Question by browneyedbeauty170: What is the history behind the Russian dessert, ponchiki?
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Answer by candy
The word “ponchiki” actually comes from the Polish “Paczki.”
Here is the history of these doughnuts:
Traditionally, the reason for making paczki has been to use up all the lard, sugar and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent. They are eaten especially on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent (Polish: Tłusty czwartek, not to be confused with Fat Tuesday). Polish immigrants have popularized this type of doughnut in some parts of the United States, especially in Metro Detroit, where the word is often pronounced [puntʃki]. Here, prunes are considered the traditional filling, but many others are used as well, including lemon, strawberry, Bavarian cream, and raspberry. Due to French influence, paczki are eaten on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) rather than on Fat Thursday. In the Polish community in Hamtramck, a Detroit enclave, an American-style Paczki Day Parade is organized annually on Mardi Gras (also known as Paczki Day in the region).
Meanwhile, Polish Jews fried pączki (Yiddish: פּאָנטשקעס , pontshkes) in oil, and ate them on Hanukkah; this custom was imported to Israel and spread to other Jews, who know them by their Modern Hebrew name, סופגניות, sufganiyot (singular: סופגניה, sufganiyah).
In Russian cuisine, the word “pączki” transformed into “pyshki” (especially in St. Petersburg) and “пончики”, ponchiki. The latter may refer to both “paczki” and “pirozhki”. In Ukrainian cuisine they are called “пампушки”, pampushky.
A paczek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with jam or other sweet filling. A traditional filling is marmalade made from fried rose buds. Fresh paczki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of fried orange zest.
In German, they are called Berliner or Krapfen.
In Lithuanian cuisine they’re called spurgos.
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