So today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and all of the assorted self-sacrifice, spiritual introspection, and penance that it entails. But before we can get into all that, of course, we must first party like it’s 1999. New Orleans has Mardi Gras, Brazil has Carnival, and the UK?
The UK has Pancake Day.
As far as I can tell, yes, it is as thrilling as it sounds. Basically what you do is eat pancakes.
There are also things like running races whilst flipping pancakes, and the traditional Westminster School Pancake Greaze, in which students fight over a large pancake that has been reinforced with horsehair and the lad who emerges with the largest piece wins a shiny gold sovereign.
The story is that one is supposed to forgo indulgent foods like eggs, milk, and sugar during Lent (apparently) and an easy way to use these things up is to make pancakes. The pancake races originated after a housewife several hundred years ago was busily making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday when the church bells started ringing and she forgot that she still had the pan in hand when she ran to the church.
Allegedly, the church bells are supposed to ring at 11 a.m. so you know that it’s time to start making your batter, though I didn’t hear any, and it used to be a half-day holiday. Let nothing interfere with the sacrosanct duty of pancake consumption!
Unlike its American counterpart, the traditional English pancake isn’t fluffy; it’s more like a crepe and the mandated topping (at least on Pancake Day, which for all I know is the only day they’re eaten) is lemon juice and caster sugar,* of which I heartily approve.
So that’s Pancake Day! Join us next time for: That One Time We Fed Our Norwegian Friend Waffles.
* i.e., British replacement for granulated sugar—remind me to tell you sometime about OMG SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUGAR, ALSO FLOUR.
3 Comments
Thanks for the history lesson, Kathryn!
To my knowledge, it does appear to be the only day most British eat “pancakes.” My mother-in-law and sister-in-law and family eat pancakes every Shrove Tuesday. Not being Catholic (although I realize most Brits are not), I was not aware of this custom before marrying into it!
Great pancake story. Makes me want to go home and make pancakes.
On another note – I’ve had waffles in Norway. They eat them cold . . . and with jam. Not an entirely bad way to eat a waffle, but I much prefer them warm. I’m interested to see what your Norwegian friend thought of the waffles you made.
Andra (c:
He wanted them to be crisper and savory (I think he mentioned something about herbs and/or cheese?), but we had them with peanut butter and either applesauce or syrup.
We also took him to Edgefield, where we introduced him to root beer floats and Snakes on a Plane. :)