Today is last Thursday before Ash
Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.
But…what is so special about it? Well,
many Catholic countries celebrate Fat
Thursday on that day. Traditionally it is a
day dedicated to eating (sounds good to
me) . Lent is a time of fasting, so no
sweets or treats are allowed! The next
opportunity to feast would not be until
Easter. In Poland, Fat Thursday is
called Tłusty Czwartek . This is the day
when you forget about your diet and eat
mountains of fat, sweet and
unhealthy (but delicious) food.
Pączki, faworki, oponki…
Poland’s favourite Fat Thursday treats
are pączki (poonch-key) . They are large
deep-fried doughnuts filled with rose jam
or other marmalade (my favourite is plum
jam) , and glazed or covered with sugar.
Real pączki are made with lard, instead of
vegetable shortening, making them extra
thick and rich. They’re about half a size
larger than a regular jelly-filled doughnut.
Statistically, every Pole eats three
doughnuts on that day, so more or less
whooping 100 millions of these doughnuts
are eaten in just 1 single day. Many
offices even have pączki eating contests
– to see who can eat the most!
Pączki have been known in Poland at
least since the Middle Ages. Until the
16th century, pączki were made with
bread dough, filled with pork fat and fried
in lard. Later, they evolved into a sweet
pastry and under the influence of French
cooks pączki became lighter, spongier
and fluffier.
But pączki are not the only treat eaten on
Fat Thursday. Faworki or chrusciki , name
varies in different regions of Poland,
are crispy dough fingers, fried and
sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Deeeeeliiiiicioussss! Another Fat Thursday
favourites are oponki , named after their
“little tire” shape. They are like mini
donuts, fried and then dusted with
powdered sugar. It’s easy to eat too
many oponki or faworki because they are
so small and so delicious.
Fat Thursday calories:
One pączek – 300-400 calories
One faworek – 87 calories
One oponka – 94 calories
As you can see, Fat Thursday is not
lacking in fat, sugar and
calories! However, it’s still one of the
busiest times of the year for thousands of
bakeries around Poland. Poles start
queuing early morning to purchase their
favourite pastries from their local
bakeries. But, like everything else,
homemade is always better. My mother
always makes amazing pączki and
faworki! I have tried made them few
times, but I’m not as culinary talented as
my mum – well… I am still learning
Fat Thursday and eating pączki are really
big deal in Poland. There are even several
proverbs and idioms about pączki: ‘live
like a doughnut in butter’ – meaning to
live in clover. Or another one: ‘those who
don’t eat a stack of pączki on Fat Thursday
will have an empty barn and their field
destroyed by mice’ . It is believed that you
need to eat at least one pączek on Fat
Thursday, otherwise you will have bad
luck for the rest of the year. So you
better eat at least one, I guarantee you
that it is worth it. They are super
delicious and addictive.
I even found couple of short poems about
pączki:
Był sobie pączek, co nie miał rączek
i okrąglutki był jak miesiączek.
Miał lukrowaną złocistą skórkę,
a w środku dziurkę na konfiturkę.
Wszyscy go lubią – starsi i dzieci.
Na jego widok, aż ślinka leci.
Lecz co naprawdę pączki są warte,
to przede wszystkim wie tłusty czwartek.
English translation:
There was a donut, which did not have
hands
and he was round like full moon.
He had golden crust,
and in the middle of the hole for jam.
Everyone likes him – the elderly and
children.
In his view, the mouth is watering.
But what really donuts are worth,
first of all know Fat Thursday.
Jak tradycja stara każe
w domu, sklepie, biurze, barze.
Wszędzie pączek dziś króluje,
każdy chętnie go smakuje.
Z dżemem, z cukrem, z wisienkami
wszędzie pączek dzisiaj z nami.
Dziś kalorii nikt nie liczy,
wszędzie moc pysznych słodyczy.
W tłusty czwartek przez dzień cały
słodkim królem – pączek mały!
English translation:
Just like old tradition tells
home, shop, office, bar.
Everywhere donut reigns today,
everyone is happy to taste it.
With jam, with sugar, with cherries
donut everywhere with us today.
Today, no one counts the calories,
everywhere the power of delicious sweets.
In Fat Thursday all day long
sweet king – little donut!
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