Today is Shrove Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras. But did you know that it is also Pancake Day? And this isn't some random holiday - it's a tradition to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. I found a few interesting tidbits on Baking and Books that I thought I would share with you.
- The pancakes we know today were invented in Medieval Europe with the first pancake recipe appearing in a 1430 AD manuscript.
- National Pancake Day is based on the tradition of Shrove Tuesday. It is the day before the Catholic season of Lent begins and in the Middle Ages it was common to prepare for the austerity of Lent by using up all the eggs, butter and milk in your pantry. Considered luxuries, these ingredients were forbidden during Lent so they were often made into huge batches of pancakes.
- In the small town of Olney, England there is an annual Pancake Race that's been a tradition since the year 1445. According to legend, it all began when an Olney housewife heard the church bells begin to ring one morning, summoning everyone to service. She was so anxious to get there that she ran outside with her skillet and pancakes. Nowadays this story is reenacted when contestants line up, skillets in hand, waiting for the "pancake bell" to ring. Once it does they begin tossing their pancakes in the air - and catching them too - as they race 400 yards to the church. When the race is over, everyone enjoys a community pancake party.
- The world record for pancake tossing is 416 flips in 2 minutes.
Who knew? Happy Pancake Day and Mardi Gras to everyone!!
5 comments:
I knew about National Pancake Day because of stories about Lent, however, I didn't not know about the world record, Olney Pancake Race or where pancakes first came from.
Those are some fun facts! That picture looks really yummy too!
That is so interesting. I have celebrated pancake day in the past...it's more conducive to large college group settings. :) I had no idea about the Lent thing. Thanks for sharing.
Mmmm! Pancakes! I wish I would've known...I would've made pancakes for dinner.
I didnt know any of that... and to have a community Pancake feast... that sounds good to me!
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