Fun on the Web Jan 20 2013 Paczki Time

So I was in the store yesterday and I saw the first paczki of the year. Now don't get too excited because these were the grocery store variety but sure enough were powder sugar coated with lemon or prune filling so they maybe close. Many grocery chains offer these including Roundy's, Kroger, Meijer, and Sentry.

I am waiting for a trip to the National Bakery in Milwaukee http://www.nationalbakery.com/ whose website informs me Paczki Day is February 12 but in Poland, Paczki Day takes place the Thursday before Ash Wednesday which this year is February 7. Just saying these are not diet food. One of the paczki from the recipe below is over 300 calories!

Pronounced ˈpʊntʃki or poonch-key in our neck of the woods they are a treat in the feast of plenty before the Lenten fast begins Ash Wednesday or if you are traditional Polish on Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday). 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 Catholic fasting practices during Lent.

According to Wikipedia "A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. Pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol (traditionally, Spiritus) is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.[2]"

"Although they look like berliners (German name), bismarcks (south-central Canada/north-central US name), and jelly doughnuts (generic name; sometimes "jam donut"), pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar 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 hip jam[2][3] are traditional fillings" . . .  (Here we say a poppy seed or prune filling is the custom) . . . "but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry and apple.[4] Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of August III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, pączki dough was improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient."

Recipe http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/authentic-polish-paczki-83936

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