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Local NewsPaczki Mania in MilwaukeeBy Diane Pathieu and Jay SorgiMILWAUKEE - Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Down south, it means Mardi Gras, but in Milwaukee, it means Paczki. That means a big party at National Bakery and Deli. On the menu? Hand-baked Paczki, Polish pastries that are traditionally eaten on the Tuesday before Catholics and others choose to fast on Ash Wednesday. On this fat Tuesday, crews are filling, filling and filling thousands upon thousands of Paczki. "We should go well over 40,000 today," said Bryant Krauss, who works at National Bakery and Deli. "We're going for 45,000." Crews are trying to get enough out to meet the incredible demand. "Three dozen for my friend who's been waiting a long time," said David Laures. "Five dozen for my family. We don't mess around. This is a serious situation every year." To many, the Polish pastry is a delectable treat that most people love, even if they don't know how to pronounce it. For those of us who may not understand how to say it, according to Diane from Franklin, "I've always observed Fat Tuesday with 'POONCH-keys.' I've never, ever heard it called 'PAHCH-keys.' " Bob from Cedarburg had a grandmother who made them all the time when he was a kid, so he knows how to say it. "She made 'POONCH-keys' when I was a kid, and most of the time, I had prune filling," said Bob. Hang on, Bob and Diane. You can get rid of the S. The Journal Sentinel says Paczki can be plural or singular. But the point isn't how you say it, but its incredible flavor, coming from butter, lard, sugar, all mixed together and baked with different fruit flavors like raspberry and prune in the middle. You'll find bakeries in Milwaukee making more than 140,000 of them for people to gobble up before Fat Tuesday, and Paczki Mania, turns into Ash Wednesday. |
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