Pączki

In the interests of this blog I sometimes have to get my husband to pick up a food item just so I can show you. Now in this case he actually has to pick up a dozen with the only stipulation he bring one home for a photoshoot. Two foods are traditional in our area for Shrove Tuesday aka Fat Tuesday aka Pancake Day. This is the day before the start of Lent so the premise is it is the last day to eat heavy until the end of Lent. Local area churches host their annual pancake dinner with many not attending making pancakes at home. The Polish community in Hamtramck, Michigan have made the pączki the icon of Fat Tuesday with popularity of this culinary delight spreading into Ohio and Ontario, Canada.

Pączki

Pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk to use up items forbidden for Catholics during Lent. They are jelly filled then usually topped with icing sugar and sometimes orange zest. So while they resemble jelly doughnuts they are considerably richer. The average dozen pączki contains 7,000 calories or 584 calories each.

Local bakeries and doughnut shops will start making pączki in the wee hours of the morning. By about 6 AM there will be a long line-up formed waiting very patiently for their pączki. If you aren't in the line-up you likely won't get any. They usually sell out by about 10 AM or earlier. Pictured is the cherry filled pączki my husband brought home. It didn't last long once one of our kids spotted it!