The Packzi pastries, which originated in Poland, were good, but we would only get them again if we were craving them specially. 

We got the Paczki from Jewel-Osco in Minooka for $5.99 for a pack of four. The pack had two apple, one Bavarian cream chocolate, and one strawberry.

In the Polish community, they eat these pastries to celebrate Tlusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday). Fat Thursday is to celebrate the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday. This year it was Feb. 27. The pastries have been around since the Middle Ages but have been modified since then.

The pastries were presented well, the box represented the Polish flag with a transparent film to show the Paczki. The frosting on the chocolate donuts was spread evenly throughout the whole pastry. 

On the apple and strawberry, the powdered sugar was not spread evenly, with more powdered sugar piled up near the edges of the pastry. When we bit into the Packzi with the powdered sugar, the sugar from the edge came falling down, making a mess. 

The taste of each Paczki was unique. The strawberry one had a very sweet strawberry jam.

The chocolate pastry had a Bavarian cream filling, which is vanilla flavored, and the apple one had a filling that was like the filling from a pie. The overall taste was similar to a regular donut.

The texture of all the pastries was similar, dry, but the Bavarian cream in the chocolate Paczek made the pastry less dry. The cream in the chocolate was mainly in the center of the pastry, which made the sides dry. It would have had the perfect texture if the cream was filled more evenly throughout the whole donut. 

We think that you should try Paczki pastries, especially if you like donuts. Brooke’s favorite was the Bavarian cream chocolate donut and Natalie’s favorite was the strawberry.