastries.
Paczkis a sweet tradition on Fat Tuesday
They start out as 4-pound hunks of flour, butter, margarine and lard, then get beaten, rolled and cut into fist-size domes.
Jiggly fried delights
Next, their jiggly bodies are submerged into steaming hot vegetable oil. After they are cooled, sugary jellies are pumped into their centers. Then with a final slathering of icing, the paczkis, a doughnutlike pastry that originated in Poland, are ready for sale.
How many can you eat?
Americans will gorge themselves on hundreds of thousands of them on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins.
Old school treats
The paczki custom traces as far back as the 1600s, said one expert. Poles ate paczkis made out of the extra lard and meats that they were giving up for Lent, said Joseph Zurawski, who wrote the book, "Polish Chicago: Our History, Our Recipes."
Poland's gift to the U.S.
In the 20th century, the paczki emerged in Polish bakeries and delicatessens, most frequently before Lent. The pastry became more Americanized as bakeries added sweeter fillings and sold them to people outside the Polish community.
All about community, tradition
In cities with large Polish populations, the paczki was quickly commercialized. And as parishes began becoming more multiethnic, other nationalities and groups picked up the custom.
First you crave then you rave
Some people don't know the custom behind the pastry but crave them anyway.
How it's made
Paczki batter is made out of three kinds of fat: butter, margarine and lard, so the dough will achieve the right spongelike texture.
Batter get'em while you can
Once the batter is made, it is separated into 4-pound chunks. The yeast-based dough then will sit under a plastic cover for an hour before it is cut and rolled into 36 paczki balls. The balls will rest for at least another hour before they are transferred to the fryer.
Deep-friend perfection
There they will float in a waist-high tub of vegetable oil. A baker will hover over the tub, poking the paczkis until the light yellow dough turns golden brown.
Filled with sweetness
Once the dough is sufficiently fried, it will be stuffed with sweet fillings, including rose petal, custard, strawberry, lemon and raspberry.
