Paczki Day PSA

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, or as it's known in Metro-Detroit, Paczki Day!  Here are some important last-minute announcements:

Say it right
Our earlier Paczki Day discussion provoked some comments from native speakers about how Americans mispronounce the word.  At long last, we now have a recording of a native speaker saying both the singular and the plural.  Listen to it here.  Yeah, I can see why there's confusion.  And no, that nasal vowel sound doesn't exactly exist in English.  But now you can at least get closer.  And this year you have a couple places to try out your newfound Polish fluency... just remember, "paczki" is plural; if you want just one, it's a "paczek."

Handmade Paczki from Amadeus
I am completely, utterly, indescribably happy to say that Amadeus is making paczki this year. Assuming the future will repeat the past, Amadeus's paczki are small flavorful hand-made delights that elevate Paczki to a whole 'nother level of delicious-ness. This year's flavors are:

• traditional plum
• raspberry
• apricot
• cherry
• custard
• plain (yes, without filling. Amadeus has had requests for plain, and they are obliging.)

Pre-order ASAP — in pick up the phone and call now this morning — as quantities are limited by their ability to make them.

Amadeus Cafe & Restaurant
122 E Washington St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 665-8767

Hamtramck-Style Paczki from Copernicus
And as before, Copernicus is bringing in excellent Paczki by the truckload from Hamtramck.  If you want a lot, you'll need to order in advance, but if you just want a few paczki, or a lone paczek, you can walk in.  Their flavors this year are:

• plum
• raspberry
• strawberry
• custard
• rose (yes, really)

Copernicus European Delicatessen
617 S. Main St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-222-9633

These are two different styles of paczki which are both great in their own way.  Why not support local business — and Paczki Day — and get some from both places so you can have a paczki taste test?  (Okay, your cardiologist may object, but you only live once...)

Comments

[breadchick]

How funny that today I posted about doughnuts and one of the doughnuts I made was paczki because no one here in my office knew what they were!

Of course, being a good Michigan girl, I had to introduce the "heathens" in my office to raspberry filled ones! I so miss a good Hamtramck paczki, the ones they sell out here on the east coast are just jelly filled doughnuts :-(

[Christine]

My Polish friends also comment about the misuse of Pierogi. According to them, it's incorrect and redundant to add the letters -es- (Pierogies) because Pierogi is the plural of Pierog.

[Tricia]

I love it! The audio pronunciation guide! Any chance you can get this played as a real PSA on local radio stations? :^) :^)

[Joe, Kitchen Chick's husband]

I wish we could... maybe someone should point them to us (or to Wikipedia).

[Edward Vielmetti]

I linked to this post from the Arborwiki Paczki page:

http://arborwiki.org/city/Paczki

There's also a Wikipedia Paczki Day page which is redirected to Shrove Tuesday:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paczki_Day

which needs a bit of love to make it more correct since it lumps Michigan traditions in with Poland traditions.

THE FAMOUS PACZKI THAT SAVED EUROPE or MIRACLE AT VIENNA

Since about March, 1683, the Turks were preparing for an attack on the Hapsburg capital, Vienna, and were gathering their forces together rather rapidly. By June, they had invaded Austria, and King Leopold and his court fled to Passau. On July 14, the Turks reached Vienna. They laid siege to the great city. One of the disadvantages that the Turks had was that they did not have sufficient heavy artillery. The defenders fought bravely but their food supply and their ammunition were growing low. The Turks had made some breaches in the walls but their effort was hindered by the barricades erected by the people of Vienna.

Earlier that year on March 31, 1683, King John III Sobieski had signed the Treaty of Warsaw with the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold. In this treaty, it was agreed to come to one's aid if the Turks attacked either Krakow or Vienna. Following his agreement in the treaty and the appeal of the pope, Sobieski marched to Vienna with an army of about 30,000 men(of which 12,000 were "winged Husaria" & 1,000 cannons [Poland one of the 1st European countries to use artillery].) Sobieski said that his purpose for going to Vienna was "to proceed to the Holy War, and with God's help to give back the old freedom to besieged Vienna, and thereby help wavering Christendom."

Upon reaching Vienna, he joined up with the Austrians and Germans. Sobieski planned to attack on the 13th of September, but he had noticed that the Turkish resistance was weak. When he ordered full attack, he completely surprised Kara Mustafa.

However, Sobieski wanting to support his Husaria with his artillery discovery that his army forgot the cannon balls back in Poland. Quick thinking of his days with his matka making her heavy paczki, Sobieski appealed to the populace of Vienna to use up their valuable stores of flour and oil to make paczki. THEY COMPIED! After letting the paczki sit for three days , they became the "perfect organic cannon balls."

Sobieski and his Husaria, which is Polish heavy cavalry, alongside with the cooperation of all army, supported by the Polish paczki firing cannon played an important role in the victory.

Sobieski with his Husaria charged toward Kara Mustafa's headquarters and seeing this, Mustafa's army fled in panic. Even so, the Turkish army suffered heavy losses. This victory freed Europe from the Ottoman Turks and their invasions and secured Christianity as the main religion in all of Europe.

So impressed were both Emperor Leopold and Kara Mustafa with Sobieski's paczki that even to this day the paczki is celebrated and eaten troughout Europe and Turkey. However, good Poles, we know that the majority of the world has ignored King Jan III Sobieski and the Polish saving of Vienna; we must rejoice in the fact that "JESZCZIC PACZKI" (THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A PACZKI!)

Enjoy your paczki with some Viennese coffee,

Charles Jan Bar(czewski) ;-)

[RobynT]

so waht exactly makes paczki different from jelly doughnuts? (sorry... i live in mi now but am not from here)

and if i am only going to try one flavor, which should it be? traditional plum?

[Kitchen Chick]

Robyn: they are, more or less, the same. You could say that a paczki is a Polish version of the jelly doughnut. In my experience the generic American jelly doughnut has a rather bland dough and, at cheap doughnut places, the filling is often commercial processed "fruit" filling that might have, in another life, resembled real fruit. A true paczki has a richer dough — you should be able to taste the butter and egg in it — and the filling should be a real preserved fruit filling.

Oh, as to what flavor... yes, plum is traditional, so give that a try if you like. But in the end, get whatever flavor is your favorite, and you'll be happiest. I'm not a big fan of plum filling, but I adore raspberry.

[A2Guy]

I wanted to throw out a big "thank you" to getting out the word on Copernicus bakery and their Paczki. My wife and I stopped by after work last night and got some plum, custard, and rose (raspberry and strawberry sold out). Absolutely yummy. I did feel for the poor staff who looked to be out of wind after a very long and busy day. Only 364 more days!

[Jen of a2eatwrite]

We got the Copernicus paczki this year. The owner told me they were from Canada...

They were delicious, especially the custard and the lekvar. I didn't try the rose, but maybe next year.

I think I'm going to have to try the Amadeus ones, though.

And Copernicus is a treasure in so many ways!

[Tersis van Gingers]

I'm from Poland and I've eaten lots of paczki in my life, but the best are the home-made ones (my granny owns in frying paczki, rly ^_^ and pierogi, too :) ).
Greetings from Poland!

[Ed Vielmetti]

What date should I put on my calendar for Paczki Day 2009?

[Kitchen Chick]

Fat Tuesday will be Feb 24, 2009

[Ed Vielmetti]

Fat Tuesday in 17 days! Time to get ready.

[Della]

Hi there! I'm a native Michigander (Ann Arborite) transplanted to Texas. There are no paczki here! Do you know of any places that pack and ship (fedex) paczki?
Obviously it's too late this year - I didn't keep track of what day Fat Tuesday was - but I am about to put it on my calendar for next year!

[ROBIN GUFFEY]

I lived in Michigan and am now in Arizona. There is not a good bakery here that makes the Paczkis. I have had to explain it to people out here. I miss all the good cultural food for there. All the differrent tasts of the different countreis. Makes me homesick sometimes.