Mandatory Milwaukee: Paczki Day Tyler Maas March 4, 2025 Some days centered around pastries come and go, while some become icons. Mandatory Milwaukee is all about the latter. This week: Paczki Day! Today is the day. Tuesday, March 4, 2025 is a day Catholics, calendar companies, and party animals alike widely consider to be Fat Tuesday. However, here in Milwaukee—and various other places that have a large contingent of people with Polish lineage—today is “Paczki Day.” No matter your religious beliefs, your percentage of central European ancestry, or your level of commitment to the rest of Mardi Gras festivities, you’re cordially invited to indulge in this tasty pastry that brings our region together. As you likely already know from the wide range of other local press about it and, like, spending any amount of time in or around Milwaukee on the eve of Ash Wednesday, paczki—or “pączek” in the singular form—are Polish pastries that are deep-fried and piped with filling. While they bear a striking resemblance to a jelly doughnut in both appearance and taste, paczki (pronounced “puhnch-key”) is typically a little bit richer, softer, and more buttery than its doughy doppelganger. Though it didn’t originate as a food that was rooted in religion, it was eventually rolled into the Lenten tradition to serve as a late indulgence immediately preceding 40 days of sacrifice and self-discipline. Given the vast number of residents in Milwaukee and much of the Upper Midwest with a Polish background, a Catholic background, or both, paczki quickly caught on here and have remained a seasonal staple for generations. Along the way, the rest of us heathens with no personal connection to Poland have also gladly incorporated paczki into our lives with open arms and stuffed mouths. Every Paczki Day, folks all around Milwaukee rise early to line up together at a wide range of bakeries, grocers, and restaurants that whip up unthinkable amounts—literally tens of thousands at places like National Bakery—for all to buy. Many area establishments take pre-orders, which are picked up to be enjoyed at home, in workplaces, at bars and breweries, and any other conceivable place fried dough with filling can be consumed. They can be glazed or dusted with sugar. Some are made with more traditional additions like prune, raspberry, rose, apricot, and raisin. Others are modernized with the inclusion of chocolate, cream, strawberry, or even things like cookie crumbs and Nutella. No matter which variety or style you choose from the ever-growing selection, there’s a sense of local connection and civic pride that comes from spending part of a Tuesday in late winter partaking in a pączek…or two…or more with the knowledge that many-a Milwaukeean is doing the very same thing. Tomorrow there will be doughnuts aplenty, a bevy of bagels, and kringle galore. But today belongs to a seasonal pastry from Poland that’s earned a place in Milwaukee’s increasingly-clogged heart. Happy Paczki Day.
