Last week in the ShopRite, I was led astray in the pastry and bread aisle by a brand new product not seen there before Paczki. It was a box with four fat powdered sugar covered pastries visible through the plastic window.
Now, a bit of personal history, many many years ago, decades actually I was married to a man of Polish descent whose mother cooked Polish food: golumpki, chruschiki, I can't remember any other names and can't spell them anyhow, but the point is I recognized the word as Polish. So, I thought I would give them a try. I was looking for a treat.
Actually I can't say that I cared for them very much. I found them heavy, and dense, almost like white bread, and the jam filling was so sweet it was too sweet. They reminded me of the jelly donuts of my childhood.
Tonight I decided to look them up and find out WHY they were in my ShopRite on that day and never seen there before. I knew it had to be some kind of Polish holiday. It was! It was Casimir Pulaski Day! It was also Shrove Tuesday, or the Week before Lent. I don't celebrate those holidays anymore, the religious ones that is, such as Lent. I do celebrate the secular ones, so I was putting up Easter lights, Easter bunny decorations and I made my daughter an Easter basket of treats gathered over the past months from places like Lines on the Pines (Hand milled soap and a beautifully turned wooden bud vase, for example) and some pure sized cranberry/walnut hand cream.
General Pulaski was a Revolutionary War hero who actually did some service in New Jersey, round about the time of the Battle of Chestnut Neck, after the burning of the ship building site and authorized pirate hide-out at the Forks. American privateers used the Batsto and Mullica Rivers and the access they provided to the Atlantic Ocean, to attack and seize British ships. They took the cargo and sold it and either re-purposed the ships or scuttled them. The British became enraged by these attacks and came in force to burn the Forks. Most of the people had escaped, some to Chestnut Neck where the battle continued. General Pulaski was summoned to lead a group to the rescue. He was too late for The Forks but he fought and died in the Battle of Savannah and is Memorialized for his bravery. Since his birthday is in March, many Polish Americans celebrate then. His actual holiday is in October.
Because Lent was on the way, rural farm people would use up their butter, cream and jams before the beginning of the fasting and hence the rich donuts were made and eaten the week before.
I have eaten one each day which was more than enough. They aren't too bad with coffee, but I must say, I prefer chruschiki which are light and delicate. This Paczki are sinkers! Nonetheless it isn't every pastry that also provides a history lesson!
By the way, Benedict Arnold's long fall to disgrace is also connected to The Forks and Chestnut Neck. He had invested in privateers and had a great deal of money tied up in a purloined cargo. Rather than see it fall into British hands, he took unauthorized soldiers and marched down to retrieve it causing General Washington to be forced to rebuke him. That disgrace started the simmer of disgruntlement that eventuated in his treason.
New Jersey is rich in immigrant history as well as The Crossroads of the Revolution!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
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