The paczek (say PON-check) may be no match for the cream puff as Wisconsin food
icons go, but the jelly-dribbling-down-the-chin fried doughnut is a one-day
wonder on Fat Tuesday, when Milwaukee is enthusiastically Polish.
More than 140,000 puffy paczki (POONCH-key is plural) will roll out of south
side Milwaukee bakeries to mark Fat Tuesday – the last day before Lent, when
rich butter, lard and sugar traditionally are cleared out of homes for fasting.
That’s impressive, considering that it took visitors to the Wisconsin State Fair
11 days to consume 345,000 cream puffs last August.
Even dental office employees indulge in sugary, jelly-filled doughnuts on this
day.
“It’s OK to eat a treat as long as you floss and brush afterward,” said Carmen
Cerda, administrative assistant for Dental Associates, 1135 S. Chavez Drive,
after pre-ordering a mix of four dozen raspberry and raisin paczki from National
Bakery, 3200 S. 16th St., for office staff to share.
Photo Caption: Abby Pedersen tosses paczki in sugar at the National Bakery on
Monday in preparation for the Fat Tuesday rush.
Photo Credit: Tom Lynn
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