We all know and love the tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday – but what’s the reason behind pancake day festivities?
3rd February 2020
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3rd February 2020
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Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday every year, which marks the start of Lent. This countdown to Easter Sunday is a religious observance by some to commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. Some people choose to give up various extravagances in their lives for this period, which is often indulgent foods. Pancakes became synonymous with the day before Lent as it was the perfect food to make in order to use up all the rich foods people were preparing to give up for Lent – namely eggs, milk and sugar. And so Pancake Day was born and has become a social tradition as well as a day linked with religious observance.
One bizarre tradition that the day has become known for is street races where people run while tossing pancakes in a frying pan. This is thought to have begun all the way back in 1445, when a Buckinghamshire woman was busy making pancakes in her home when the church bells rang. Not wanting to miss the local service, she ran out the door and along the street still holding her frying pan, tossing a pancake to stop it from burning! Villages, towns and cities host Pancake Day races to this very day.
If you want to try making your own pancakes at home, here are our go-to recipes for regular and vegan pancake-making.
The Runnymede’s regular pancake recipe
Ingredients
100g plain flour
300ml semi-skimmed milk
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Soft butter for frying
Pinch of salt
Method
Makes approximately 12 pancakes.
Tip: Serve in the traditional way with fresh lemon and sugar, or try something different, such as stewed fruits, home-made jams or American-style with peanut butter and banana.
Vegan pancake recipe
Ingredients
220g plain flour
700ml almond milk
5 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
Pinch of salt
Method
Makes approximately 12 pancakes.