The Paczki Priniciple

The Paczki Principle

Strawberry with a topping of frosting
A creamy, berry scent

Sure, New Orleans may be famous for its Mardi Gras, but in the Motor City, we get along just fine, thank you, with Paczki Day.

On principle, let's first get this straight: paczki are not doughnuts on steroids. Close, yes, but no paczki. Or shall we say, "no paczek." For the grammar conscious, one of these sinfully rich and delicious old world pastries is called a paczek. Two are referred to as paczki, and anyone partaking of two should be referred to a cardiologist. There are almost as many opinions on pronunciation as there are varieties of paczki, but we provide this guide: POON-check for singular, POONCH-key for plural.

Paczki originated in Poland hundreds of years ago. Lacking dependable refrigeration, and unable to eat eggs, cream and butter during Lent, thrifty Poles converted their perishables into waistline inches. These lard-laden treats, which are pumped up with a jelly filling, average 30 grams of fat and 400 calories each.

Paczki have caught on in other U.S. cities with large Polish populations, but this is Detroit, and on Fat Tuesday, Hamtramck is Paczki Central. Besides waits of an hour or more at its authentic Polish bakeries, this small city-within-a-city hosts a variety of events on the last Tuesday before Lent every year.

Perhaps the highlight of these events is the Paczki eating contest, which is held in the local Knights of Columbus Hall. To the victor goes the Bob Bennett Memorial Cup, named for a beloved, street reporter whose physique suggested he enjoyed more than his share of paczki during his lifetime. Bennett made a point of covering the paczki festivities every year, and is credited by many for making the paczki so popular. The Bennett Cup which is modeled after the Stanley Cup, is made up of an assortment of pots and pans. The proud 2005 winner downed a record 22 paczki in 15 minutes, with strong competition from a pregnant woman who packed away 11 paczki. Besides, the Cup, the winner also took with him an additional 8,800 calories.

Paczki. Breakfast of champions.

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Paczki eating contest video