Ted (Dzienisziewicz) Day, past president and member of the Polish American Society of Greater Cincinnati (PASGC) said for many years the people in Poland have been celebrating the arrival of Lent by making Paczki.
Paczki became popular in Poland as a way of using the lard, eggs and sugar, and rich fillings before Lent begins, he said, and they also have similar traditions in Germany and Austria.
“For hundreds of years, the people of Poland have been honoring the customs of past generations in preparation for the annual 40-day fasting of the traditional Catholic days of Lent,” Day said. “The intent was to utilize food supplies, so not to be wasted, in the fasting period starting on Ash Wednesday in recognition of the last days of Christ on earth and the coming Resurrection. Yes, in Poland as in America, many traditions are based on Christianity. The baking ingredients were consumed before Ash Wednesday in special jelly donuts.”
Area bakeries that stock Paczki include Graeter’s, Kroger, Busken Bakery, Bonomini Bakery, Holtman’s Donuts, North College Hill Bakery, Regina Bakery, Servatii’s, Wyoming Bakery and Harrison Bakery.
“My favorite is jelly-filled, but we have cream filling and various types of jellies that we would use. Everybody has their own taste – peach, strawberry or cherry, or cream,” Day said.
According to Mary Ann Acree, coordinator for the Greater Cincinnati Retail Bakers Association, this year was the first year for a competition for the members of the Greater Cincinnati Retail Bakers Association to determine “Who Makes the Most Authentic Paczki” in town – based on the look, texture and taste.
“What we wanted to do is to pick the one that was the most authentic, like the ones they make in Poland,” Acree said. “Judges were looking to see if the dough was firm, and if the dough didn’t have an after-taste. They also preferred a thicker dough. This is the first time we have held a competition like this in Cincinnati. Everybody really enjoyed it.”
She said a team of judges, including John and Helen Preklas, who are members of the Polish American Society, made that determination on Wednesday, Jan. 7 and announced the winners in first, second and third places – Bonomini Bakery (came in first place with strawberry-filled) Regina Bakery (was awarded second place with raspberry-filled) and Busken Bakery (was honored in third place with custard-filled.)
Bonomini Bakery, Regina Bakery, Busken Bakery, Graeter’s, North College Hill Bakery and Holtman’s Donuts were the six area bakeries that participated in the contest. The judges saw and tasted the difference in texture and filling to determine the winners, who made the closest to the authentic, yeast-raised, Polish varieties, Acree said.
“It (the Paczki tradition) just got popular in the Greater Cincinnati area about 18 to 20 years ago. The Polish American Society of Greater Cincinnati wanted the bakers to make them, so they began to make people aware of them. Now, they very popular and people are asking for them before start of the season on Jan. 6,” she said.
The judging came after a day of learning and a meeting for area bakers. In addition to the Paczki competition, others from the Greater Cincinnati Retail Bakers Association participated a cake decorating contest, for experienced decorators in the Cincinnati Area to see who would qualify to go to Chicago in March for the National Decorating Contest. Emma McAdow came in first-place and will represent the Greater Cincinnati Retail Bakers Association and Lee Ann Parson from the West Carrollton-based elé Cake Co. came in first-place to represent Ohio. The business meeting also included the awarding of scholarships to Midwest Culinary Institute students.
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