Traditional Pancakes - Recipe
Pancakes in History - a Long Tradition Stemming from Biblical Times
Have you ever wondered where pancakes originated from and why? Or what is the reason for Pancake Day - well read on......
The tradition of making pancakes goes back a long way. Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is the day before Lent. The period of Lent is the forty days before Easter, a time for the Christians to fast.
Lent was celebrated by the fasting of dairy products to celebrate the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness.
Shrove Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter Sunday, and this year it falls on 5th February when people all across the U.K will be found eating pancakes, although most probably won’t understand why!
Shrove Tuesday is the last day in Shrovetide which spans the three days immediately before Lent. All three days of Shrovetide were celebrated:
- Shrove Sunday – being the fiftieth day before Easter Day.
- Shrove Monday - or Collop Monday, when collops of bacon were served which produced the fat needed for the pancakes the following day.
- Shrove Tuesday – When all fats and dairy products had to be finished off before Lent.
Pancakes – flat, very thin cakes cooked in a frying pan were a way of using up the eggs, butter and milk before the fasting of dairy produce for Lent. They were also considered an indulgence before the 40 day fast began.
A last tasty moment of indulgence and merry –making before Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent, which was a solemn occasion, when the priests blessed ashes and reminded the people that they too would one day return to ashes.
The ingredients of pancakes also has special significance:
- Eggs - Creation
- Flour - The staff of life
- Salt - Wholesomeness
- Milk - Purity
Shrove - the word comes from the old-fashioned workd shrive which meant to confess. On Shrove Tuesday they had to confess so that they were forgiven before the start of the Lent and their fasting period.
Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day has different names around the world:
- Australia, Ireland and U.K – Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday
- some French-speaking parts of U.S and Canada - Mardi Gras
- Iceland - Sprengidagur
- Poland - Paczki Day
- Germany - Fasnacht Day ( or Fausnacht and Fauschnaut Day)
- Sweden - Fettisdagen
Traditional Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
- Fat or oil for cooking
- 100g plain flour
- 1 large egg
- 300ml milk
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Sift the flour into a bowl of blender, break the egg into the middle of the flour add the milk and whisk well, until smooth.
- Leave the batter to stand for 30 minutes.
- Heat the fat or oil until hot, pour 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into the pan and quickly tilt the pan to let the mix run evenly across the base.
- Cook for 45 seconds then turn over the pancake and cook the other side.
- Cook further pancakes until the mixture has been used up.
To Serve
Sprinkle with caster sugar and lemon juice, jam or honey - roll up and enjoy.
Thanks to Ian Britton for the pancake photo.
