Faworki

The story

Faworki are thin ribbons of dough, twisted through a slit, fried until blistered and crisp and buried in powdered sugar. Poland eats them above all on Tłusty czwartek, Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent, which falls 52 days before Easter; in 2027 that is February 4. Fat Thursday, also called zapusty or mięsopust, opens the final week of Carnival, which ends when Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027. Faworki share the day with pączki, the filled doughnuts. The name comes from the French faveur, a narrow ribbon; the other common names, chrust and chruściki, are Slavic and are often linked to brittle dry brushwood. Polish food writers say the pastry reached Poland from Germany and Lithuania. Early versions were made from heavy doughnut dough, later ones from batters, and the modern dough is beaten with a rolling pin to fill it with air, with a spoonful of spirit added so it absorbs less fat. Polish-American bakeries in Buffalo, Philadelphia and Milwaukee sell them as angel wings. The dough takes about two hours start to finish, so fry them the afternoon of February 4 and serve them the same day.