4 things you should know about p?czki (besides that they're delicious)
Sure, you've had p?czki, but what do you know about them, really?
Yes, they're deep-fried, doughnut-like treats with a rich filling (often fruit, such as cherries or prunes) and sugar on top. Yes, they're rooted in Polish tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages, eaten in the runup to Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
And, yes, they're pronounced poonch-key.
But there's more to these pastries than meets your taste buds. Here are some other things worth knowing about p?czki.
RELATED: Here are a baker’s dozen p?czki retailers for 2022 in the Milwaukee area
They're p?czki, not p?czkis
Although some people say when they're having one of these Polish treats they're devouring "a p?czki," the word is actually plural. Just one — if you can keep it to just one — is a p?czek.
P?czki, as tempting as they are, are designed to end temptation
According to tradition, Polish households had to figure out a way to use up the fats and eggs in the house before the start of Lent, to avoid being tempted to break the seasonal fast. Making something to eat with all that stuff — like, say, p?czki — accomplished the feat quite nicely. Not to mention tasty-ly.
In Poland, P?czki Day is on a Thursday, not a Tuesday
According to the Polish Center of Wisconsin, p?czki and the devouring of same are celebrated six days before Ash Wednesday in Poland — on T?usty Czwartek, also known as Fat Thursday. P?czki Day is, in effect, Poland's opening gun marking the last week before Lenten restrictions kick in. In most of the cities in the United States where P?czki Day is a thing, including Milwaukee, it's celebrated on Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras), the day before the beginning of Lent. Chicago, which has the largest community of Polish ancestry of any city outside Poland, celebrates both Fat days.
What happens if you don't have p?czki on P?czki day?
Reportedly, the superstition goes, that if you don't eat at least one, you'll have an unlucky year. How unlucky? According to Culture.pl, a website on Polish culture operated by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (which in turn was established by Poland's Minister of Culture and National Heritage), there are worse things that can happen to you if you fail to pull your p?czki weight. One popular idiom reads: "Those who don’t eat a stack of p?czki on Fat Thursday will have an empty barn and their field destroyed by mice."
Contact Chris Foran at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @cforan12.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 4 things you should know about paczki (besides that they're delicious)