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Thursday, Feb. 27, kicks off the last six days of parades, raucous public events, and overindulging celebrated during Mardi Gras or Carnival season before the 40 days of fasting and self-reflection commence with Lent on Ash Wednesday.
It all comes to a head on Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, one last hurrah when millions of people around the world eat their weight in rich, fatty foods and desserts, such as king cakes, doughnuts, fruited breads, stacks of pancakes, creamy, saucy dishes, and meat. Rooted in pagan spring festivals adapted by the Roman Catholic Church around the 4th century, Fat Tuesday and the period known as Shrovetide offer Christians who observe time to use up eggs and other staple ingredients like butter, sugar, milk, and meat, restricted or forbidden during Lent. Lenten fasting continues until Easter.
While many Southerners are familiar with the food traditions surrounding Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, for Polish Americans, Fat Thursday—the Thursday before Lent—ushers in the last days of pączki season, culminating in Pączki Day on the following Tuesday.
A food tradition brought to the US in the 19th century by Polish immigrants, pączki (PAHUNCH-kee) are bulbous, yeast-risen, deep-fried doughnuts filled with jelly or cream.
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While in Poland, Pączki Day typically takes place on Fat Thursday, known as Tlusty Czwartek, Polish immigrants in the US adopted Fat Tuesday as THE day to scarf down pączki.
Atlanta doesn’t experience pączki fever like other parts of the country, including the Midwest and the Northeast, where the majority of Polish immigrants settled in two big waves of immigration during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In cities and towns such as Chicago, Cleveland, and Hamtramck, Michigan, lines for pączki form early on Fat Tuesday, and planners know to pre-order by the dozen weeks in advance.
“Pączki Day STARTS on Fat Thursday, but pączki can and should be eaten all week leading up to Lent. The queen of fillings is rose and fruit, being that rose confiture (preserved fruit) is yet another thing we should abstain from during Lent,” Basia Piechoczek, founder of Atlanta Polish food pop-up Beksa Lala, explained. “Plum preserves are a close second when it comes to a classic filling choice in Poland. It’s my personal fave—it’s rich and paired with warm baking spices.”
This is Piechoczek’s second year selling pączki, who filled her Polish doughnuts with plum, rose, lemon curd, and cherry with hazelnut spread. Orders exceeded expectations, and Piechoczek’s pączki sold out quickly.
“I actually started doing a lemon curd filling because a friend said it was her favorite growing up in Ohio,” Piechoczek said. “The best part about pączki is you can fill them with your favorite flavors. This year I’m bringing back the cherry-filled and hazelnut spread.”
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She’s considering creating a savory pączek (singular) next year, based on a dream in which she stuffed the doughnut with chicken patê topped with currant jam and chopped chanterelles.
And if you’re attempting to make pączki at home, Piechoczek said you’ll know the dough was fluffy enough, and the oil used to fry the doughnuts was clean, if you see a light stripe in the middle of the dough. Check out the above photo of Piechoczek’s cherry-filled pączek topped with hazelnuts and hazelnut spread for reference.
So where can you get real-deal pączki in Metro Atlanta, if not from Piechoczek?
Check out Grand Polish Bakery in Lawrenceville. Only available on Fridays and Saturdays, these from-scratch Polish doughnuts are filled with everything from plum and raspberry jelly to Bavarian cream and mixed fruit. And pączki aren’t just sold seasonally here, but all year round.
Dough in the Box Donuts in Marietta, Austell, and on Fulton Industrial carries pączki, beignets, and colorful Mardi Gras doughnuts for the pre-Lent festival season.
Select locations of The Fresh Market, Publix, Kroger, and Costco may also sell pączki.
Pro tip: According to Polish tradition, you must eat at least one pączek on Fat Tuesday or risk misfortune throughout the year.