It seemed like any other winter day in Canada. The temperature in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga was below freezing, ice cold winds were making it worse and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fresh snow. Stepping outdoors involved bundling oneself up in multiple layers of warm clothing along with thick gloves and a woollen scarf or cap. Staying indoors would be the much preferred option, if one was fortunate enough to have a choice in the matter.

But as the day progressed it started to become clear that it was in fact no ordinary winter day. Every newspaper offered pancake recipes, restaurants were enticing customers with a special pancake menu, and social media was flooded with photos, facts and figures about the making and consuming of pancakes from around the world. Any intelligent person would start to notice a theme and wonder what was going on. Why was everybody suddenly so obsessed with pancakes?

Shrove Tuesday is why. Also known as Pancake Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, it is the day before Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent in the Christian religious tradition. The 40 days of Lent lead up to the celebration of Easter. Since Lent involves abstinence from rich and fattening foods, Fat Tuesday is the day for using up all the ingredients in the house that are not traditionally consumed during the next 40 days: milk, eggs, and butter. And what better, easier and more delicious way to use up all those than to make pancakes?

However, pancakes were being eaten long before the advent of Christianity. Some historians claim that they are the world’s oldest known breakfast food that was originally made by pouring batter over a large round heated stone. The Ancient Greeks called them tagenias (derived from tagenon which means frying pan) and made them with whole wheat or spelt flour, honey, curdled milk and olive oil. The English word ‘pancake’ first appeared in print in the 15th century and in 1599 it appeared in a pastoral comedy written by London’s most successful playwright, William Shakespeare. Touchstone, the court jester in As You Like it tells the audience “Of a certain knight that swore by his honour they were good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught.”

It doesn’t have to be pancake Tuesday for you to indulge in these warm, buttery delights

Named thus because they are individually made in a shallow metal pan, pancakes involve a few simple ingredients like flour, eggs, milk, butter and baking soda. But before baking soda was invented by two New York bakers in 1846, cooks used fresh snow when possible as it contains ammonia and helped the pancakes come out fluffy and soft. And white flour didn’t come into the mix until the 20th century, because it used to be a luxury item which only the wealthy could afford.

The revolutionary sentiment found its way into the kitchens of the British colonies in America where pancakes were made with native corn or maize. In a letter to the London Gazetteer, one of America’s Founding Fathers Benjamin Franklin defiantly wrote: “Pray let me, an American, affirm that Indian [sic] corn, take it all in all, is one of the most agreeable and wholesome grains in the world ... and that johnnycake or hoecake, hot from the fire, is better than a Yorkshire muffin.” The first US President George Washington was reportedly very fond of pancakes, although given the rumours about the ample amounts of sweet, thick liquid in which he drenched those pancakes it may be argued that he loved maple syrup much more.

Pancakes made on either side of “the pond’ still bear distinct characteristics. In the US they are thick and fluffy due to the use of baking soda, while the ones made in the UK are traditionally unleavened, made with only white flour, eggs and milk, and therefore they are thin, flat, and crepe-like in appearance. Lemon juice and sugar are most popular in the UK, although now sweet syrup, butter, powdered sugar, berries, bananas, and chocolate chips have become popular on both sides. For the Brits, however, pancakes are a savoury affair as well as sweet; spinach, cheese, mushrooms, eggs are common fillings.

In the streets of Paris crepes — the French version of pancakes — are everywhere. Sweet, savoury and cheap, this street food is a very welcome and affordable treat for wide-eyed tourists and blasé locals alike. The streets of Pakistan are home to our own version of pancakes known as malpuas. Comprising of flour, semolina, milk, khoya, sugar, and a light seasoning of ground cardamoms, these deep-fried, disc-shaped cakes are sometimes dipped in sugary syrup before being served. Best eaten while still hot from the karhai, these thick desi pancakes can be enjoyed along with a cup of hot tea at any time of day or night.

Easy homemade pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Method

In a small bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, butter (or oil) and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix). Heat a shallow frying pan over medium flame and moisten with a couple drops of oil or melted butter. For each pancake, slowly pour two to three tablespoons of batter onto one spot in the pan, it will spread and assume a round shape on its own (if the pan is large enough two or three pancakes can be made at the same time). Cook one to two minutes or until the surface of the pancake has some bubbles and a few have burst. Flip over and cook until browned on the side, one to two minutes more. Top with syrup, honey, jam, cream, chopped fruit and/or chocolate syrup.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 1st, 2015

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