Jade F. Angler on Nov 8th 2008 Pancake Recipes
As Uncle Lumpy excitedly awaits Pancake Day, he thought he would share these interesting little-known facts about pancakes with ya’ll!
In the US, Pancake Day is commonly known as Mardi Gras; which means ‘Fat Tuesday’ in French! – be sure to stuff your belly with some delicious pancakes!
For years people have been taking part in pancake races, in fact one crazy pancake fan ran a marathon while continually tossing a pancake for three hours, two minutes and 27 seconds – Uncle Lumpy thinks he’d like to train for that by eatin’ summore pancakes
The world record for pancake tossing is 416 times, in two minutes
The first recorded pancake race was in Olney, Buckinghamshire in 1445!
The world’s biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale (Greater Manchester) in 1994, which was 15 metres in diameter, weighted three tonnes and an estimated two million calories – Uncle Lumpy says, “just pour some maple syrup on that there pancake and i’ll have ‘em finished in no time!”
In 2005, celebrity chef Aldo Zilli, set the world record for the highest pancake toss at 329cm
Pancake Appreciation around the Globe!
German and French pancakes are leavened by eggs and much beating, are baked very thin and served with sweet or savoury fillings
Pancake Tuesday – is known as ‘Fasnacht’ in Germany (night of the fast)
The French crêpe is thin and crispy – a crêpe suzette is folded or rolled and heated in a sauce of butter, sugar, citrus juice, and liqueur. The French are also partial to savoury pancakes!
Old English batter was mixed with ale
Russian blinis, usually prepared with buckwheat, are thin, crisp pancakes, commonly served with caviar and sour cream or folded over and filled with cream cheese or jam.
Mexico has its tortilla, which is often served folded over a bean or meat filling and topped by tomato sauce.
American pancakes are thicker. They are sometimes called battercakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks and are usually leavened with baking powder or baking soda and served with syrup.