(; : , ; ;

Old Polish The Old Polish language () was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Old Polish language are the data of the co ...

and ) are filled

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...

s found in

Polish cuisine Polish cuisine ( ) is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to History of Poland, Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other ...

Description

A ''pączek'' is a deep-fried piece of

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

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 Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countr ...

) 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. Although they look like German berliners ( bismarcks in North America) or

jelly doughnut A jelly doughnut, or jam doughnut, is a doughnut with a fruit preserve filling. Varieties include the German ''Berliner (pastry), Berliner'', the Polish ''pączki'', the Jewish ''sufganiyot'', the Southern European ''krafne'' and the Italian '' ...

s, ''pączki'' are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats,

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

, and sometimes

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar. '' Powidła'' (stewed

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

jam) and wild rose petal jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

, Bavarian cream,

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...

, and

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

. have been known in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

at least since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. 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. File:Paczki - stos.JPG, ''Pączki'' displayed for sale File:00409 paczki z serem, sanok.jpg, Traditional ''pączki serowe'' (curd-based ''pączki'') or ''oponki'' File:HomePaczki.jpg, Home-made glazed pączki File:Paczki.jpg, American-made ''pączki''

Etymology, spelling, and pronunciation

The Polish word (plural: ) is a diminutive of the Polish word "

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

". The latter derives from

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

, which may have referred to anything that is round, bulging and about to burst (compare Proto-Slavic "to swell, burst"), possibly of ultimately onomatopoeic origin. From Polish the word has been borrowed into several other Slavic languages, where the respective loanwords (, or ) 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 and often write it as "paczki", i.e., without the

ogonek The tail or ( ; Polish: , "little tail", diminutive of ) is a diacritic hook placed under the lower right corner of a vowel in the Latin alphabet used in several European languages, and directly under a vowel in several Native American langu ...

(hook-shaped diacritic). This should not be confused with the unrelated Polish word , which is the plural form of , meaning "package" or "parcel".

Pączki Day

In Poland, are eaten especially on

Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...

(), the last Thursday prior to

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

and the beginning of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The traditional reason for making ''pączki'' was to use up all the

lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

, eggs and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 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 Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

South Bend South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, and Windsor, Pączki Day is celebrated on Fat Tuesday. The Pączki Day celebrations in some areas are even larger than many celebrations for St. Patrick's Day. In Hamtramck, Michigan, an enclave of

, there is an annual Pączki Day (

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

) Parade, which has gained a devoted following. Throughout the

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

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.

United States

These pastries have become popular in the United States as a result of Polish immigrants and marketing by the bakery industry. Sold in bakeries mainly on both Fat Tuesday and

throughout Detroit and Chicago, they are particularly popular in areas where there is a large concentration of Polish immigrants:

, Northcentral and Southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed "The Region" after the Calumet Region, is an unofficial region of Northern Indiana, northern Indiana, United States that is located at the northwestern corner of the state. Though there is no official definition of th ...

, Greater Grand Rapids, Mid Michigan, Greater

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, Greater

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, Toledo, Greater

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Greater

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Northern and Central

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, Central Connecticut, and

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and univ ...

Explanatory notes

Citations

General and cited sources

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External links

Paczki Day PSA
an account of

area Paczki Day traditions in 2008
Paczkis
Video produced by Wisconsin Public Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Paczki Carnival foods Cuisine of Michigan Cuisine of the Midwestern United States Culture of Buffalo, New York Custard desserts Foods with jam Polish desserts Polish doughnuts Stuffed desserts Ukrainian desserts