TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Fat Tuesday means paczki and lots of them. Believe or not, some of your favorite donut shops like Donut Kraze in Tonawanda have already spent hours and hours cooking up lot and lots of paczki already.
"I am making Packzki just cutting them out of the dough," said Matthew Carlson, Baker at Donut Kraze.
Packzi, the Polish donut, in all the flavors and its sweet glazed goodness is here for the Fat Tuesday tradition that dates back all the way to the middle ages. The idea behind it was to use up all the sugar, lard and eggs before Lent so you wouldn't be tempted to eat them during the fast.
At Donut Kraze you can choose from raspberry, apricot, bavarian and lemon. Each flavor bursting with flavor may make it hard to put them down. But, Owner of Donut Kraze, Lynn Waschenski said you probably won't have to worry about paczki running out.
"It's kind of unlimited like there's not, until the end of the day and then we're just so tired from working usually like 24 hours," said Waschenski. "I'm like I don't even know what happened because it Just goes like a whirlwind."
While Waschenski said paczki will be flying off the shelves, Baker Matthew Carlson said it's just another day on the job.
"I'm used to doing a lot at once so this is not really," said Carlson.
In their kitchen the smell of jelly filing and rum flavored glazed is floating in the air but for Carlson who said it was his 8th year prepping for Paczki Day, he said he can't really smell it at all anymore.
"The only time I smell it is if I take a couple days off and I'll come back," said Carlson. "I know it does smell good thought because everybody tells me."
You can judge for yourself and see just how good it smells and tastes when doors open at Donut Kraze at 6 in the morning.
