Pancake Tuesday & an Old Fashioned Pancakes Recipe

Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday - depending on your people's history, when I was a wee boy, was a very important day in the family calendar. It was the day when you had to tell the rest of the family exactly what you were giving up for Lent, which started the next day, on Ash Wednesday.

The reason for making such a declaration was so that all your brothers and sisters could keep an eye on you and each other and make sure you weren't breaking your fast!

In general it was Sweets that we gave up for Lent, but we were allowed to put any presents that were given to us into a big jar or box to keep for the 40 days duration of the fast. We were allowed to 'break Lent' for St Paddy's day which usually left you with a sore tummy after gorging on your stash of goodies.

Pancake Tuesday was a serious day in the religious calendar. It marked the day before Jesus went into the desert to think about his future and fight temptation. So that's what we had to do too!
Because many people went off meat, eggs, tea, milk and other things like this during Lent in the older days, Pancakes were made and ate for all meals during this day to use up any food products that needed using up.

Pancakes were probably the first thing I ever learned to make from my mum and I still enjoy making them, with sweet or savoury fillings, for any reason. There is not much difference between Crepes & Pancakes, a thicker mix and a smaller pour is about it!

One of my neighbours make her Pancakes with buttermilk and duck eggs, which are I must say Delicious!! If you don't have any buttermilk add a dash of lemon juice to the milk. This gives a wee zing to the flavour and also helps create a lighter batter by reacting wih the baking powder.


This is a simple recipe for Old Fashioned Pancakes:

My Ingredients:

350g flour

1/2 tspn baking powder
pinch salt
pinch sugar
2 eggs
300ml milk
60g butter, melted
a little oil for the pan

My Method:

1. Put the flour into a mixing bowl with the baking powder and give it a quick whisk to lighten it and smooth any lumps (much handier than sieving).

2. Add the salt, sugar, milk and eggs

3. Whisk together until creamy making sure there are no lumps.

4. Pour in the melted butter and whisk into the mix. The butter lifts the taste of the pancake and helps them get a lovely golden-brown colour in the pan.


You will need a good heavy-based frying pan. Pre-heat the pan to medium for perfect pancakes.

Pour them gently but quickly on to the pan

I don't let the pancake mix stand because the mix tends to thin as it stands - that's just fine if your making very thin crepes.  Just rub a little oil on the pan with a kitchen towel.


5. Pour 3 or 4 scoops of the pancake batter onto your hot pan. You don't have to shake or stir the pan, just let the pancakes find their own place.

6. Let them cook until the bubbles start to rise and just start to pop on top of the pancake. This means they are ready to turn.

7. Cook on the other side for about 1 minute and that's them ready!!


Get them off the pan and repeat the process until all the mix is gone. A tea-towel over the top of the pancakes will keep them warm. That is if you can keep little hands off them in the first place!

Enjoy with your favourite spreads. I love my pancakes with real Butter and home-made Jam.

Pancakes in the Old Days - The Irish Cultures & Customs Website

Here is a link to a website with a nice nostalgic piece of Irish Pancake history that I found this morning. It tells the Irish pancake story from a time back quite a few years more than my memories and from a family of Irish living in London in the 40's & 50's. Lovely.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/acalend/shrovetues.html 

Don't forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!
zack