Cultural: Fat Thursday

This is a repeat of a previous post. This tradition does not change here in Poland!

Added in 2021: I wrote this one in years before - this is probably the most “fun” holiday in Poland, IMO. There seems to be a light heartedness about it that is unusual in Poland.

The last Thursday before Lent is a day of feasting on sweets - at least among Catholic communities (really, it’s everyone!). In Polish it is Tłusty Czwartek, or literally,  'Fat Thursday' - and it is traditional to buy and eat lots of doughnuts on this day.   The Wikipedia article says people eat lots of sweets on this day, especially pączki or Polish doughnuts and faworki.  I just came back from going to the store and I saw lots of people buying paczki, but I didn't see any faworki going out with people's purchases.

Here is a photo I found on the 'net of paczki:

and here are faworki - I took this one today while in the store.

While I'm not sure that I agree with the idea of gorging on sweets because you are going to refrain from sweets for the next few weeks, it is kind of fun to try the donuts, if for no other reason than a cultural experience.  

When our kids were in Polish public school, they had donuts in the school on Fat Thursday.  I am unsure as to whether they still do this.  

You can pre-order your big doughnut order at the local bakery.

Paczki, are typically jelly filled. but I did buy some today that said they were whipped cream filled. This particular doughnut wasn't exactly whipped cream "filled"  I could hardly taste it.

(I could wish for pudding or Bavarian cream filling).  

Today we went to four stores and I bought some at three different stores.  

From Lidl, I got some that were not your typical shaped donuts. They have some sort of dark filling in them - maybe a purple plum?

Then I went to a local store called Top Market where these were on display.

I brought home these to try.  They are probably filled with some rose hip jam. Two have powdered sugar on the top and two have a glaze.  The ones with glaze have some pieces of orange peel on them.  I do not like the orange peel and either try to ignore them or take them off as I eat these.

Then we stopped at the bakery, Oskroba, which is just down the street from our house. Once again, I bought four doughnuts - two have whipped cream and two have marmalade in the middle.

What's my opinion? Well, they are good - but I really prefer them without jelly filling.  If they are fresh, they are quite tasty.  I also think if you want truly fresh paczki, then trying them for the first time on a day that isn't Fat Thursday, might actually get you fresher ones. I noticed that the stores have so many on this day, that I doubt they are as fresh as if so many people weren't buying them today. They start stocking the stores the day before or even two days before which of course means they aren’t really, really fresh. Really fresh means “the same day” made and sold.

As to my opinion of faworki?  Well, it must be an acquired taste.  I bought them for the first time this year and tried them - they are pretty "tasteless".

So there you have it - Fat Thursday from Jozefow, Poland!

Updated February 2020 -

I found these this year in our local Biedronka - chocolate filling. A much better choice, IMO, than a fruit filling!

Have a great day wherever you are reading this!