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{{data|4 March 2020}}
The Carnival is over and Lent – the 40-day period (not counting the Sundays) of fasting, leading up to Easter – is now here. In Poland, quite adequately, Lent coincides with early spring, the gloomiest of Polish climate’s six seasons.<ref>The six traditional (that is, pre-global-climate-change) Polish seasons are: ''zima'' (winter), ''przedwiośnie'' (early spring), ''wiosna'' (spring), ''lato'' (summer), ''złota jesień'' (golden autumn) and ''szaruga jesienna'' (grey autumn). Or, in the words of a &nbsp;poet:
{{Cytat
| <poem>In Poland there’s six seasons
w drugiej kalosz przecieka
i zima</poem>
}}</ref> If you’re Polish American or Polish Canadian, or just happen to live in one of the parts of North America with significant Polish-heritage populations, you may have celebrated the last day before Lent as ``Fat Tuesday" “Fat Tuesday” or ``Paczki Day"“Paczki Day”. This day is traditionally marked by eating copious amounts of paczkis, or delicious, spongy doughnuts in the shape of a&nbsp;flattened ball, injected with jam or other filling. This is, for example, what a&nbsp;local paper from Grand Rapids, Michigan, wrote about the tradition:
[[File:Pączki z&nbsp;lukrem.jpg|thumb|upright|''Pączki'']]
{{Cytat
| [Local] supermarkets have assembled thousands of the delicious paczkis (pronounced poonch-key) to celebrate Fat Tuesday {{...}} Paczkis originated in Poland as a &nbsp;part of the feasting and celebration that ends on Paczki day, or “Fat Tuesday,” the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. {{...}} Paczkis are made from rich round yeast raised dough that is fried and filled with a &nbsp;variety of flavors before being coated with granulated sugar or a &nbsp;sweet glaze. Paczki means ‘little package’ in Polish. Traditional fillings are prune or apricot, but are also made with more conventional fillings as raspberry, lemon and Bavarian crème.
| źródło = {{Cyt
| tytuł = SpartanNash
| nazwisko r = Gremel
| imię r = Meredith
| rozdział = What in the world is a &nbsp;Paczki?
| adres rozdziału = https://www.spartannash.com/about/news/what-in-the-world-is-a-paczki/
| wydawca = SpartanNash Company
}} }}
The funny thing is that if you showed the text above to anyone who actually lives in Poland they would be quite surprised by how many inaccuracies it contains. First of all, the correct spelling is ''``pączki"“pączki”'', not ``paczki"“paczki”. It’s true that ''``paczki"“paczki”'' means ``packages"“packages”, but it’s a&nbsp;completely different (and unrelated) word than ''``pączki"“pączki”'' (notice the little hook under the ``a"“a”?), which is the correct term for Polish doughnuts. Secondly, the correct pronunciation is more like {{pron|pawnch|kee}} than {{pron|poonch|kee}}. Thirdly, prunes and apricots seem pretty weird as ''pączki'' fillings; everybody knows that rose-hip jam is the most traditional and most aromatic one. And finally, the chief ''pączki''-eating day is not Fat Tuesday, but Fat Thursday, six days earlier.
Tony Machalski, a&nbsp;Polish American who has immigrated to the country of his ancestors and now runs ''The Foreign Citizen'' Youtube channel, did a&nbsp;pretty good job two years ago explaining the difference between what Polish Americans think they know about ''pączki'' and what the actual facts are back in the ``old country"“old country”.
{{Video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozeLMbxEN0A|szer=400|poz=center|opis= The Foreign Citizen:<br>Pączki & Fat Thursday or Paczki & Fat Tuesday}}
== Poonchkey or Paunchkey? ==
Let’s start with the linguistic part. The Polish word for a&nbsp;doughnut (usually, in the shape of a&nbsp;flattened sphere, with some kind of filling in it) is ''``pączek"“pączek”'', pronounced: {{pron|pawn|chek}}. The plural form, used for more than one doughnut, is ''``pączki"“pączki”'', which is pronounced: {{pron|pawnch|kee}}. The latter word has nothing to do with packages. That’s ''``paczki"“paczki”'' (without the hook-shaped squiggle), pronounced: {{pron|pahtch|kee}}. It’s the plural form of ''``paczka"“paczka”'' ({{pron|pahtch|kah}}), or ``a package"“a package”. As you can see, the explanation you can occasionally come across in America that ''pączki'' are [https://twitter.com/BethelBakery/status/949661885393199105 ''``little “little packages of goodness"goodness”''] is as sweet as it is wrong. So where does the Polish word for doughnuts actually come from?
"''Pączek"Pączek”'' is a &nbsp;diminutive form of the word ''``pąk"“pąk”'' ({{pron|pawnk}}), which is a &nbsp;botanical term referring to a &nbsp;flower bud or leaf bud. What do doughnuts have to do with flower buds, you may ask. Not so much, if you're you’re thinking about the American ring-shaped donuts, but it's it’s different with the ball-shaped Polish ones. Originally, the word ''``pąk"“pąk”'' referred to anything that is round, bulging (''pękate''), swollen (''napęczniałe'') and about to burst (''pęknąć''). Ultimately, all these ''``pąk“pąk- / pęk- / pącz- / pęcz-"'' words are most likely of onomatopoeic origin, meaning that they're they’re supposed to resemble the sound of something swollen that is bursting.<ref> {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Bralczyk
| imię = Jerzy
[[File:Paczki.png|501px|center|Paczki vs pączki]]
From the point of view of a&nbsp;modern Pole, the English-speakers’ confusion regarding ''pączki'' versus ''paczki'' is at least justifiable; after all, the English language doesn’t have any nasal vowels or the little hooks indicating them (as in ''ą, ę''). What’s more grating to many Polish ears, is referring to a&nbsp;single Polish doughnut as ``a paczki" “a paczki” and to more than one as ``paczkis"“paczkis”. Yet often, the same Polish people who would be ready to criticise this grammatical error have no qualms about wearing ''dżinsy'' (``jeanses"“jeanses”), eating ''czipsy'' (``chipses"“chipses”) or listening to ''Beatlesi'' (``the Beatleses"“the Beatleses”). Depluralisation of loanwords is a&nbsp;common linguitic phenomenon and it often cuts both ways.
[[File:Zasięg wymowy ą jako ų.jpg|thumb|upright|Geographic extent of Polish subdialects exhibiting the ''awn → oon'' nasal vowel shift. Based on a &nbsp;map by A. Krawczyk-Wieczorek, according to an atlas by K. Dejna.]]But the weirdest thing about how ``paczki" “paczki” became a&nbsp;Polish loanword in English is how English speakers (in North America at least) tend to pronounce it. Why is it {{pron|poonch|kee}} and not {{pron|pawnch|kee}}, which would be so much closer to the original Polish pronunciation? Are the Polish Americans wrong to say the word the way they do? And even if they are, then why did this ``wrong" “wrong” pronunciation become so common?
It turns out they’re not that wrong after all. {{pron|Pawnch|kee}} may be the accepted pronunciation in modern standard Polish, but modern standard Polish is a&nbsp;relatively recent creation, a&nbsp;product of state-run schools, radio and television that have worked for the past few generations to unify the language across Poland. In the past, though, each region had its own dialect and subdialects, used especially by the rural populace, and pronunciation differences between regions could be quite substantial.
| wydawca = Instytut Języka Polskiego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
| rok = 2010
}}</ref> In all these regions, ''pączki'' was, in fact, pronounced: {{pron|poonch|kee}}. If you’re reading this, then I assume you don’t speak much Polish, but if you’re interested in examples, then you can find a&nbsp;few in the [[:pl:Punczki z powidłami na tłusty wtorek#Pączki czy pųczki?|Polish-language version of this blog post]]; look for ''``pónczki"“pónczki”'' or ''``punczki"“punczki”'' (the spelling may vary). And all these regions produced waves of migrants who would settle in the United States or Canada, bringing their own pronunciation of ''``pączki"“pączki”'', as well as the recipës, to the banks of the Great Lakes.
== Fat Days ==
[[File:Antoni Zaleski, Luty.jpg|thumb|Typical February pastimes and rituals in 19th-century Warsaw according to Antoni Zaleski. What we have here are both joyful Carnival motifs (dancing parties, masked balls, sleigh rides, ice skating) and the somber celebration of Ash Wednesday. On the left-hand side, we can see a &nbsp;culinary allegory of the fight between Carnival and Lent: a &nbsp;beaming baker carrying a &nbsp;platter of ''pączki'' and, lurking in the shadow, a &nbsp;hooded fisherman holding a &nbsp;bunch of herrings.]]
Let’s now tackle the calendar question: why does ``Pączki Day" “Pączki Day” in America coincide with Fat Tuesday and not Fat Thursday as it does in Poland? Or maybe we should turn this question around: why doesn’t Carnival in Poland culminate on the very last day before Lent, which would be logical, but six days earlier? What we can say for sure is that both Fat Days have something to do with Lent. After all, the entire goal of celebrating Carnival was to have fun in advance and also to use up the stored food that would be proscribed during Lent and wouldn’t last until Easter. In the days of yore, people used to take fasting more seriously, which also meant that pre-fasting revelry was more vibrant and heartfelt. So let’s start by looking at how people used to fast in the past.
The exact rules as to what kinds of food were forbidden during fasting periods and how long these periods were changed quite a&nbsp;lot from time to time and from one place to another. Lent was different for the Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Protestants. But even within one denomination, say, Catholic, fasting wasn’t always and everywhere the same. Convincing freshly converted Christians to fasting would have been most challenging; King Boleslav the Brave of Poland, for example, used to encourage his subjects to periodic vegetarianism by punching out the teeth of the unconvinced.<ref>{{Cyt
[[File:Fat Thuesday.png|thumb|center|800px|The Carnival/Lent calendar for February 2020]]
Pre-Lent contained three Sundays, known as ''Septuagesima, Sexagesima'' and ''Quinquagesima'', that is, ``Seventieth"“Seventieth”, ``Sixtieth" “Sixtieth” and ``Fiftieth" “Fiftieth” in Latin. These names obviously make no sense, because Sundays tend to come every seven days, rather than every ten days, and there’s no way to count 70, 60 or 50 days from any of them down to Easter. Pre-Lent is also observed in the Orthodox Church, but it’s more rigorous than the optional fast of its Catholic equivalent. The Orthodox use this time to gradually remove certain food types from their diet. They call the second Sunday of Pre-Lent ``Meatfare Sunday"“Meatfare Sunday”, as it’s the day when they say farewell to meat. They can still consume dairy products during the next week, until Cheesefare Sunday. The next day is Clean Monday, when Orthodox Lent begins; there’s no Ash Wednesday in this tradition.
[[File:Carnival Europe map.png|thumb|upright|left|The culminating day of Carnival in various parts of Europe:
{{legenda|#EBEBEB|Not applicable or no data}}]]
So when is the last time for the Orthodox to fry their Carnival pancakes before Lent? It can’t be the Cheesefare Sunday, because you can’t do any work on the Sabbath. Friday and Saturday are lean days even outside of Lent. So it must be Thursday, then. Same with the last occasion to cook meat; Greeks, for example, celebrate Barbecue Thursday (''Tsiknopempti'') on the last Thursday before Meatfare Sunday. So it would seem that Catholics copied their Fat Thursday from the Orthodox. Catholics in Poland seem to have copied even more: the traditional Polish names for the three Sundays of Catholic Pre-Lent are ''Niedziela Starozapustna'' (``Old “Old Shrovetide Sunday"Sunday”, because it had been the first Sunday of fasting back when fasting was mandatory in Pre-Lent), then ''Niedziela Mięsopustna'' (``Meatfare Sunday"“Meatfare Sunday”, same as for the Orthodox) and ''Niedziela Zapustna'' (``Shrovetide Sunday"“Shrovetide Sunday”). In fact, the English word ``Carnival" “Carnival” has the same origin as the Polish ''``mięsopust"“mięsopust”''; it comes from Latin ''``carne vale"“carne vale”'', which means ``farewell “farewell to meat"meat”.
And what the heck does ``Shrovetide" “Shrovetide” mean? It’s from the archaic English verb ``to shrive"“to shrive”, which refers to the action of a&nbsp;priest hearing your confession and absolving you of your sins. ``Shrovetide" “Shrovetide” is sometimes used interchangeably with ``Pre“Pre-Lent"Lent”, but technically, it’s just the last three days before Lent – from Quinquagesima Sunday to Shrove Tuesday – when people were expected to confess their sins and get shriven. The Polish names for this period are ''Zapusty'' and ''Ostatki'' (``Last Days"“Last Days”).
In some countries, like France, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Fat Tuesday. In England, it’s Pancake Tuesday. And in Poland, it’s Herring Day (''Śledzik'' or ''Śledziówka''). But herring is a&nbsp;lean dish, so why would you celebrate the last day ''before'' Lent by having Lenten food already? You know you’re gonna be sick of it by the time Lent is over. Well, the reason is quite logical, actually. When you’re partying, it’s easy to lose track of time and not realise that you’ve slipped into Lenten territory. And, as they used to say in Poland, ``on “on Shrove Tuesday the devil stands outside the tavern door and marks down those leaving after midnight."<ref>{{Cyt
| nazwisko = Gloger
| imię = Zygmunt
[[File:Karnawał na świecie.jpg|thumb|Carnival traditions around the world: ''Carnevale'' in Venice, ''Carnaval'' in Rio de Janeiro, ''Mardi Gras'' in New Orleans and ''Tłusty Czwartek'' in Poland. Which one do you like best?]]
This may be another reason why the peak day of Polish Carnival is six days before Lent. You want to put some buffer between the fat-laced revelry and the mandatory fast. And don’t think this is only a&nbsp;Polish idea. Fat Thursday is also observed in Italy (''giovedì grasso''), Spain (''jueves lardero''), Swabia (''Schmotziger Donnerstag''), Luxembourg (''Fetten Donneschdeg'') and Picardy (''jeudi jeudyou''). In the Catholic South Slavic countries (Croatia and Slovakia) the peak of the Carnival falls on Shrovetide Sunday. In the Nordic countries the biggest parties are held on Shrove Monday, known as ''Fastelavn''. On the same day people also have fun in the Rhineland, where they celebrate ''Rosenmontag'' (usually translated as ``Rose Monday" “Rose Monday” even though it actually comes from the dialectical verb ''``roose"“roose”'', meaning ``to party"“to party”). In Cornwall the day is known as ``Peasen Monday"“Peasen Monday”, a&nbsp;day for eating peasoup, while in other parts of England it’s ``Collop Monday"“Collop Monday”, observed by eating pork collops. But in most countries, including France, the Carnival’s peak day is Shrove (or Fat) Tuesday.
French colonists have brought their tradition to North America. Today it’s the New Orleans version of Fat Tuesday, or ''Mardi Gras'' in French, that is best known. Women from all over the United States use this occasion to come to bare their personal little packages of goodness (not to be confused with ''beignets'', or actual local doughnuts) on Bourbon Street in return for strings of green, yellow and purple beads tossed down to them by men standing on balconies. What a&nbsp;beautiful custom! But still not as good as Polish ''pączki'', is it? Anyway, it seems that in the great melting pot of cultures that the United States are, ''pączki'' come from Poland, but they are eaten on the French Fat Tuesday.
So what’s the relationship between a&nbsp;doughnut and a&nbsp;''pączek''? Are these two different things or just English and Polish names for the same thing? Or is ''pączek'' a&nbsp;specific kind of doughnut? The perfect ''pączek'', in my opinion at least, is filled with rose-petal jam, fried in lard and decorated with icing and candied orange zest. But what if you give it a&nbsp;different filling (or no filling at all), fry it butter (or even vegetable oil) and dust with powdered sugar instead? It’s still going to be a&nbsp;''pączek''. And a&nbsp;doughnut. So what makes a&nbsp;''pączek'' a&nbsp;''pączek'' and what makes a&nbsp;doughnut a&nbsp;doughnut?
If we look into old cookbooks, we’ll see that the bakers and pastrycooks of yore had even bigger problems using the correct terminology. Very often, they seem to have lumped all kinds of fried dough (pancakes, fritters, crullers, doughnuts) under the same label. Let’s take, for example, the manuscript recipë collection written at the end of the 17th century at the court of the princely house of Radziwiłł. For the most part, it’s a&nbsp;Polish translation of the German cookbook, ''Ein Koch- und Artzney-Buch'' (``A “A Cookery and Medicine Book"Book”). The anonymous translator chose to render all instances of the German term ''``Krapfen"“Krapfen”'' as ''``pączek"“pączek”'', even if he noticed himself that the recipë was really for pancakes rather than doughnuts.
{{ Cytat
| '''Priestly doughnuts with almonds, but one can see from context that they are more akin to pancakes as made in Silesia and known as “gabion baskets”'''<br>
Take half a &nbsp;pound of finely crushed almonds, four egg yolks and one whole egg, as well as some cream; beat it all well, season with sugar and butter. Then add fine flour and mix into thick batter, but not too thick, so that you can pour it with a &nbsp;spoon; only then heat well an iron pan and grease it with butter; pour the batter onto it and fry over hot coals, then remove and roll up.
| źródło = {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Dumanowski
}} }} }}
I don’t really know why the German ''``Waffen“Waffen-Krapfen"Krapfen”'' (``war fritters"“war fritters”?) were translated as ``priestly doughnuts"“priestly doughnuts”. In modern German the word ''``Krapfen"“Krapfen”'' does refer to a&nbsp;doughnut. But in some regions of Germany (Brandenburg, Saxony and Hither Pomerania) doughnuts are known as ''``Pfannkuchen"“Pfannkuchen”'' which is the word for ``pancakes" “pancakes” in other German-speaking parts. The Radziwiłł cookbook also mentions ''``kręple"“kręple”'', or a&nbsp;kind of crullers. Here, both the recipë and the name come from eastern Germany, where ''``Kräppel"“Kräppel”'' is a&nbsp;dialectical variant of ''``Krapfen"“Krapfen”''. From the same source come the Silesian ''kręple'' (doughnuts) and the Jewish ''kreplach'' (meat-filled dumplings).
About a&nbsp;century after the Radziwiłł manuscript, Wojciech Wielądko translated a&nbsp;more recent cookbook into Polish, this time from French. The original book was ''La cuisinière bourgeoise'' by Menon. The titular ``urban “urban female cook" cook” somehow changed both her gender and her estate in the Polish translation, becoming ''Kucharz doskonały'', or ``the “the perfect male cook"cook”. In this translation, the word ''``pączek"“pączek”'' was used to render the French ''``beignet"“beignet”'', even though it usually referred to various kinds of fritters rather than doughnuts.
{{ Cytat
| '''Apple or peach doughnuts'''<br>
Quarter, peel and core Reinette apples, marinade them for two to three hours in vodka with sugar, green-lemon zest and orange water; once they infuse the flavour, drain them, wrap in a &nbsp;piece of floured cloth and coat them well in flour; then fry them nicely, ice with sugar and serve; you may prepare peaches in the same way.
| źródło = {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Wielądko
{{!}} źródło = ''Ibid.''
{{!}} oryg = '''Beignets de pommes et de pêches'''<br>
Prenez des pommes de rennete que vous coupez en quatre quartiers, ôtez la peau & les pepins, parez-les proprement, faites-les mariner deux ou trois heures avec de l'eaul’eau-de-vie, du sucre, de l'écorce l’écorce de citron verd, de l’eau de fleur d'oranged’orange, quand elles ont bien pris goût, mettez-les égouter, & ensuite mettez-les dans un torchon blanc avec de la farine, remuez-les bien dedans pour qu'elle qu’elle prenne de la farine, faites-les frire de belle couleur & les glacez avec du sucre & la pêle rouge; les beignets de pêche se font de la même façon.
{{!}} źródło-oryg = {{Cyt
{{!}} nazwisko = Menon
[[File:Pączki workowe.jpg|thumb|upright|Bag doughnuts as made by Maciej Barton, chef at Ostoja Chobienice]]
It would seem then that in the past the meaning of ''``pączek"“pączek”'' was as broad as of the French ''``beignet"“beignet”'', encompassing a&nbsp;whole range of fried-dough foods, usually ball-shaped, and not solely doughnuts. Among the many kinds of Old Polish ''pączki'' (typically aping the Wester ''Krapfen'' and ''beignets'') there were such creations as ``bag doughnuts" “bag doughnuts” (''pączki workowe'', made from balls of dough that were put into bags, cooked in boiling water and cut into slices that were then fried) or ``syringe doughnuts" “syringe doughnuts” (''pączki strykowe'', made by squirting batter into boiling oil, possibly related to the funnel cakes of the Pennsylvania Dutch).
There’s even a&nbsp;mid-19th-century recipë for ''beignets à la polonaise'' that you can find in ''La cuisine classique'' by Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, two French chefs who had worked for Polish and Russian aristocrats. But if you think that these ``Polish“Polish-style ''beignets"beignets”'' are the ''pączki'' we know from Poland today, then you're you’re going to be disappointed. These are more like modern Polish ``croquettes" “croquettes” made from filled and rolled-up ''crêpes'' (Polish ''naleśniki''), but sweet rather than savoury.
{{ Cytat
| '''Polish-style beignets – nalesniki'''<br>
Fry a &nbsp;dozen ordinary pancakes; once done, trim them correctly, spread them and cover with thick pear-and-pineapple marmalade.; wrap them up into oblong, 4-cm wide envelopes; trim the ends and divide them into two parts; seal the openings with the trimmings; coat them in a &nbsp;few handfuls of powdered almonds, then eggs and finally breadcrumbs; then place them in a &nbsp;large pan greased with clarified butter, let them brown just slightly, then arrange them into a &nbsp;crown or a &nbsp;pyramid and serve with fruit sauce. You may garnish these beignets with any kind of marmalade or pastry cream.
| źródło = {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Dubois
| nazwisko2= Bernard
| imię2 = Émile
| tytuł = La cuisine classique&nbsp;: études pratiques, raisonnées et démonstratives de l'École l’École française appliquée au service à la russe
}}, own translation
| oryg = '''Beignets à la polonaise – nalesniki'''<br>
Cuisez une vingtaine de pannequets d'après d’après les règles ordinaires&nbsp;; quand ils sont cuits, parez-les correctement, étalez-les et masquez-les avec une marmelade de poires à l'ananas l’ananas bien ferme, ployez-les en bandes longues de l'épaisseur l’épaisseur de 4&nbsp;centim.&nbsp;; parez les deux bouts et divisez-les en deux parties&nbsp;; fermez l'ouverture l’ouverture des extrêmes avec les parures&nbsp;; roulez-les dans quelques poignées de pâte d'amandes d’amandes pulvérisées&nbsp;; passez-les à l'œuf l’œuf et ensuite dans la panure&nbsp;; au moment, rangez-les dans un grand sautoir ou plaque à rebords, au fond de laquelle vous avez étalé une couche de beurre clarifié; faites-leur prendre couleur tout doucement, dressez-les ensuite en couronne ou en buisson et servez à part une sauce de fruits. On garnit ces beignets avec toute espèce de marmelade ou de crème pâtissière.
}}
[[File:Piekarnia_i_cukiernia_wytworna_i_gospodarska - pączki.jpg|thumb|left|Old-time ''pączki'' as small hard balls]]
Today, we wouldn’t call any of these fritters ''``pączek"“pączek”'', mostly because they all lacked one crucial ingredient – yeast. All these old-time ''pączki'' were made from unleavened dough, so they were dense and hard, as colourfully described by Jędrzej Kitowicz.
{{Cytat
| If an old-fashioned doughnut were to hit you in the face, you could get a &nbsp;black eye from it.
| źródło = {{Cyt
| nazwisko = Kitowicz
}} }}
Who knows, maybe this is what the aforementioned ''Waffen-Krapfen'' were all about? There’s even a&nbsp;legend about a&nbsp;Prussian army cook who supposedly invented doughnuts having drawn inspiration from the sight of cannonballs. But already in Kitowicz’s times (1728–1804) there appeared in Poland new yeast-raised doughnuts, whose fluffiness must have really impressed those used to the ``war fritters" “war fritters” of the past.
{{Cytat
| French pastries, layer cakes, pasties, sponge cakes, and the like – doughnuts even – were brought to the highest level of perfection. {{...}} The new doughnuts were so plump and light that you could squeeze them in your hand and they would swell and ooze like a &nbsp;sponge, so light that a &nbsp;mere puff of wind might whisk them off the plate.
| oryg = Ciasta także francuskie, torty, pasztety, biszkopty i&nbsp;inne, pączki nawet wydoskonaliły się do stopnia jak najwyższego. {{...}} Dziś pączek jest tak pulchny, tak lekki, że ścisnąwszy go w&nbsp;ręku, znowu się rozciąga i&nbsp;pęcznieje, jak gąbka do swojej objętości, a&nbsp;wiatr zdmuchnąłby go z&nbsp;półmiska.
| źródło = ''Ibid.'' }}
[[File:Smażenie pączków (fragm.).jpg|thumb|upright|''Pączki'' being fried at a &nbsp;Warsaw pastry shop in 1978]]
And so, by the end of the 18th century, ''pączki'' had evolved into the spongy filled delights we know today. These, at last, were real doughnuts according to the definition proposed by Ms. Heather Delauncey Hunwick, a&nbsp;Canadian Australian doughnut expert:
{{ Cytat
| Pour two quarts of dry Marymontese flour into a &nbsp;deep pan, make a &nbsp;hollow in the middle, and pour half a &nbsp;quart of thick white yeast and one quart of warm milk into it; mix and leave in a &nbsp;warm place for half a &nbsp;quarter. When it starts to rise, add twelve egg yolks, a &nbsp;quart of clarified butter and just as much finely crushed sugar, some finely chopped lemon zest, a &nbsp;little crushed cardamon and anise. Mix the dough with a &nbsp;wooden spatula, while adding small amounts of milk, not to make the dough too thin. Punch down the dough, leave in a &nbsp;warm place and when it rises, punch down again. Lay the dough on a &nbsp;floured pastry board, roll it out half an inch thick and cut into four-inch stripes. Baste one stripe with beaten eggs, spoon over a &nbsp;little fruit butter or jam, cover with another stripe and seal with a &nbsp;tin mould. Having made as many doughnuts as you need, cover them with cloth and when they rise, turn them over. After a &nbsp;few minutes, put them into deep boiling fat and cover; once they become golden in colour at the bottom, turn them over and cover the pan again. Once they are ready, remove with a &nbsp;slotted spoon, dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon, and serve while they are warm.
| oryg = Wsypawszy do rondelka kwart dwie suchej marymońskiey mąki, zrobić w środku jamkę, do której wlewa się pół kwaterki gęstych białych drożdży i&nbsp;kwaterkę ciepłego mleka; rozrobiwszy to z&nbsp;małą ilością mąki, stawi się w&nbsp;ciepłym miejscu na pół kwadransa. Gdy zaczną drożdże podchodzić, wbić należy wówczas dwanaście żółtków, wlać kwaterkę masła klarowanego, wsypać tyleż cukru miałko tłuczonego, skórki cytrynowej drobno siekanej, nieco tłuczonej kordymonii lub badianu [tj. anyżku]. Rozrabiać to ciasto drewnianą łopatką, dodając po trochę ciepłego mleka tyle, aby ciasto nie było rzadkie. Wybiwszy dobrze, postawić w&nbsp;ciepłym miejscu, gdy wyrośnie, wybić go należy raz powtórny. Tak przygotowane ciasto wykłada się na stolnicę, która powinna być wysypana mąką; rozwałkowawszy go wałkiem na pół cala grubini, kraje się w&nbsp;pasy szerokości na cztery cale. Pasek jeden smaruje się rozbitymi jajami i&nbsp;nakłada się na niego po trochę powideł lub konfitur wyciśniętych z&nbsp;ulepu; przykrywszy drugim pasem ciasta te konfitury, wyciska się wówczas blaszaną foremką. Zrobiwszy tym sposobem tyle pączek, ile potrzeba, przykrywają się serwetą; a&nbsp;gdy podejmą, obracają się na drugą stronę; skoro poleżą przez kilka minut, spuszczają się do wrzącej tłustości, którą należy przykryć pokrywą; gdy ze spodu zaczną brać kolor złotawy, przewracają się na drugą stronę, przykrywa się rondel znowu. Skoro zupełnie będą gotowe, wyjmują się durszlakową łyżką, osypują się dobrze miałko tłuczonym cukrem z&nbsp;cynamonem i&nbsp;dają się gorące do stołu.
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