Polish doughnuts "pączki"

"Pączki" (POHNCH-kee) are fried rounds of yeast dough with rosehip, prune, apricot, strawberry, raspberry or sweet cheese filling. In Poland, authentic Polish "pączki" are the sweet treat when it comes to Fat Tuesday, the last day of feasting before the start of Lent.

Dominika Bisgwa

Polish "mazurek wielkanocny"

Mazurek, known as "mazurka" in English, is a flat Polish yeast-dough or pastry-dough cake variously topped with almond paste, preserves and/or nuts, dried fruits, meringues, and sometimes left plain. The one thing they have in common is they are rarely over 1 inch in height. They are typically served for Easter. This "royal" version is probably so named because the coloured preserves peeking out of the lattice resemble the jewels in a royal crown. 

Weronika Seidel

Polish "babka wielkanocna"

Baba or babka means "old woman" or "grandmother" in Polish and gets its name from the dessert's resemblance to an old woman's full skirt or a top knot. This half-cake, half-bread, yeast-risen confection celebrates the return of the egg to the diet after Lent. Raisins, citron and almonds are traditional, but some prefer to leave them out entirely. 

 Wiktoria Żydek

Polish Easter Soup "white borscht soup"

White borscht soup is either eaten on Easter Sunday morning or served for dinner after the appetizers. It's made with most of the foods from the "święconka basket" and with the flavourful "kiełbasa" cooking water. There are as many recipes for this soup as there are cooks. Some make it with a "kwas" (a sour starter similar to that used in sourdough bread) when it becomes "żurek wielkanocny", others with sour cream or buttermilk. Some use smoked sausage, others use fresh white sausage or ham or bacon.

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Polish Easter Lamb

The Easter Lamb bearing a cross-emblazoned flag represents Christ Resurrected and is thus the typical Polish Easter symbol. At the centre of Catholic Mass is the sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the Eucharist. The lamb adorns greeting cards. Sugar lambs are blessed in Easter baskets and plaster lambs form the centrepiece of the Easter table. The sugar lambs are most often blessed in children's baskets as a sweet treat.

Typically the table also includes a butter lamb shaped by hand, in a mould, or purchased from Polish markets. This lamb is always included in the basket to be blessed.

The lamb also appears in the dessert form of the Lamb Cake, a pound cake shaped and decorated, often sitting on the Easter grass, and always carrying the Resurrection Banner.

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Polish Easter Eggs "pisanki"

The custom of coloring eggs for Easter is still observed in Poland. The eggs are decorated with many traditional Polish symbols of Easter. Most popular are lamb, cross, floral designs or Easter's greetings such as "Wesołego Alleluja". The eggs decorated with the use of treated wax are called "pisanki". Another technique involved gluing colored paper or shiny fabric on them. The eggs which are painted in one color are called "malowanki" or "kraszanki". If patterns are etched with a pointed instrument on top of the paint, the eggs are then called "skrobanki" or "rysowanki".

Aleksandra Bednarkiewicz

Eating Lenten Traditional Maltese Food and Sweets

What is better that experiencing these delicious food tastes in class?

That is what we did last week.

Cherise’s dad is a baker and he baked an Appostles’ Bread Ring for us to share.

Anthea’s mum sells sweets in her shop and she brought us some carob sweets to taste.

Our teacher got some hot cross buns

and kwarezimal and we just enjoyed every part of it!