# It's Pączki time! Yay! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 25, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883 "2015-01-25T22:00:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/1 "2015-01-25T22:00:31Z")
I had never heard of [Pączki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%85czki) before moving to Michigan. They are, basically, filled Polish donuts. But much, much better than regular jelly-filled doughnuts. Made (if done traditionally) with [grain alcohol, brandy or rum](http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/Paczki.htm). I’m not a big doughnut fan, but Pączki are different. Richer and better. And they’re only available for a few weeks a year, since they’re traditionally only eaten on Fat Tuesday and thereabouts. I bought a six-pack today from a little local bakery that makes (among other flavours) date-filled packzi, my favourite. So freaking good - I ate two this morning :eek: and am probably going to hell for it but I am OK with that. As an aside, it’s pronounced “punch-key”, best I can tell. So…who else has pączki available? And what is your favourite flavour? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/2 "2015-01-25T22:17:56Z")
Prune! But everybody in Chicago is Polish at Pączki time. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/3 "2015-01-27T02:03:08Z")
Cream. But REAL cream, not just jello pudding mix. There’s this [bakery](http://www.oakmontbakery.com/) here in Pittsburgh that makes them and they’re heavenly. In fact, my dad brought some home yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![MsKaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@MsKaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsKaren)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/4 "2015-01-27T02:19:46Z")
Oooh! Also it’s King Cake time. I love Pączki, too. These are part of an ancient tradition of using up the sweets, good white flour, etc. before Lent. Splurge, baby, and mmm, post Lent, you have hot cross buns. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/5 "2015-01-27T02:26:38Z")
My dads side is all Polish, he said they called them Poonch-Kah. Of course we’re Kashubian so… There’s a great Polish deli in the Twin Cities, Sikora’s in north east Minneapolis that has them, they’re awesome. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/6 "2015-01-27T02:41:34Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > As an aside, it’s pronounced “punch-key”, best I can tell. That or poonch-key. I’ve heard it both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/7 "2015-01-27T13:28:00Z")
I’ve only encountered them once. Not surprising, since I’m down here in FLA. The Pączki were from a grocery chain and so were basically just jelly filled donuts. Quite good, but not any different from any other filled donuts. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/8 "2015-01-27T13:39:53Z")
SE michigan resident here. At my last job someone used to make a run to a real Polish bakery in Hamtramck and pick up several dozen. My favorite is the custard-filled with chocolate frosting on top. I’m hoping for the sake of my weight loss goals nobody brings in those kind- I have just enough willpower to leave the jelly-filled ones alone. I also know it pronounced as “POONCH-key”, though “POONCH-keh” might be a little more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/9 "2015-01-27T13:44:59Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > My dads side is all Polish, he said they called them Poonch-Kah. Well, in standard Polish, it could also be a use of the accusative (objective) or genitive case. So: pączek (singular) pączki (plural) pączka (singular accusative, and singular genitive) So, _daj mi pączka_: “give me a [type of Polish donut]” _On ma pączka_: “he has a [type of Polish donut]” Or, from the Polish Wikipedia: _W tłusty czwartek statystyczny Polak zjada 2,5 pączka_: “On Fat Tuesday, statistically a Pole eats 2.5 [Polish donuts].” Anyhow, in English it’s pronounced “poonch-key” or “punch-key,” but in Polish the “ą” is a nasal vowel, pronounced similar to the French _on_, although usually with an audible “n” at the end. (That said, the amount of nasalization varies among dialect.) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/10 "2015-01-27T14:01:11Z")
> [@](#): > > For the record, one paczki, on average, has about 420 calories and 25 grams of fat. [That](http://www.abc12.com/story/16977996/local-bakery-set-to-make-paczkis-through-the-night-for-fat-tuesday) explains why they’re so good. 😃 I hear it pronounced both ways; I suspect POONCH-keh might be more authentic, though. **solost** , I suspect you’d find very good ones in Hamtramck since that’s a Polish enclave. Aha, ninjaed by pulykamell. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/11 "2015-01-27T14:46:50Z")
The name is just too perfect: “[paunch key](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paczki#Pronunciation),” i.e. the _key_ to developing a big _paunch_. This works even better than that Arab restaurant, Fettoosh, which is reinterpreted as “Fat Toosh” (although the name actually refers to a type of salad with pita croutons). ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/12 "2015-01-27T16:19:19Z")
I’m originally from a town in NW Indiana with a large Polish population. I remember these delectable goodies well and miss them (although my waistline probably doesn’t). I’ve yet to see them offered for sale here in Colorado. Does anyone know if there is a company who will ship them? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/13 "2015-01-27T16:27:52Z")
I used to live in Michigan and I always found that the doughnut part of the paczki itself was tasty, but then the cheapest, nastiest grade of gloopy cornstarch filling was applied which ruined the whole thing. Even supposedly good bakeries use this nasty low-grade filling. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/14 "2015-01-27T16:31:48Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I used to live in Michigan and I always found that the doughnut part of the paczki itself was tasty, but then the cheapest, nastiest grade of gloopy cornstarch filling was applied which ruined the whole thing. Even supposedly good bakeries use this nasty low-grade filling. What’s up with that? No clue. The traditional fillings tend to be prune/plum or rosehip jam (or even plain), and they tend to be sparingly applied. However, there are a lot more flavors now, and a lot of bakeries tend to go a little too crazy on the amount of filling. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/15 "2015-01-27T16:38:16Z")
Here’s a picture of a paczki showing the nice doughnut and gross, tasteless, sugary, slimy filling: [http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/paczki/Paczki.jpg](http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/paczki/Paczki.jpg) It’s from the Polish-American Journal, and in the actual recipe in the article they call for traditional jam filling. However the picture shows what you actually get 90% of the time. I am in fact of Polish extraction, and just nibble around the edge and throw out the rest. I wish people had a little more pride in their product. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/16 "2015-01-27T16:48:39Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Here’s a picture of a paczki showing the nice doughnut and gross, tasteless, sugary, slimy filling: > [http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/paczki/Paczki.jpg](http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/Holidays/paczki/Paczki.jpg). Yeah, that is too much. [As is this](https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6uF-AH3vhvpwK8ppUsTyrp_KJeNz_1SV794KLCyPRWg1XnqAOIA). [This is more like it](http://www.chicagobites.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/paczki.jpg). Or [like this](http://chicago.grubstreet.com/20120215_paczki_560x372.jpg). There’s maybe a teaspoon or so of filling there. My assumption is the more filling is to cater to more local tastes. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/17 "2015-01-27T16:49:41Z")
I love them, but I’m both in LA (I’ve never seen them here) and can no longer eat gluten. Life is hard sometimes, especially NOW. Someone eat one for me, please. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mrs.Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Munster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/18 "2015-01-27T17:37:57Z")
Cops & Donuts in Clare, MI will do mail order (yeah, it’s a great bakery owned by police officers!). My faves are the cream filled and raspberry. Here’s the link! > **[Cops & Doughnuts – Clare City Bakery](https://copsdoughnuts.com/)** ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/19 "2015-01-27T17:45:14Z")
> [@Mrs.Munster](#): > > Cops & Donuts in Clare, MI will do mail order (yeah, it’s a great bakery owned by police officers!). My faves are the cream filled and raspberry. Here’s the link! > > [http://www.copsdoughnuts.com/](http://www.copsdoughnuts.com/) Perfect example of nicely made doughnut with a gross quantity of low-grade filling, offered by a supposedly reputable bakery. I guess its what people want, but for an outsider, there’s a big element of “the packzi has no clothes”. They just aren’t very good at all. They would be so much better if it was just a tablespoon of a nice quality preserve, which is actually how they’re supposed to be. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mrs.Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Munster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883/20 "2015-01-27T17:55:14Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Perfect example of nicely made doughnut with a gross quantity of low-grade filling, offered by a supposedly reputable bakery. I guess its what people want, but for an outsider, there’s a big element of “the packzi has no clothes”. They just aren’t very good at all. They would be so much better if it was just a tablespoon of a nice quality preserve, which is actually how they’re supposed to be. _sigh_ I guess I don’t have a purist’s taste…I really like all that goopy filling!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-paczki-time-yay/710883.md?page=2)