Happy Pancake Day to you! Today is Shrove Tuesday, more commonly known as Pancake Day. The word 'Shrove' is from the verb 'to shrive', or 'to confess'. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, when Christians traditionally begin a period of fasting in the lead up to Easter Sunday.
According to the Guardian, Waitrose has forecasted a 500% rise in frying pan sales in the week leading up to today, while Sainsbury's expects to sell enough batter mix to make three million pancakes! Last year, the much-love topping Nutella sold nearly one million jars in the week preceding Pancake Day. It is all quite ironic, given that Shrove Tuesday is meant to be about using up rich foods before the start of Lent, not buying new ones.
Pancake Day originated as a way to use up the fat, butter and eggs which were not allowed during Lent. Nowadays, people commonly take the opportunity to give up unhealthy foods such as chocolate, cake or biscuits. My colleague on the other hand will be taking a different tack, giving up clothes-buying instead.
The pancake is centuries old. Food historian, Ken Albala, says the word pancake appeared in the middle ages. He says the very first pancake-like recipe is also from the middle ages, and was for the French crepe. Crepes were fare for poorer folk and "they began as deep-fried fritters and only later became thin pancakes".
Albala defines a pancake "as a flat cake of any starchy batter, normally cooked in a small amount of fat, on a flat surface, with anything from a hint of leavening to positive fluffiness, with a soft interior structure. But it must be poured as a batter, not made from a rolled dough like a flat bread, which can look similar and can also be eaten in similar ways".
Why not try one of these pancake recipes, recommended by BBC Good Food?
Lets hope your pancakes are not a flop!
According to the Guardian, Waitrose has forecasted a 500% rise in frying pan sales in the week leading up to today, while Sainsbury's expects to sell enough batter mix to make three million pancakes! Last year, the much-love topping Nutella sold nearly one million jars in the week preceding Pancake Day. It is all quite ironic, given that Shrove Tuesday is meant to be about using up rich foods before the start of Lent, not buying new ones.
Pancake Day originated as a way to use up the fat, butter and eggs which were not allowed during Lent. Nowadays, people commonly take the opportunity to give up unhealthy foods such as chocolate, cake or biscuits. My colleague on the other hand will be taking a different tack, giving up clothes-buying instead.
The pancake is centuries old. Food historian, Ken Albala, says the word pancake appeared in the middle ages. He says the very first pancake-like recipe is also from the middle ages, and was for the French crepe. Crepes were fare for poorer folk and "they began as deep-fried fritters and only later became thin pancakes".
Albala defines a pancake "as a flat cake of any starchy batter, normally cooked in a small amount of fat, on a flat surface, with anything from a hint of leavening to positive fluffiness, with a soft interior structure. But it must be poured as a batter, not made from a rolled dough like a flat bread, which can look similar and can also be eaten in similar ways".
Why not try one of these pancake recipes, recommended by BBC Good Food?
Lets hope your pancakes are not a flop!
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