Pancake
Encyclopedia
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter
, and cooked on a hot griddle
or frying pan
. Most pancakes are quick bread
s; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or meat.
Archaeological evidence suggests that varieties of pancakes are probably the earliest and most widespread types of cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies whereby dry carbohydrate-rich seed flours mixed with the available protein-rich liquids, usually milk and eggs, were baked on hot stones or in shallow earthenware pots over an open fire to form a nutritious and highly palatable foodstuff.
In the medieval and modern Christian period, especially in Britain, pancakes were made to use up stored items prior to the period of Lent
fasting
beginning on Shrovetide. Since eggs
were forbidden foods during Lent, making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday
was a good way to use up eggs before Lentern fasts began.
The pancake's shape and structure varies worldwide. There are numerous variations of them throughout Europe. In Germany, pancakes can be made from potatoes. A crêpe
is a Breton variety of thin pancake cooked on one or both sides in a special crepe pan to achieve a network of fine bubbles often compared to lace
– a savory variety made from buckwheat
is usually known as a galette
.
word Pancake appears in an English culinary manuscript from 1430.
French crêpes, popular in France
, Belgium
, Switzerland
, Canada
, and Brazil
(where they may be called panquecas or crepes) are made from flour, milk, and eggs. They are thin pancakes and are usually served with a large amount of sweet or savory filling, ranging from fruit or ice cream, to seafood
(in Brazil, most usually ground meat). In Francophone
Europe, crêpes are often sold in special stands, along with Nutella
for topping.
French crêpes have become very popular in many East Asia
n countries, including Japan
, South Korea
, The Philippines, Thailand
and China
, where they are sold in numerous crêpe stands and kiosks. They are often served with whipped cream
and fruits, or non-sweet spreads such as various vegetables.
A Breton galette
is a large thin pancake made of buckwheat
flour, mostly associated with the regions of Normandy
and Brittany
in France. It is often cooked on one side only.
German pancakes are called Pfannkuchen (Pfanne and Kuchen meaning 'pan' and 'cake'). In some regions (Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxonia) pancakes are called Eierkuchen, as the term Pfannkuchen refers to Berliners
there. In Swabia
sliced pancake strips (Flädle) are often served in soup.
Kaiserschmarrn
is a light, caramelized pancake that is split into pieces, filled with fruits and/or nuts, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a fruit sauce. It is believed that it was first prepared for Kaiser
Franz Joseph I of Austria
. It is popular in the former Austria-Hungary
and Bavaria
.
time. Pancake restaurant
s are popular at family restaurants and serve many varieties of sweet, savory, and stuffed pancakes. Pannenkoeken are slightly thicker than crêpes and usually quite large (12" or more) in diameter. The batter is egg-based and the fillings can include sliced apples, cheese, ham, bacon, candied ginger and many other ingredients — alone or in combination — as well as "stroop" (molasses), a thick sugar syrup. One classical Dutch filling is a combination of bacon and stroop.
Poffertjes
are another Dutch pancake-type dish. They resemble American pancakes somewhat, but are sweeter, and much smaller. The require a specially dimpled pan, preferably in copper. The technique used also varies; they are flipped repeatedly before a side is completely done, in order to attain a softer interior.
Scandinavian pancakes are similar to the French crêpe
s. In some of the scandinavian countries they are served with jam as a dessert with a variety of savory fillings. Traditional Swedish variations can be exotic. Beside the usual thin pancakes, called pannkakor, which resembles the French crêpes and, often served with whipped cream and jam, are eaten for lunch on Thursdays with pea soup
, the Swedish cuisine has plättar which resemble tiny English pancakes, and are fried several at a time in a special pan. Others resemble German pancakes but include fried pork in the batter; these are baked in the oven. Potato pancakes
called raggmunk contain shredded raw potato, and may contain other vegetables (sometimes the pancake batter is omitted, producing rårakor). Raggmunk and rårakor are traditionally eaten with pork rinds and lingonberry jam. A special Swedish pancake is saffron pancake from Gotland, made with saffron and rice, baked in the oven. The Norwegian variety is commonly eaten for dinner, traditionally with different sorts of jams or sugar. It is common to add lemon juice to the sugar for extra taste. The pancakes are often served after a soup. Another special ``Swedish pancake´´ is the äggakaka (eggcake), also called skånsk äggakaka (scanian eggcake),it is almost like an ordinary Swedish pancake but it is a lot thicker and also a lot more difficult to make due to the risk of burning it. It is made in a frying pan and is about 1½ to 2 inches thick and is served with lingonberries and bacon
.
Finnish pancakes greatly resemble "Plättar" and are called "Lettu", "Lätty", "Räiskäle" or "Ohukainen".
In Finland pancakes are usually eaten as dessert with whipped cream and/or pancake-jam, sugar or vanilla ice-cream. In Finnish, "Lettu" and "Pannukakku" (literally "Pancake") have different meanings, the latter having structurally closer resemblance to hotcake, and baked in an oven instead of using a frying pan. Ålandspannkaka, Pancake of Åland, is an extra thick variety of oven-pancake that includes cardamom and either rice- or semonia porridge to the dough.
Icelandic crepe-like pancakes are called "pönnukaka", and smaller, thicker pancakes resembling North American pancakes are "lumma". The pancakes are usually a bit browner than the traditional Swedish ones. Pönnukaka are usually cooked on a special Icelandic pancake pan, which is made to get the pancake as thin as possible, and it is important to never wash the pan, not even with water. Pönnukaka are eaten with sugar, but if eaten at a café they might have ice cream instead. In Iceland, North American-style pancakes are cut in half and used as sandwich bread, similar to Icelandic flatbread
.
In Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia
pancakes are called palatschinke, palačinka, and palacinka, respectively (plurals palatschinken, palačinky, palacinky). In Romania
they are called clătită (plural clătite). In countries of former Yugoslavia
(Slovenia
, Serbia
, Croatia
, Macedonia, and Bosnia) they are called palačinka (plural palačinke). In these languages, the word derives from Latin placenta, meaning cake. These pancakes are thin and filled with apricot, plum, lingonberry
, strawberry or apple jam, chocolate sauce or hazelnut
spread. Eurokrem, Nutella and Lino-Lada fillings are favorite amongst younger population. A traditional version includes filling pancakes with cheese, pouring yoghurt over them and then baking in an oven. Kaiserschmarrn
is an Austrian pancake including raisins, almonds, apple jam or small pieces of apple, split into pieces and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
In Hungary, pancakes called palacsinta (also derived from Latin placenta) are made from flour, milk or soda water, sugar and eggs. Sweet wine is added to the batter. The filling is usually jam, sugared and ground walnuts or poppy seeds, sugared cottage cheese, sugared cocoa or cinnamon powder, but – especially in hortobágyi palacsinta
– meat and mushroom fillings are also used. Gundel palacsinta is an Hungarian pancake, stuffed with walnuts, zest, raisins and rum, served in chocolate sauce. The dish is often flambéed. Hungarian pancakes are served as a main dish or as a dessert.
In Poland, thin crêpe-style pancakes are called naleśniki . Like any crêpe or blintz, they can be served with a variety of savory or sweet fillings as a main dish or a dessert. Sweet fillings include fresh fruits (e.g. bilberries
), jams, and soft white cheese with sugar. Savory fillings include fried vegetables, fried chicken, minced meat, and a variety of added ingredients such as potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, or ham. The Polish pancake was adopted by the Russian
and the Ukrainian
cuisines, which call them nalesniki.
In Belarus
, Russia
and Ukraine
, pancakes may be breakfast
food, appetizer, main course, or even dessert. Blintz
es ( blinchiki) are thin crepes made without yeast. Blini are thicker pancakes made from wheat or buckwheat flour, butter, eggs, and milk, with yeast added to the batter. Blini cooking has a long history in Russia, dating back to pagan traditions and feasts, which are reflected in today's "pancake week
" celebrated in the winter before the Great Lent
. Small thick pancakes made from yogurt or buttermilk
based batter (without yeast) are called oladyi (оладьи) (diminutive: oladushki оладушки, further abbreviated as ladushki ладушки).
English pancakes have three key ingredients: plain flour, eggs, and milk. The batter is runny and forms a thin layer on the bottom of the frying pan
when the pan is tilted. It may form some bubbles during cooking, which results in a pale pancake with dark spots where the bubbles were, but the pancake does not rise. English pancakes are similar to French
crêpe
s, and Italian
crespelle, but are not "lacy" in appearance. They may be eaten as a sweet dessert with the traditional topping of lemon juice and sugar, drizzled with golden syrup
, or wrapped around savory stuffings and eaten as a main course. On Shrove Tuesday
, it is custom to eat pancakes, when lemon juice may be added to top the pancake. Yorkshire pudding
is made from a similar recipe, but baked instead of fried. This batter rises because the air beaten into the batter expands, without the need for baking powder; the result is eaten as part of the traditional roast beef dinner. Oatcakes are a savory variety of pancake particularly associated with Staffordshire
.
Scottish pancakes (often known as scotch pancakes) are more like the American type and are served as such. In Scotland they are also referred to as drop scones or dropped scones. They are made from flour, eggs, sugar, buttermilk or milk, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. Smaller than American or English pancakes at about 3.5 in / 9 cm in diameter, they are made by the traditional method of dropping batter onto a griddle
(a girdle in Northumberland or in Scots
). They can be served with jam and cream or just with butter. In Scotland pancakes are generally served at teatime.
Welsh pancakes (known as crempog, ffroes and other names) vary considerably. Some are very much like American pancakes, others may be made with yeast (called crempog furum) or oatmeal (although this is also true of American pancakes) and some are like Scottish pancakes.
Crumpets and pikelets are sometimes considered a variety of pancake.
American or Canadian pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks) are pancakes that contain a raising agent such as baking powder
; proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk
create a thick batter. Many recipes remind the reader that the ingredients should be mixed until they are just combined, even if lumps remain, as the lumps will smoothen out during the cooking process. Sugar and spices such as cinnamon
, vanilla and nutmeg
are sometimes added. The pancakes can be made sweet or savory by adding ingredients such as blueberries
, strawberries, cheese, bananas, apples or chocolate chips to the batter. This batter is ladled or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a circle about ¼ or ⅓ inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side, before the pancake is flipped. These pancakes, very light in texture, are usually served at breakfast topped with maple syrup
, butter
, jam, peanut butter
, nuts
, fruit
and/or honey
. Pancakes may be served with a bit of powdered sugar
and whipped cream, or with cane syrup or molasses
instead of syrup or honey. Some pancake recipes use yogurt to give the pancakes a semi-thick, relatively moist consistency.
Jonnycake
(also spelled "johnnycake," johnny cake, and "journey cake") or Johnny Bread is a cornmeal
flatbread
that was an early American staple food
, and is still eaten in the West Indies and Bermuda
. The modern johnnycake is stereotypically identified with today's "Rhode Island" foods, though jonnycakes are a cultural staple in all of the northern US
. A modern jonnycake is fried cornmeal gruel
, which is made from yellow or white cornmeal
mixed with salt and hot water or milk, and frequently lightly sweetened.
Yaniqueques or yanikeke are a Dominican Republic
version of the jonnycake. They are a fried bread rather than a pancake and are a popular beach food.
Sourdough
was used by prospectors and pioneers to make sourdough pancakes without having to buy yeast. Prospectors would carry a pot of sourdough to make pancakes and bread as it could last indefinitely, needing only flour and water to replenish it. Sourdough pancakes are now a particular speciality in Alaska.
A flapjack is a thick small pancake, generally around 10 cm in diameter. Flapjacks are often served in a stack with syrup and butter, which can be accompanied by bacon. The terms pancake and flapjack are often confused and today in the US are nearly synonymous. The Oxford English Dictionary
records the word flapjack as being used as early as the beginning of the 17th century, referring to a flat tart or pan-cake. Shakespeare refers to pancakes in All's Well That Ends Well
and to flap-jacks in Pericles, Prince of Tyre
:
The word elements: flap- meaning a tossed mixture and jack, an uncertain word suggesting a variety, imply any ingredients could be called a flapjack.
A silver dollar pancake refers to a pancake about two to three inches (5 to 7 cm) in diameter, or just a bit bigger than the pre-1979 silver dollar coins in the United States, for which they are named. It is usually made by frying a small spoonful of the same batter as any other pancake. One serving is usually five to ten silver dollar pancakes.
German Pancakes or Dutch baby pancake
s served in American pancake houses are bowl-shaped. They are eaten with lemons and powdered sugar, jam, or caramelized apples, as well as fritters. A David Eyre's pancake
is a variation on the German pancake named for the American writer and editor David W. Eyre (1912–2008).
Mexican hotcakes are similar to US pancakes. Hotcakes are often made with cornmeal — as well as, or instead of wheat flour. Hotcakes are popular breakfast items at restaurants throughout the country, and are often sold by street vendors in cities and during the local celebrations of towns through the day; the vendors sell a single hotcake topped with different sauces such as condensed milk
, fruit jam or a sweet goat milk spread called "cajeta
".
Guatemalan
pancakes are called Panqueques. They are made with the same ingredients as US pancakes. The toppings are usually fruits
and honey. They are a very popular breakfast meal in Guatemala. Depending on where you are in the country, the "Panqueque" can be thin as a
"Crêpe" or as fluffy as a North American pancake.
Banana
pancakes are a menu item in Western-oriented backpacker
s' cafes in Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and China. This has elicited the term Banana Pancake Trail
.
Chinese pancake
s may be either savory or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter.
In India the Pooda (sometimes called Cheela) is a pancake. They can be made either sweet or salty and are of different thicknesses in different places. They are made in a frying pan and are of a similar batter as their European counterparts
Dosa
, Appam
, Neer dosa
and Uttapam
could be said to be other Indian pancakes. They are prepared by fermenting rice batter and split skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water. What Punjabis call a meetha pooda are a common breakfast food item in the Punjab
. It is a sweet pancake which can be eaten with pickles and chutney
. Most of the pithas in Assam
are types of pancakes served on occasions such as Bihu
. In most parts of India there is a sweet pancake called malpua
served.
The Indonesia
n pancake serabi
is made from rice flour and coconut milk.
In Japan, okonomiyaki
are made from flour, egg, cabbage and a choice of ingredients.
In Korea, pancakes include jeon
, pajeon
, bindaetteok
, kimchijeon, and hotteok
.
In Malaysia and Singapore
, There is also another version, eaten by Malays, called apam balik which replaces the filling with sweet corn and condensed milk.
In Nepal
, the Newar
have a savory rice pancake called chataamari
cooked with meat or eggs on top. In the Philippines
, pancakes or "hotcakes" are also served with syrup (maple or imitation corn syrup) margarine and sugar or condensed milk. They are served for breakfast, but there are street stalls that sell smaller hotcakes topped with margarine and sugar as an afternoon snack.
In Vietnamese cuisine there is a variety of traditional pancakes; these include bánh xèo
and bánh khọt in southern Vietnam, and bánh căn and bánh khoái in central Vietnam
.
In some circles in New Zealand, very thin, crêpe-like or UK pancake-like pancakes (around 20 cm in diameter), are known as "flapjacks". This may refer to their thinness, making them more likely to "flap". They are traditionally served with butter, or butter and lemon, possibly something sweet, and then rolled up and eaten.
American style pancakes are also popular in Australasia. They are eaten for breakfast or as a dessert, with lemon juice and sugar, butter and maple syrup, stewed fruits such as strawberries and cream, ice cream or mascarpone
.
"Pancakes" in the Horn of Africa
region (Djibouti
, Eritrea
, Ethiopia
, and Somalia
) are known as injera
(sometimes transliterated enjera; Oromo: budenaa; Somali: canjeero
). Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia (where it is called canjeero or lahooh) and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh). In Eritrea and Ethiopia, a variety of stews, sometimes salads (during Ethiopian Orthodox fasting, for which believers abstain from most animal products) or simply more injera (called injera firfir), are placed upon the injera for serving. Using one's right hand, small pieces of injera are torn and used to grasp the stews and salads for eating. The injera under these stews soaks up the juices and flavours of the foods and, after the stews and salads are gone, this bread is also consumed. Injera is thus simultaneously food, eating utensil, and plate. When the entire "tablecloth" of injera is gone, the meal is over.
Pancakes in South Africa refer to crepes. They are traditionally prepared by the Afrikaans
community on gas stoves, and called a pannekoek in Afrikaans, eaten on wet and cold days. Pannekoeke are served with cinnamon-flavored sugar (and sometimes lemon juice); the sugar may be left to dissolve onto the pancake; if eaten immediately the pancake is crispy. It is a staple at Dutch Reformed Church
fetes.
American-style "silver dollar" pancakes are eaten in South Africa, as "plaatkoekies" or "flapjacks".
In South Africa, there is a variation of the pancake called a crumpet. It is made from self-raising flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt. The smooth batter is fried in butter resulting in a slightly raised flat cake. Crumpets are always served hot, usually for breakfast, with butter and golden syrup.
In Kenya
, pancakes are eaten for breakfast as an alternative to bread. They are served plain with the sugar already added to the batter to sweeten them.
Kenyan pancakes are similar to English pancakes and French crepes.
In Uganda
, pancakes are locally made with bananas (one of the staple foods of the country) and usually served as a breakfast or as a snack option.
In the US, Mexico and Canada, a franchised restaurant chain named International House of Pancakes
(IHOP) has restaurants serving pancakes at all hours of the day. The Original Pancake House
is another chain of pancake restaurants across the US, and Walker Brothers
is a series of pancake houses in the Chicago area that developed as a franchised spin-off of The Original Pancake House.
The popularity of pancakes in Australia has spawned the Pancake Parlour
and Pancakes on the Rocks franchised restaurants. In British Columbia
and Alberta
, the restaurant chain De Dutch serves Dutch and Flemish-style pannenkoeken.
, which is also known as "Pancake Day" and, particularly in Ireland, as "Pancake Tuesday". (Shrove Tuesday is better known in the United States, France and other countries as Mardi Gras
or Fat Tuesday.) Historically, pancakes were made on Shrove Tuesday so that the last of the fatty and rich foods could be used up before Lent
.
Charity and school events are organized on Pancake Day: in a "pancake race" each participant carries a pancake in a frying pan. All runners must toss their pancakes as they run and catch them in the frying pan. This event is said to have originated in Olney, England in 1444 when a housewife was still busy frying pancakes to eat before the Lenten fast when she heard the bells of St Peter and St Paul's Church calling her to the Shriving
Service. Eager to get to church, she ran out of her house still holding the frying pan complete with pancake, and still wearing her apron
and headscarf. Pancake Day is widely celebrated in Australia.
Every Shrove Tuesday since 1950 the towns of Olney and Liberal
, Kansas
have competed in the International Pancake Race. Only local women may compete; they race, and their times are compared to determine the international winner. In Olney the main women's race is augmented by races for local schoolchildren and for men.
The Rehab UK Parliamentary Pancake Race takes place every Shrove Tuesday, with teams from the British lower house (the House of Commons), the upper house (the House of Lords
), and the Fourth Estate
, contending for the title of Parliamentary Pancake Race Champions. The fun relay race is to raise awareness of the work of the national brain injury
charity, Rehab UK, and the needs of people with acquired brain injury. In 2009, the Lords won. The race was won by the Lower House in 2010, before the Upper House reclaimed the title in 2011.
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
, and cooked on a hot griddle
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
or frying pan
Frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle...
. Most pancakes are quick bread
Quick bread
Quick bread is an American term used to denote a type of bread which is leavened with leavening agents other than yeast. Quick breads includes many cakes, brownies and cookies, as well as banana bread, beer bread, cornbread, biscuits, muffins, pancakes, scones, and soda bread.-History::"Quick...
s; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or meat.
Archaeological evidence suggests that varieties of pancakes are probably the earliest and most widespread types of cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies whereby dry carbohydrate-rich seed flours mixed with the available protein-rich liquids, usually milk and eggs, were baked on hot stones or in shallow earthenware pots over an open fire to form a nutritious and highly palatable foodstuff.
In the medieval and modern Christian period, especially in Britain, pancakes were made to use up stored items prior to the period of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
beginning on Shrovetide. Since eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
were forbidden foods during Lent, making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
was a good way to use up eggs before Lentern fasts began.
The pancake's shape and structure varies worldwide. There are numerous variations of them throughout Europe. In Germany, pancakes can be made from potatoes. A crêpe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
is a Breton variety of thin pancake cooked on one or both sides in a special crepe pan to achieve a network of fine bubbles often compared to lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
– a savory variety made from buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
is usually known as a galette
Galette
Galette is a general term used in the French cuisine to designate various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes, similar in concept to a Chinese bing. One notable type is the galette des Rois eaten on the day of Epiphany...
.
Etymology
The Middle EnglishMiddle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
word Pancake appears in an English culinary manuscript from 1430.
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(where they may be called panquecas or crepes) are made from flour, milk, and eggs. They are thin pancakes and are usually served with a large amount of sweet or savory filling, ranging from fruit or ice cream, to seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
(in Brazil, most usually ground meat). In Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
Europe, crêpes are often sold in special stands, along with Nutella
Nutella
Nutella is the brand name of a chocolate spread. Nutella, manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero, was introduced on the market in 1963. The recipe was developed from an earlier Ferrero spread released in 1944. Nutella is now sold in over 75 countries....
for topping.
French crêpes have become very popular in many East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n countries, including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, The Philippines, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where they are sold in numerous crêpe stands and kiosks. They are often served with whipped cream
Whipped cream
Whipped cream is cream that has been beaten by a mixer, whisk, or fork until it is light and fluffy. Whipped cream is often sweetened and sometimes flavored with vanilla, in which case it may be called Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly ....
and fruits, or non-sweet spreads such as various vegetables.
A Breton galette
Galette
Galette is a general term used in the French cuisine to designate various types of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes, similar in concept to a Chinese bing. One notable type is the galette des Rois eaten on the day of Epiphany...
is a large thin pancake made of buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
flour, mostly associated with the regions of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
in France. It is often cooked on one side only.
West Europe
Berliner (pastry)
A Berliner Pfannkuchen is a predominantly...
there. In Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
sliced pancake strips (Flädle) are often served in soup.
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn is one of the best known Austrian desserts, popular in the former Austria–Hungary as well as in Bavaria....
is a light, caramelized pancake that is split into pieces, filled with fruits and/or nuts, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with a fruit sauce. It is believed that it was first prepared for Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
. It is popular in the former Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, pancakes are called pannenkoeken and eaten at dinnerDinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
time. Pancake restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s are popular at family restaurants and serve many varieties of sweet, savory, and stuffed pancakes. Pannenkoeken are slightly thicker than crêpes and usually quite large (12" or more) in diameter. The batter is egg-based and the fillings can include sliced apples, cheese, ham, bacon, candied ginger and many other ingredients — alone or in combination — as well as "stroop" (molasses), a thick sugar syrup. One classical Dutch filling is a combination of bacon and stroop.
Poffertjes
Poffertjes
Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch batter treat. Resembling small, fluffy pancakes, they are made with yeast and buckwheat flour. Unlike American pancakes, they have a light, spongey texture...
are another Dutch pancake-type dish. They resemble American pancakes somewhat, but are sweeter, and much smaller. The require a specially dimpled pan, preferably in copper. The technique used also varies; they are flipped repeatedly before a side is completely done, in order to attain a softer interior.
Northern Europe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
s. In some of the scandinavian countries they are served with jam as a dessert with a variety of savory fillings. Traditional Swedish variations can be exotic. Beside the usual thin pancakes, called pannkakor, which resembles the French crêpes and, often served with whipped cream and jam, are eaten for lunch on Thursdays with pea soup
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
, the Swedish cuisine has plättar which resemble tiny English pancakes, and are fried several at a time in a special pan. Others resemble German pancakes but include fried pork in the batter; these are baked in the oven. Potato pancakes
Potato pancakes
Potato pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasoning. Potato pancakes may be topped with a variety of condiments, ranging from the savory to the sweet , or they may be served ungarnished...
called raggmunk contain shredded raw potato, and may contain other vegetables (sometimes the pancake batter is omitted, producing rårakor). Raggmunk and rårakor are traditionally eaten with pork rinds and lingonberry jam. A special Swedish pancake is saffron pancake from Gotland, made with saffron and rice, baked in the oven. The Norwegian variety is commonly eaten for dinner, traditionally with different sorts of jams or sugar. It is common to add lemon juice to the sugar for extra taste. The pancakes are often served after a soup. Another special ``Swedish pancake´´ is the äggakaka (eggcake), also called skånsk äggakaka (scanian eggcake),it is almost like an ordinary Swedish pancake but it is a lot thicker and also a lot more difficult to make due to the risk of burning it. It is made in a frying pan and is about 1½ to 2 inches thick and is served with lingonberries and bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
.
Finnish pancakes greatly resemble "Plättar" and are called "Lettu", "Lätty", "Räiskäle" or "Ohukainen".
In Finland pancakes are usually eaten as dessert with whipped cream and/or pancake-jam, sugar or vanilla ice-cream. In Finnish, "Lettu" and "Pannukakku" (literally "Pancake") have different meanings, the latter having structurally closer resemblance to hotcake, and baked in an oven instead of using a frying pan. Ålandspannkaka, Pancake of Åland, is an extra thick variety of oven-pancake that includes cardamom and either rice- or semonia porridge to the dough.
Icelandic crepe-like pancakes are called "pönnukaka", and smaller, thicker pancakes resembling North American pancakes are "lumma". The pancakes are usually a bit browner than the traditional Swedish ones. Pönnukaka are usually cooked on a special Icelandic pancake pan, which is made to get the pancake as thin as possible, and it is important to never wash the pan, not even with water. Pönnukaka are eaten with sugar, but if eaten at a café they might have ice cream instead. In Iceland, North American-style pancakes are cut in half and used as sandwich bread, similar to Icelandic flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
.
East-Central and Eastern Europe
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
pancakes are called palatschinke, palačinka, and palacinka, respectively (plurals palatschinken, palačinky, palacinky). In Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
they are called clătită (plural clătite). In countries of former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
(Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Macedonia, and Bosnia) they are called palačinka (plural palačinke). In these languages, the word derives from Latin placenta, meaning cake. These pancakes are thin and filled with apricot, plum, lingonberry
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...
, strawberry or apple jam, chocolate sauce or hazelnut
Hazelnut
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...
spread. Eurokrem, Nutella and Lino-Lada fillings are favorite amongst younger population. A traditional version includes filling pancakes with cheese, pouring yoghurt over them and then baking in an oven. Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn is one of the best known Austrian desserts, popular in the former Austria–Hungary as well as in Bavaria....
is an Austrian pancake including raisins, almonds, apple jam or small pieces of apple, split into pieces and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
In Hungary, pancakes called palacsinta (also derived from Latin placenta) are made from flour, milk or soda water, sugar and eggs. Sweet wine is added to the batter. The filling is usually jam, sugared and ground walnuts or poppy seeds, sugared cottage cheese, sugared cocoa or cinnamon powder, but – especially in hortobágyi palacsinta
Hortobágyi palacsinta
The Hortobágyi palacsinta is a savoury Hungarian pancake, filled with meat . The meat is prepared as a stew; minced meat is fried with onions and spices like the pörkölt or the paprikás dish, using, veal, veal with mushrooms, chicken or Hungarian sausage...
– meat and mushroom fillings are also used. Gundel palacsinta is an Hungarian pancake, stuffed with walnuts, zest, raisins and rum, served in chocolate sauce. The dish is often flambéed. Hungarian pancakes are served as a main dish or as a dessert.
In Poland, thin crêpe-style pancakes are called naleśniki . Like any crêpe or blintz, they can be served with a variety of savory or sweet fillings as a main dish or a dessert. Sweet fillings include fresh fruits (e.g. bilberries
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
), jams, and soft white cheese with sugar. Savory fillings include fried vegetables, fried chicken, minced meat, and a variety of added ingredients such as potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage, or ham. The Polish pancake was adopted by the Russian
Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...
and the Ukrainian
Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine has significant diversity, historical traditions. "Cuisine - Flavors and Colors of Ukrainian Culture."] . Accessed July 2011. Common foods used include meats, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, berries and herbs...
cuisines, which call them nalesniki.
In Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, pancakes may be breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
food, appetizer, main course, or even dessert. Blintz
Blintz
A blin, blintze, or blintz is a thin pancake. It is somewhat similar to a crêpe with the main difference being that yeast may be used in blini, but not in crêpes.-Etymology, origins, culture :...
es ( blinchiki) are thin crepes made without yeast. Blini are thicker pancakes made from wheat or buckwheat flour, butter, eggs, and milk, with yeast added to the batter. Blini cooking has a long history in Russia, dating back to pagan traditions and feasts, which are reflected in today's "pancake week
Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa . Maslenitsa corresponds to the Western Christian Carnival, except that Orthodox Lent begins on a Monday instead of a Wednesday. The Orthodox date of Easter can differ greatly from the Western Christian date. In 2008, for example, Maslenitsa was celebrated from March 2 to March...
" celebrated in the winter before the Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
. Small thick pancakes made from yogurt or buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
based batter (without yeast) are called oladyi (оладьи) (diminutive: oladushki оладушки, further abbreviated as ladushki ладушки).
United Kingdom and Ireland
Frying pan
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle...
when the pan is tilted. It may form some bubbles during cooking, which results in a pale pancake with dark spots where the bubbles were, but the pancake does not rise. English pancakes are similar to French
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
crêpe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
s, and Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
crespelle, but are not "lacy" in appearance. They may be eaten as a sweet dessert with the traditional topping of lemon juice and sugar, drizzled with golden syrup
Golden syrup
Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey, and...
, or wrapped around savory stuffings and eaten as a main course. On Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
, it is custom to eat pancakes, when lemon juice may be added to top the pancake. Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire Pudding is a dish that originated in Yorkshire, England. It is made from batter and usually served with roast meat and gravy.-History:...
is made from a similar recipe, but baked instead of fried. This batter rises because the air beaten into the batter expands, without the need for baking powder; the result is eaten as part of the traditional roast beef dinner. Oatcakes are a savory variety of pancake particularly associated with Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Scottish pancakes (often known as scotch pancakes) are more like the American type and are served as such. In Scotland they are also referred to as drop scones or dropped scones. They are made from flour, eggs, sugar, buttermilk or milk, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. Smaller than American or English pancakes at about 3.5 in / 9 cm in diameter, they are made by the traditional method of dropping batter onto a griddle
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
(a girdle in Northumberland or in Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
). They can be served with jam and cream or just with butter. In Scotland pancakes are generally served at teatime.
Welsh pancakes (known as crempog, ffroes and other names) vary considerably. Some are very much like American pancakes, others may be made with yeast (called crempog furum) or oatmeal (although this is also true of American pancakes) and some are like Scottish pancakes.
Crumpets and pikelets are sometimes considered a variety of pancake.
North America
Baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
; proportions of eggs, flour, and milk or buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
create a thick batter. Many recipes remind the reader that the ingredients should be mixed until they are just combined, even if lumps remain, as the lumps will smoothen out during the cooking process. Sugar and spices such as cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, vanilla and nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
are sometimes added. The pancakes can be made sweet or savory by adding ingredients such as blueberries
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
, strawberries, cheese, bananas, apples or chocolate chips to the batter. This batter is ladled or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a circle about ¼ or ⅓ inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side, before the pancake is flipped. These pancakes, very light in texture, are usually served at breakfast topped with maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
, butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
, jam, peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
, nuts
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and/or honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
. Pancakes may be served with a bit of powdered sugar
Powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar, is very fine sugar. When intended for home use, it typically contains a small amount of anti-caking agent....
and whipped cream, or with cane syrup or molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
instead of syrup or honey. Some pancake recipes use yogurt to give the pancakes a semi-thick, relatively moist consistency.
Jonnycake
Jonnycake
Jonnycake is a cornmeal flatbread that was an early American staple food and is prepared on the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Jamaica. The food probably originates from the native inhabitants of North America...
(also spelled "johnnycake," johnny cake, and "journey cake") or Johnny Bread is a cornmeal
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
flatbread
Flatbread
A flatbread is a simple bread made with flour, water, and salt and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened: made without yeast or sourdough culture: although some flatbread is made with yeast, such as pita bread....
that was an early American staple food
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
, and is still eaten in the West Indies and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. The modern johnnycake is stereotypically identified with today's "Rhode Island" foods, though jonnycakes are a cultural staple in all of the northern US
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
. A modern jonnycake is fried cornmeal gruel
Gruel
Gruel is a food preparation consisting of some type of cereal—oat, wheat or rye flour, or rice—boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk than eaten and need not even be cooked...
, which is made from yellow or white cornmeal
Cornmeal
Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize or American corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour. However, the word cornflour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the...
mixed with salt and hot water or milk, and frequently lightly sweetened.
Yaniqueques or yanikeke are a Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
version of the jonnycake. They are a fried bread rather than a pancake and are a popular beach food.
Sourdough
Sourdough
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
was used by prospectors and pioneers to make sourdough pancakes without having to buy yeast. Prospectors would carry a pot of sourdough to make pancakes and bread as it could last indefinitely, needing only flour and water to replenish it. Sourdough pancakes are now a particular speciality in Alaska.
A flapjack is a thick small pancake, generally around 10 cm in diameter. Flapjacks are often served in a stack with syrup and butter, which can be accompanied by bacon. The terms pancake and flapjack are often confused and today in the US are nearly synonymous. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
records the word flapjack as being used as early as the beginning of the 17th century, referring to a flat tart or pan-cake. Shakespeare refers to pancakes in All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well
All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
and to flap-jacks in Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
:
- "Come, thou shant go home, and we'll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo'er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome."
- Act II Scene I
The word elements: flap- meaning a tossed mixture and jack, an uncertain word suggesting a variety, imply any ingredients could be called a flapjack.
A silver dollar pancake refers to a pancake about two to three inches (5 to 7 cm) in diameter, or just a bit bigger than the pre-1979 silver dollar coins in the United States, for which they are named. It is usually made by frying a small spoonful of the same batter as any other pancake. One serving is usually five to ten silver dollar pancakes.
German Pancakes or Dutch baby pancake
Dutch baby pancake
A Dutch baby pancake, sometimes called a German pancake, a Bismarck, or a Dutch puff, is a sweet breakfast dish similar to Yorkshire pudding and derived from the German . It is made with eggs, flour and milk, and usually seasoned with vanilla and cinnamon, although occasionally sugar is also added....
s served in American pancake houses are bowl-shaped. They are eaten with lemons and powdered sugar, jam, or caramelized apples, as well as fritters. A David Eyre's pancake
David Eyre's pancake
A David Eyre's pancake is a sweet, baked egg-and-flour dish named for writer and editor David W. Eyre .The recipe was published by New York Times Food Editor Craig Claiborne in an April 10, 1966, Times article entitled "Pancake Nonpareil." In it, Claiborne recounted discovering the dish at a...
is a variation on the German pancake named for the American writer and editor David W. Eyre (1912–2008).
Mexican hotcakes are similar to US pancakes. Hotcakes are often made with cornmeal — as well as, or instead of wheat flour. Hotcakes are popular breakfast items at restaurants throughout the country, and are often sold by street vendors in cities and during the local celebrations of towns through the day; the vendors sell a single hotcake topped with different sauces such as condensed milk
Condensed milk
Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...
, fruit jam or a sweet goat milk spread called "cajeta
Cajeta
Cajeta is a Mexican confection of thickened syrup usually made of sweetened caramelised milk.According to chef Rick Bayless, the name for cajeta came from the Spanish phrase al punto de cajeta, which means a liquid thickened to the point at which a spoon drawn through the liquid reveals the bottom...
".
Guatemalan
Guatemalan
Guatemalan may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to the country of Guatemala* A person from Guatemala, or of Guatemalan descent. Not Mexican at all. For information about the Guatemalan people, see Demographics of Guatemala and Culture of Guatemala. For specific persons, see List of...
pancakes are called Panqueques. They are made with the same ingredients as US pancakes. The toppings are usually fruits
and honey. They are a very popular breakfast meal in Guatemala. Depending on where you are in the country, the "Panqueque" can be thin as a
"Crêpe" or as fluffy as a North American pancake.
Asia
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
pancakes are a menu item in Western-oriented backpacker
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
s' cafes in Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and China. This has elicited the term Banana Pancake Trail
Banana Pancake Trail
The Banana Pancake Trail is the name given to the well-trodden and constantly growing routes around South East Asia travelled by backpackers and other tourists...
.
Chinese pancake
Chinese pancake
Chinese pancakes are pancakes are a type of thin flat Bǐng found in Chinese cuisine. They may be either savory or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter...
s may be either savory or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter.
In India the Pooda (sometimes called Cheela) is a pancake. They can be made either sweet or salty and are of different thicknesses in different places. They are made in a frying pan and are of a similar batter as their European counterparts
Dosa
Dosa
Dosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...
, Appam
Appam
Appam, Aappam hoppers, are a type of food in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lankan cuisine. It is called chitau Pitha in Oriya, Paddu or Gulle Eriyappa in Kodava. It is known as ආප්ප in Sinhala. It is eaten most frequently for breakfast or dinner.Appum or aapum – pronunciation varies between regions...
, Neer dosa
Neer dosa
Neer dosa literally meaning Water dosa is a crepe prepared from rice batter. It is light type of dosa, an Indian dish. Neer dosa is a delicacy from Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka. 'Neer' is the word for water in Tulu and a few other Indian languages.-Basic cooking method:Rice is soaked in water for...
and Uttapam
Uttapam
Uttapam or ooththappam is a dosa-like dish made by cooking ingredients in a batter. Unlike a dosa, which is crisp and crepe-like, uttapam is a thick pancake, with toppings cooked right into the batter...
could be said to be other Indian pancakes. They are prepared by fermenting rice batter and split skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water. What Punjabis call a meetha pooda are a common breakfast food item in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
. It is a sweet pancake which can be eaten with pickles and chutney
Chutney
Chutney is a a condiment used in South Asian cuisine that usually contains a spice and vegetable mix.Chutneys are wet or dry, having a coarse to fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. At least several...
. Most of the pithas in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
are types of pancakes served on occasions such as Bihu
Bihu
Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...
. In most parts of India there is a sweet pancake called malpua
Malpua
Malapua or amalu is an Indian pancake served as a dessert or a snack. It's an Oriya dessert which is also served to Jagannath in his Sakala Dhupa...
served.
The Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n pancake serabi
Serabi
Serabi, surabi or called srabi is an Indonesian pancake that is made from rice flour with coconut milk or just plain shredded coconut as an emulsifier. Each province in Indonesia has various serabi recipes corresponding to local tastes....
is made from rice flour and coconut milk.
In Japan, okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki
is a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...
are made from flour, egg, cabbage and a choice of ingredients.
In Korea, pancakes include jeon
Jeon (food)
Jeon , buchimgae, jijimgae, or jijim refer to many pancake-like dishes in Korean cuisine. It has been also called jeonyueo or jeonyuhwa, especially in Korean royal court cuisine. Sometimes, jeonya is used as an abbreviated term for the two...
, pajeon
Pajeon
Pajeon is a variety of jeon with green onions as its prominent ingredient. Pa literally means green onion in Korean. It is a pancake-like Korean dish made from a batter of eggs, flour, rice flour, green onions and other additional ingredients depending on the variety...
, bindaetteok
Bindaetteok
Bindaetteok is a variety of jeon, a Korean style pancake...
, kimchijeon, and hotteok
Hotteok
Hotteok is a variety of filled Korean pancake, and is a popular street food of South Korea. It is usually eaten during the winter season.-Preparation:...
.
In Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, There is also another version, eaten by Malays, called apam balik which replaces the filling with sweet corn and condensed milk.
In Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, the Newar
Newar
The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...
have a savory rice pancake called chataamari
Chataamari
Chataamari is a kind of rice crepe. It is a special dish of Newars. It is a special form of newari "roti" made by rice flour. It is used specially during 'the guthis' of newars...
cooked with meat or eggs on top. In the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, pancakes or "hotcakes" are also served with syrup (maple or imitation corn syrup) margarine and sugar or condensed milk. They are served for breakfast, but there are street stalls that sell smaller hotcakes topped with margarine and sugar as an afternoon snack.
In Vietnamese cuisine there is a variety of traditional pancakes; these include bánh xèo
Bánh Xèo
Bánh xèo are Vietnamese savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-styled banh xeo contains coconut milk and certain Central region skips the turmeric powder altogether...
and bánh khọt in southern Vietnam, and bánh căn and bánh khoái in central Vietnam
Central Vietnam
Central Vietnam or Central , formerly also known as Trung phần by Republic of Vietnam, Trung kỳ and Annam under French Indochina) is one of the three regions of Vietnam . Highlands or Tây Nguyên are often included in the Central...
.
Australia
In Australia and New Zealand, small pancakes (about 75 mm in diameter), known as pikelets are also eaten. They are traditionally served with jam and/or whipped cream, or solely with butter, at afternoon tea. However, they are also common at morning tea. They are made with milk, self-raising flour, eggs and a small amount of icing sugar.In some circles in New Zealand, very thin, crêpe-like or UK pancake-like pancakes (around 20 cm in diameter), are known as "flapjacks". This may refer to their thinness, making them more likely to "flap". They are traditionally served with butter, or butter and lemon, possibly something sweet, and then rolled up and eaten.
American style pancakes are also popular in Australasia. They are eaten for breakfast or as a dessert, with lemon juice and sugar, butter and maple syrup, stewed fruits such as strawberries and cream, ice cream or mascarpone
Mascarpone
Mascarpone |denaturation]], whey is removed without pressing or aging. One can manufacture mascarpone by using cream and tartaric acid, citric acid, or even lemon juice....
.
Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
region (Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
) are known as injera
Injera
Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea...
(sometimes transliterated enjera; Oromo: budenaa; Somali: canjeero
Somali cuisine
Somali cuisine varies from region to region and is a mixture of native Somali, Ethiopian, Yemeni, Persian, Turkish, Indian and Italian influences. It is the product of Somalia's tradition of trade and commerce. All food is halal.- Breakfast :...
). Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia (where it is called canjeero or lahooh) and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh). In Eritrea and Ethiopia, a variety of stews, sometimes salads (during Ethiopian Orthodox fasting, for which believers abstain from most animal products) or simply more injera (called injera firfir), are placed upon the injera for serving. Using one's right hand, small pieces of injera are torn and used to grasp the stews and salads for eating. The injera under these stews soaks up the juices and flavours of the foods and, after the stews and salads are gone, this bread is also consumed. Injera is thus simultaneously food, eating utensil, and plate. When the entire "tablecloth" of injera is gone, the meal is over.
Pancakes in South Africa refer to crepes. They are traditionally prepared by the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
community on gas stoves, and called a pannekoek in Afrikaans, eaten on wet and cold days. Pannekoeke are served with cinnamon-flavored sugar (and sometimes lemon juice); the sugar may be left to dissolve onto the pancake; if eaten immediately the pancake is crispy. It is a staple at Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
fetes.
American-style "silver dollar" pancakes are eaten in South Africa, as "plaatkoekies" or "flapjacks".
In South Africa, there is a variation of the pancake called a crumpet. It is made from self-raising flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt. The smooth batter is fried in butter resulting in a slightly raised flat cake. Crumpets are always served hot, usually for breakfast, with butter and golden syrup.
In Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, pancakes are eaten for breakfast as an alternative to bread. They are served plain with the sugar already added to the batter to sweeten them.
Kenyan pancakes are similar to English pancakes and French crepes.
In Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, pancakes are locally made with bananas (one of the staple foods of the country) and usually served as a breakfast or as a snack option.
Pancake restaurant chains
IHOP
IHOP may refer to:* IHOP, a restaurant chain, formerly known as The International House of Pancakes* International House of Prayer, a Christian 24/7 prayer center in Kansas City, Missouri...
(IHOP) has restaurants serving pancakes at all hours of the day. The Original Pancake House
The Original Pancake House
The Original Pancake House is a chain of pancake houses across the United States. It follows traditional recipes and ingredients for their pancakes, but they have other breakfast items on their menu as well.-History:...
is another chain of pancake restaurants across the US, and Walker Brothers
Walker Brothers
Walker Bros. is a series of pancake houses in the Chicago area.They developed as a franchised spin-off of The Original Pancake House, founded in Portland, Oregon in 1953 by Les Highet and Erma Hueneke; the Walker Bros. version has been in business for over 45 years...
is a series of pancake houses in the Chicago area that developed as a franchised spin-off of The Original Pancake House.
The popularity of pancakes in Australia has spawned the Pancake Parlour
Pancake Parlour
The Pancake Parlour is an Australian family owned pancake restaurant chain with locations almost entirely in Melbourne.The first Pancake Parlour restaurant opened in Adelaide in 1965. The company's headquarters are currently located in Melbourne...
and Pancakes on the Rocks franchised restaurants. In British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, the restaurant chain De Dutch serves Dutch and Flemish-style pannenkoeken.
Pancake Day
In Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove TuesdayShrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
, which is also known as "Pancake Day" and, particularly in Ireland, as "Pancake Tuesday". (Shrove Tuesday is better known in the United States, France and other countries as Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
or Fat Tuesday.) Historically, pancakes were made on Shrove Tuesday so that the last of the fatty and rich foods could be used up before Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
.
Charity and school events are organized on Pancake Day: in a "pancake race" each participant carries a pancake in a frying pan. All runners must toss their pancakes as they run and catch them in the frying pan. This event is said to have originated in Olney, England in 1444 when a housewife was still busy frying pancakes to eat before the Lenten fast when she heard the bells of St Peter and St Paul's Church calling her to the Shriving
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
Service. Eager to get to church, she ran out of her house still holding the frying pan complete with pancake, and still wearing her apron
Apron
An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. It may be worn for hygienic reasons as well as in order to protect clothes from wear and tear. The apron is commonly part of the uniform of several work categories, including waitresses, nurses, and domestic...
and headscarf. Pancake Day is widely celebrated in Australia.
Every Shrove Tuesday since 1950 the towns of Olney and Liberal
Liberal, Kansas
Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,525.- History :S.S. Rogers built the first house in what would become Liberal in 1872. Rogers became famous in the region for giving water to weary travelers...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
have competed in the International Pancake Race. Only local women may compete; they race, and their times are compared to determine the international winner. In Olney the main women's race is augmented by races for local schoolchildren and for men.
The Rehab UK Parliamentary Pancake Race takes place every Shrove Tuesday, with teams from the British lower house (the House of Commons), the upper house (the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
), and the Fourth Estate
Fourth Estate
The concept of the Fourth Estate is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. The Fourth Estate now most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism, referred to hereon as "The Press"...
, contending for the title of Parliamentary Pancake Race Champions. The fun relay race is to raise awareness of the work of the national brain injury
Acquired brain injury
An acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
charity, Rehab UK, and the needs of people with acquired brain injury. In 2009, the Lords won. The race was won by the Lower House in 2010, before the Upper House reclaimed the title in 2011.
See also
- Banana Pancake TrailBanana Pancake TrailThe Banana Pancake Trail is the name given to the well-trodden and constantly growing routes around South East Asia travelled by backpackers and other tourists...
- Bánh xèoBánh XèoBánh xèo are Vietnamese savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-styled banh xeo contains coconut milk and certain Central region skips the turmeric powder altogether...
- BindaetteokBindaetteokBindaetteok is a variety of jeon, a Korean style pancake...
- BlintzBlintzA blin, blintze, or blintz is a thin pancake. It is somewhat similar to a crêpe with the main difference being that yeast may be used in blini, but not in crêpes.-Etymology, origins, culture :...
- DorayakiDorayakiis a type of Japanese confection, а red bean pancake which consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of sweet red bean paste....
- French ToastFrench toastFrench toast or Eggy Bread, is a food made with bread and eggs. It is a Christmas time dessert in Portugal and Brazil.Where French toast is served as a sweet dish, milk, sugar, or cinnamon are also commonly added before frying, and it may be then topped with sugar, butter, fruit, syrup, or other...
- InjeraInjeraInjera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea...
- Johnnycake
- OkonomiyakiOkonomiyakiis a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...
- Pannekoek
- QistibiQistibiQistibi is a popular traditional dish in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Qistibi is made from the roasted flat cake with various fillings inside. The dough should be non-fermented. The most popular filling is mashed potato but it may also be ragout or couscous. Filling is being placed on the one half...
- WaffleWaffleA waffle is a batter- or dough-based cake cooked in a waffle iron patterned to give a distinctive and characteristic shape. There are many variations based on the type and shape of the iron and the recipe used....
Further reading
Uchicago.eduExternal links
- History of the Olney, England pancake race
- History of the pancake foodtimeline.org
- Video: "Blueberry Pancake Showdown", Throwdown! with Bobby FlayThrowdown! with Bobby FlayThrowdown! with Bobby Flay is a Food Network television program in which celebrity chef Bobby Flay challenges cooks renowned for a specific dish or type of cooking to a cook-off of their signature dish....
, January 2009