• Maundy Thursday, or Tłusty Czwartek is a Polish tradition celebrated every year, an occasion that gives gluttons a chance to indulge before entering the Easter Lent.
Every year, in February, in Poland is celebrated Fat Thursdayor Fat Thursday. This day is celebrated by indulging in traditional Polish filled doughnuts "pączki" And with "faworki"or "Angel wings", an equally tasty pastry.
The exact date of the celebration Fat Thursday it changes every year, depending on the Christian calendar and being linked to Lent and Easter. However, Maundy Thursday is always celebrated on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday and therefore just before Lent begins. Thus in the year 2022, Fat Thursday was celebrated on February 24, in 2023 it will be celebrated on February 16, and in 2024, on February 8.
If at the origins Fat Thursday it was a religious holiday, seen as an opportunity to eat the things that are usually given up during the fasting period, in time it became a secular holiday, a festival of indulgence, a reason to introduce the delicious pastries of Poland to the world .
The traditional reinvented with new recipes
It is mandatory to eat one Doughnut or faworki de International Polish Donut Day? Theoretically not, but why resist them? In Poland it is believed that if you don't eat at least one Doughnut on this day, you will have bad luck for the rest of the year. Maybe this is true, or maybe it isn't, but why deny yourself a pleasure and risk a year of bad luck just for a few extra calories?
Figures show that in Poland on average at least three donuts are eaten per person during feast, which would translate to about 1050 calories. During Fat Thursday almost 100 million pieces of Doughnut, in one day! On this day people even wait in line for hours in some of the best patisseries in Poland to buy boxes.
Because these donuts are said to bring happiness, and refusing to eat them is not only rude, but also bad luck, contemporary Polish pastry chefs strive to satisfy the tastes of vegan or gluten-intolerant consumers. Even though the traditional recipe calls for lard, eggs, wheat flour and lots of sugar, new variations are created for every possible dietary restriction.
The must-haves: light, fluffy, and flavorful
Donut fillings also vary: the traditional rose jam can be replaced with vanilla cream or chocolate ganache. The only requirement is that they remain as light, fluffy and tasty.
"Faworki"or "angel wings", are a light and crispy pastry, also made from donut dough, shaped in the shape of a twisted ribbon. "Angel Wings", close to "the lies" from Romanian cuisine, they are lightly fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Fat Thursday or Fat Thursday it is not only celebrated in Poland. This day is also celebrated by Poles living abroad, especially in cities such as Chicago and New York, and other countries around the world like Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece celebrate something similar, Fat Tuesday, period of parties and carnivals, before Lent begins.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă.
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