Today is Pancake Day – yummy! It is traditionally known as Shrove Tuesday, and it precedes Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), which falls in either February or March each year.
Pancake day is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes because it is a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent begins.
Beyond enjoying your pancakes with lemon and sugar, there are all sorts of exciting ways to enjoy pancakes, such as with maple syrup, lemon and sugar as well as filling them with fruit, fluffing them up, or even with bacon!
Pancake day fun facts!
- William Shakespeare was a fan of pancakes, often referring to them in his plays
- “flat as a pancake” has been a catchphrase used since at least 1611 according to the Oxford English Dictionary
- The earliest pancakes we know of date all the way back to Roman times
- The first commercially sold ready-mix food was Aunt Jemima pancake flour, invented in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1889
- In the United States and Canada, pancakes are regularly eaten for breakfast with butter and syrup
Eating lots of pancakes today is a highlight for the Elementa team. This year pancake day falls during the February half term. We have lots of different pancake toppings planned!