SHROVE TUESDAY - THE FLIP SIDE
| Published: 4th February 2008 13:07 |
Tuesday 5th February
Community website AboutMyArea.co.uk/DE74 is your one stop pancake shop. Here you can find out all about the history and tradition of this modest dish, locate your nearest charity pancake race or download the easiest, most delicious recipe for eating or tossing!
Tradition
The pancake has a very long history and has been featured in cookbooks dating back as far as the 15th century.
Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, is traditionally a time to feast before fasting. Originally the last opportunity to eat before embarking on a 40-day fast leading up to Easter, the humble pancake was the perfect way to use up ingredients like eggs and fat that would otherwise spoil.
The tradition of tossing or flipping a pancake dates back just as far and is a very serious pastime for some people.
Did you know...
- Ralf Laue from Leipzig broke the world record for tossing a pancake by flipping it into the air 416 times in two minutes.
- The world's biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale in 1994, weighing in a three tonnes, measuring a delicious 15 metres in diameter and holding an estimated two million calories.
- Chefs at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago tried to build a record-setting stack of pancakes, but the wiggling, wobbling stack of flapjacks just wouldn't stay put. Organisers wanted to nab a space in the Guinness Book of World Records by building a pancake tower that was 16 feet tall.
After nearly an hour of work -- and the help of some extra-long toothpicks -- the crumbling stack of buttermilk pancakes never made it past 16 inches.
The tallest recorded pancake stack is two feet, three-inches tall. - Mike Cuzzacrea ran a marathon whilst continually tossing a pancake for three hours, two minutes and 27 seconds.
The Art to Pancake Tossing
It seems that there is far more to tossing a pancake than meets the eye. According to a study conducted by a senior physics lecturer from Birmingham, the solution to tossing the perfect pancake is down to speed.
He concluded that a pancake should be flipped into the air at a speed of 10 miles-an-hour, which means it takes less than .5 of a second to reach the top of its trajectory.
We think it just needs a pretty nifty wrist and a good non-stick pan!
A Flippin' Good Pancake Recipe
Serves 8 Pancakes
100g plain flour
1 large egg
300ml milk
oil or melted butter for frying
- Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre with the back of a spoon then break in the egg and pour in half the milk. Whisk together, gradually incorporating the flour to make a smooth thick batter. Beat thoroughly to remove any lumps, then stir in the rest of the milk.
- Heat a little oil or butter in a medium frying pan, then tip off the excess into a bowl. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan, tilting the pan as you pour, until the batter thinly coats the base. Cook over a moderate heath for 30 seconds to one minute until golden brown on the underside.
- Flip the pancake!! Or gently turn it over with a palette knife and cook the other side until it's golden brown. Slide the pancake onto a warm plate and cook the remaining pancakes in the same way.
- Pancakes can be reheated in the microwave, we suggest eating them straight from serving with lashings of golden syrup, sugar and lemon or any other favourite filling you desire.
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