Pancake Day 2022: History, significance, and a recipe
Pancake Day is a day dedicated to pancakes. That sounds about right! Well, there's some history to this day. Pancake Day always comes 47 days before Easter, so this year it is on March 1. In France, and the USA it is called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. It is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday in several Christian and English-speaking countries.
History of Pancake Day
The word shrove comes from the word shrive, an act of confessing one's sins leading to self-punishment. Shrove Tuesday comes a day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40-day fasting period that leads up to Easter. The idea behind Shrove Tuesday being celebrated as Pancake Day is to let people feast whole-heartedly before the fasting period begins.
Why Pancake Day?
In West Bengal, we dedicate a day "Poush Sankranti" to making pithe for the last time before winter ends. This is due to the use of nolen gur, exclusively available in winter. In somewhat the same way, on Shrove Tuesday people finish up ingredients that might tempt them to break the fast before it began. So, with eggs, fat, and milk, they made pancakes.
Pancakes in UK and US
In the UK, pancakes are different from traditional pancakes as known in the US. They are closer to crepes in ingredients and the way they are made than the US pancakes.
Here's how pancakes and crepes are different
Both pancakes and crepes are made of the same ingredients essentially: eggs, flour, milk, sugar, and oil/butter. However, crepes are much larger and thinner as compared to fluffy pancakes. Crepes tend to be crispier around the edges. The pancake batter is thicker than crepe batter and has baking powder, which helps raise it, making it fluffy. Both can be savory and not necessarily sweet.
Recipe for the perfect fluffy pancake
Take some flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a bowl. Add eggs and melted butter or oil. Gently mix to get a smooth batter. You can use some milk to adjust the consistency. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Pour some batter and spread it out in a circle. Wait till bubbles appear, then flip it to brown both sides.
