Paczki Day

To those of us with Polish heritage, like myself, Fat Tuesday mostly means one thing...paczki invasion!

Paczki (pronounced "poonch-key") are doughnut-like pastries that are extremely fatty and have a sweet jelly, or fruit filling inside. In Poland, where the tradition obviously originated from, they are consumed on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. Here in the U.S. they are instead typically eaten on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday, for whatever reason.

The tradition of eating these tasty treats around this time of the year comes from the desire to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs, and fruit in one's house before Lent began, as these ingredients were originally forbidden during the fasting period and would be nothing more than a temptation of the devil if left around.

Of course, over time, someone figured out that these treats could be marketed outside of the home and that there was much money to be made off of them, thus the reason why they are such a big commercialized item today. And while they are generally available to purchase throughout the entire year, they are especially bought and consumed on Fat Tuesday in major cities across the U.S. with large Polish populations, like here in Chicago.

So consume as much paczki as you can today, and if any of you fatty religious people have any leftovers come tomorrow, please send 'em my way. I have no qualms about eating them, or any other food for that matter, during Lent.