What is Pancake Day, and Why Do People Acknowledge It?

Before you indulge, here's some history...

Posted on

4 February 2013

Posted by

ewfood

Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed mainly in English speaking countries, especially Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand but is also observed in Philippines and Germany.

The day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are linked with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs from the larder such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The fasting is followed by eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure. In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs. Nowadays people tend to give up one particlar thing e.g. chocolate, crisps, cakes etc.

Catholic and Protestant countries traditionally call the day Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. The name predated the Reformation and referred to the common Christian tradition of eating special rich foods before the fasting season of Lent.

In Portuguese-, Spanish- and Italian-speaking countries, amongst others, it is known as Carnival. This derives from the words "carne levar" meaning to take away meat. It is often celebrated with street processions and fancy dress parades. The most famous of these events is the Brazilian Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

Shrove Tuesday was once a half day holiday in England. It started at 11:00am with the tolling of a church bell. Pancake Day Races would be held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

Pancake Recipes

Pancakes are easy to make and also great fun to share with the kids if you have them. Get everyone in the kitchen and have some fun! The best bit is to be adventurous and try and flip the panckae just using the pan! See if you can do it!

We've a few recipes for you here... traditionally in the UK pancakes were eaten with a squeeze of lemon (JIF lemon or real!) and a sprinkle of sugar. Now you can be more adventurous with your toppings!

You will need...

Ingredients:

4 ounces plain flour, sifted
2 eggs
A pinch of salt
2 ounces butter
7fl ounces milk combined with 3fl ounces water

Serve with:

lemon juice
caster sugar
lemon wedges

How to make them:

Sieve the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with the sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets lots of air in.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it.
Whisk the eggs bringing in bits of flour from round the edges of the bowl- you can use a fork or whisk for this.
Add small bits of the milk and water mix whilst still whisking- don’t worry about lumps as they will disappear eventually.
After you have added all the liquid make sure you scrap all the flour from around the edge of the bowl into the centre.
Whisk away again until the batter is smooth and the consistency of single cream
Now melt the butter in a frying pan… add 2 tablespoons of it in to the batter and whisk in.

And that is your batter ready!

Put the rest of the melted butter in a dish as you will be using this to keep your frying pan oiled.

You are now ready to begin cooking the pancakes… first of all get your frying pan really hot before turning the heat down to medium

You’ll be making a test pancake first (this is the one we used to fight over as kids!!)

Use about 2 tablespoons of the batter mixture- you can spoon straight in to the pan or you can use a ladle for this- it’s easier to get a nice round shape with the ladle.

As soon as the batter is poured into the pan swirl it round to evenly cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Pancakes cook really quickly so you should only cook this side for about 30 seconds- use a knife to lift up that pancake to see if it is ready to turn. If it is golden it’s time to turn- use a palette knife or flat pan slice for turning.

Once flipped the pancake only needs a few seconds on the new side- slide it out onto a plate

Stack the pancakes as you make them (unless you have people grabbing them as soon as they come out of the pan) between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

Then simply sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster sugar, fold in half, then in half again to form triangles, or else simply roll them up.

Serve sprinkled with a little more sugar and lemon juice and extra sections of lemon.