Pancake Day Traditions

Shrove Tuesday, popularly known as Pancake Day, over the years became one of Britain’s most celebrated traditions. Originally it was the day when everyone was expected to confess their sins and be ‘shriven’ ready for the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. During the period of Lent the devout were expected to practice abstinence, including not eating meat, dairy or eggs. Therefore housewives would cook all dairy products on Tuesday, using up rich foods such as eggs, milk and sugar, before the fasting season of Lent. The idea of eating pancakes on the day before Ash Wednesday is over 1,000 years old. Pancakes in Britain are traditionally served with lemon and sugar, but equally delicious with golden syrup, jam, fruit or ice-cream.

Pancake-racing is one of the more unlikely events on the British sporting calendar and takes place in many towns and villages each Shrove Tuesday. The main objective of the race is obviously to get to the finishing line first. There are, however some obstacles as you race carrying a frying pan with a (cooked) pancake in it whilst flipping the pancake a number of times. The skill therefore lies not so much in the running of the race itself but in flipping and catching the pancake, which must be intact when crossing the finishing line.

Below you can find more interesting facts about the Pancake Day traditions:

1. The first recorded pancake race took place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England in 1445 and it’s now a tradition that continues all over England. It is said that a housewife of Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time. When she heard the church bells ringing for mass she ran out of her house, still carrying her pan and pancake. 

2. The first pancake recipe appeared in an English cookbook in the 15th century.

3. The largest number of pancakes tossed in the shortest amount of time is 349 tosses in two minutes, which was achieved by Dean Gould at Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1995.

4. The longest race in the quickest time was held in Melbourne, Australia. Jan Stickland covered 384m in 59.5 seconds on 19 February 

5. The largest pancake ever made and flipped measured 15.01m wide, 2.5cm deep and weighed 3 tonnes. It was made in Rochdale, Greater Manchester during August 1994.1985.

6. It is customary in France to touch the handle of the frying pan and make a wish while the pancake is turned, holding a coin in one hand.

7. In Newfoundland, Canada on Pancake Day people place items in the pancake batter before it is cooked to tell the future of their family members. If a boy receives item for a trade, it means he will enter the trade but if a girls receives item from a trade, it means she will marry a person from the trade.

8. Maple Syrup was originally a sweet drink, discovered by the Algonquin Indians who collected sap from Canadian sugar maple trees and then boiled to produce the delicious beverage.

9. The first ready-mix food which was sold commercially was Aunt Jemima pancake flour. It was invented in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri. It was not very popular at the beginning.

10. Pancake Tuesday is known as Carnivale in Italy which comes from the Latin for ‘goodbye to the flesh’.

Don't be afraid to be greedy and treat yourself! That's what Pancake Day is for!
Pancake Mix | Maple Syrup |Coffee | Tea | Sugar