On Tuesday, sweet yeasty orbs of glazed or powdered sugar-dusted pastries oozing with jelly, custard, or cream fillings will be front and center.
Happy Paczki Day!
Metro Detroit bakeries are working around the clock creating tens of thousands of paczki. Calls to New Palace Bakery, known as “Paczki Headquarters,” according to its website, went unanswered on Monday.
Widely known as Fat Tuesday in metro Detroit, all around Michigan and other parts of the U.S., the day is also known as Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras.
The day marks the last day before the start of Lent, the Christian tradition of 40 days of fasting, prayer, and reflection before Easter. It’s also a time to give up something, like eating sweets. And so, Fat Tuesday is one last hurrah to sink your teeth into a freshly made, indulgent paczki.Pączki has been around since the Middle Ages, according to Joan Bittner, owner of the Polish Art Center in Hamtramck. In Poland, paczki are traditionally eaten on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent.