Esther Mason talks Shrove Tuesday and All Things Pancake, and invites everyone to share their pancake stories at the next College Coffee & Chat.
Next Tuesday (16 February) is our next ‘College Coffee & Chat ‘on Zoom at 3pm. It is also Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day!
Shrove Tuesday is the day which precedes the beginning of Lent.
Traditionally for Christians, Lent is a time to give things up and this led to the tradition of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to enjoy eating foods which would not be consumed during Lent, such as eggs and butter.
If we had been together in College, I hoped we would eat pancakes and perhaps have a pancake race around the quad. In the Oxfordshire town where I live, a pancake race is held each Shrove Tuesday (in normal times!) where competitors race around a circuit in the Marketplace carrying a frying pan with a pancake which must be flipped at least once in each circuit. Competitors get prizes for the most laps completed and for the best fancy dress worn. It is a moment for the community to come together.
Make Pancakes at Home
Pancakes are eaten around the world, with variations to the recipe. The basic recipe used in our family is very simple:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1 cup of milk
You can then easily multiply this up if you are cooking for a lot of people (which I acknowledge is unlikely in current circumstances!). Just mix the egg and milk together in a bowl and whisk in the flour. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of butter and cook your pancake, turning or flipping it once it begins to bubble slightly and the underside begins to brown. You can have sweet or savoury toppings. Lemon juice and sugar is the most traditional topping in the UK, but you can be as creative as you like.
I’ve eaten pancakes in America and in the Netherlands. My family love pancakes so much that we’ve been on a pancake boat in Amsterdam with all-you-can-eat pancakes available throughout the cruise!
There are many world records associated with pancakes including:
- the most pancake flips in one minute (140 flips in 60 seconds, held by an Australian chef)
- the largest pancake (49’1’’ wide, weighing 3 tonnes, created in Rochdale , in 1994
- the tallest stack of pancakes (3ft 4in high at Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest)
You can check out these pancake records and more on the BBC website!
What Pancake Record will You Break?!
If you make pancakes or want to show off your ability to flip a pancake, submit a photo or video to be included in the next edition of The Park Bench or come along to the College Coffee & Chat to share your pancake stories. If you are brave enough, you could try to break the world record for most pancake flips in 1 minute live on Zoom!
Esther Mason
