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| A look at REAL Packzi! |
Traditionally, packzi are made with lard and were filled with prune jelly or rosehip jelly. It was a way to use up all of the tempting things Polish Catholics are not supposed to eat during Lent. Now, it's a day of indulgence and spreading a bit of the culture around the U.S.
When I lived in Chicago, there were packzi to be found. In Massachusetts, the only thing I could find was a sad excuse of a jelly doughnut impersonating a packzi. This year, I had a packzi from Roma Bakery. I had my doubts about buying a Polish pastry from an Italian bakery...I bought one apricot and one prune, both lightly coated in powdered sugar. My husband indulged in the apricot packzi and I devoured the prune packzi. Prune is deceptive...it was more of a plum jam filling.
It was wonderful. For those 5 minutes of packzi munching heaven, I recalled my Polish upbringing, my Grandpa and Grandma's 1950's kitchen in Bay City, Michigan, and my love of culture and food. Packzi. Try a real one!
Another wonderful story on Packzi can be found at Detroit Moxie!
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Emily,
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to my paczki post.
My grandma was a great baker and cook but she never made homemade paczki as far as I know. What a great way to spend time with your grandfather!
When I lived in Chicago I could never find paczki but I might not have looked hard enough. Great post!
AWESOME! Thank you for writing this blog! Definitely no one has heard of them outside of michigan... that I've encountered yet.
ReplyDeleteBecks - yum, grandmas really are the best cooks! In my family, my grandma cooked and my grandpa baked. He still makes a to-die-for raspberry pie with raspberries from his garden. Yum.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely harder to find them in Chicago! They're in one area. You basically have to order them or you don't get any.
The love of packzi must be spread across the USA!
Jen - no one in TN has heard of them? So SAD! Bring them packzi next time :)
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