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Pancake Day
It's that time of year again - get that crêpe pan at the ready, don an apron and start flipping... and don't worry, the first pancake of the batch is always a mess!
Make a meal out of Shrove Tuesday by gathering together a selection of yummy savoury and sweet fillings for your pancakes, before getting stuck in.
Take turns in tossing to prevent pancake arm-ache and have fun assembling dinner at the table - kids and adults alike love the excuse to play with their food. Check out our top ten recipes for some great recipe ideas.
Wait until your pancake is cooked on the underside and hold the frying pan loosely in your hand, keeping your wrist relaxed. Flick your wrist sharply upwards and the pancake should (in theory) land back in the pan.
If pancake tossing fills you with trepidation, use a spatula and don’t beat yourself up about it!
One of the oldest events is the Olney Pancake Race in Buckinghamshire. This race requires competitors to dress in traditional housewife garb, wearing an apron and a scarf. Sadly, only women can participate.
Mardi Gras is celebrated at the world-famous carnivals of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and New Orleans in the USA.
As an alternative to a pancake supper, mark the occasion with a taste of southern American soul cooking – we love Charita Jones’ Black Eye Beans à la Shack and Danny Boome’s Jambalaya.
There are also Chinese egg rolls, Hungarian palacsintas, and Jewish blintzes, as well as French crêpes.
• In Iceland, the day is known as ‘Sprengidagur’ (‘bursting day’), as on this day people would eat as much as they could of the delicacies disallowed during fasting.
• The name ‘Shrove’ comes from the archaic English word, ‘shrive’, which means ‘to confess’.
By Ramona Andrews
Take turns in tossing to prevent pancake arm-ache and have fun assembling dinner at the table - kids and adults alike love the excuse to play with their food. Check out our top ten recipes for some great recipe ideas.
Origins of Pancake Day
Pancake Day derives from the Christian tradition of Shrove Tuesday, which provided the last chance to indulge before the traditional fasting of Lent. It was an opportunity to use up all the eggs and fats in the larder.
Pancake tossing
Flipping your pancakes is part of the tradition, though it’s not a skill that comes naturally to us all.Wait until your pancake is cooked on the underside and hold the frying pan loosely in your hand, keeping your wrist relaxed. Flick your wrist sharply upwards and the pancake should (in theory) land back in the pan.
If pancake tossing fills you with trepidation, use a spatula and don’t beat yourself up about it!
Pancake racing
Another Shrove Tuesday tradition is the pancake race. Participants run with a frying pan containing a cooked pancake, while flipping it a specified number of times.One of the oldest events is the Olney Pancake Race in Buckinghamshire. This race requires competitors to dress in traditional housewife garb, wearing an apron and a scarf. Sadly, only women can participate.
Mardi Gras
The French name for Shrove Tuesday is ‘Mardi Gras’ (or ‘Fat Tuesday’), and has been assumed by countries all around the world to celebrate pre-Lenten indulgence and decadence.Mardi Gras is celebrated at the world-famous carnivals of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and New Orleans in the USA.
As an alternative to a pancake supper, mark the occasion with a taste of southern American soul cooking – we love Charita Jones’ Black Eye Beans à la Shack and Danny Boome’s Jambalaya.
Variations on a theme
Pancakes are given different names all over the world. The Russians call their tiny pancakes blinis and serve them with caviar, and the Italians stuff cannelloni with a hearty filling and bake their pancakes with cheese.There are also Chinese egg rolls, Hungarian palacsintas, and Jewish blintzes, as well as French crêpes.
Did you know?
• Napoleon considered dropping a pancake while tossing it to be bad luck, and used this to explain his troop’s failings in Russia.• In Iceland, the day is known as ‘Sprengidagur’ (‘bursting day’), as on this day people would eat as much as they could of the delicacies disallowed during fasting.
• The name ‘Shrove’ comes from the archaic English word, ‘shrive’, which means ‘to confess’.
By Ramona Andrews
