From Scotch stacks to crepes: Kids tuck in on Pancake Tuesday

Kids across the country have been enjoying scotch pancakes or thin crepes on Pancake Day.

A day dedicated to the delicious combination of eggs, milk and flour, Pancake Day’s origins are thought to have begun around 1000 AD and are intrinsically linked with the celebration of Easter.

Taking place exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday, each year the date of Shrove Tuesday varies and it can fall anytime between the start of February and the beginning of March.

Why do we celebrate Shrove Tuesday?

Pancake Day’s origins are thought to have begun around 1000 AD, intricately linked with the celebration of Easter.

Taking place exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday, each year the date of Shrove Tuesday varies and it can fall anytime between the start of February and the beginning of March.

Historically, Shrove Tuesday, which derives from the word ‘shrive’ meaning to repent for one’s sins, marked the last day before the start of Lent, known as Ash Wednesday.

An important period in the Christian faith, people would give up rich foods as penance, a practice still in place today practised by many denominations.

Abstaining from certain luxuries remains popular to this day, with people giving up things such as alcohol, chocolate and sweets for Lent to mark the 40 day fast (excluding Sundays) in the run up to Easter, mirroring Jesus’ own fasting period in the desert as it is written in numerous gospels in the Bible.

Yet, hundreds of years ago, eggs, butter and milk were considered luxurious and were given up for this period, with the ingredients used up on Shrove Tuesday often used to make pancakes.

Pancakes around the world

With such a simple ingredients list, pancakes have many iterations across the globe.

The most familiar of these may be America’s fat fluffy pancakes, often enriched with buttermilk and served as thick fluffy rounds drowned in syrup. France’s thin crepes, enriched with egg yolks and lots of milk are too considered a classic.

In England, pancakes often refer to a thin, crepe style served with sugar and lemon while in Scotland, they are made with a thicker batter and can be referred to as Scotch pancakes, bannocks, drop or dropped scones.

Sri-Lankan hoppers resemble crumpets with their large airholes and doughy centre – a fermented pancake made with rice flour and coconut milk, an egg is often cooked in the centre as they bake and are filled with curries and relishes.

Japan’s fluffy ‘cloud’ pancakes are made with whipped egg whites and are cooked in rings on a flat griddle, the texture light and often compared to soufflé.

Meanwhile China’s version is called bing and can be served in a number of different ways, as thin papery rice flour pancakes called bao bing, often filled with meats, sauces or vegetables or fat and doughy laobing, which can be cut into pieces and stir fried with eggs or meat.

Holland’s poffertjes are often found at international markets, little puffed discs of risen batter cooked in a special dimpled pan served with advocat while South America’s cachapas are made with sweetcorn and served folded with a soft cheese filling.