/magpleasure/mpblog/list_thumbnail_file/2/b/2b96c00d627b0910da8c7f516db7a2af.jpg

To many it's the most important day of the year (so far!) and although 2018 see's some other special day happen in the very same week, something to do with St.Valentine or someone, Pancake Day just slightly edges it!

To get us all in the mood for Pancakes, and because it’s also the day of Tuesday Trivia, here’s 12 fun facts about Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday as it is traditionally known.


1. The word ‘shrove’ is the past tense of ‘shrive’, meaning to hear a confession, impose a penance or give absolution. Shrove-tide was a week of confession and merriment before Lent.


2. “Short shrift” comes from the same verb: it was a quick confession before a criminal’s execution.


3. Pancakes are now forever associated with Shrove Tuesday as it is a sort of all-in-one way of using up some fatty foods before fasting for Lent. In the past the idea was for families to clear out their cupboards and remove the fattening foods (normally the tempting ones) so they aren't in their house during Lent.


4. The actual tradition of mixing them up to make pancakes is thought to come from a pagan ritual, but others say it is a Christian tradition - with each ingredient representing one of the four pillars of the faith. Eggs for creation, flour sustenance or the staff of life, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity.


5. The Shrove Tuesday pancake race at Olney, Buckinghamshire has been run since 1445.The race is said to have started when a woman ran to church still holding a pan when her cooking was interrupted by the church’s shriving bell.


6. The sales of Tate & Lyle golden syrup triple in the week of Shrove Tuesday.


7. The world record for pancake eating is fifty 3.25oz pancakes in ten minutes.


8. The world’s largest pancake was made in Manchester in 1994. It was 49ft 3in in diameter.


9. Australian chef Brad Jolly set a record in 2012 by tossing a pancake 140 times in 60 seconds.


10. The expression “as flat as a pancake” was first recorded in 1761 though “as flat down as pancakes” dates back at least to 1611.


11. If you're wondering why we toss pancakes it looks like it's a tradition that dates back far longer than any of us have been around. The pancake features in cook books as far back as 1439 and the idea of tossing them is almost as old. "And every man and maide doe take their turne, And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne." (Pasquil's Palin, 1619).


12. According to a poll by YouGov last year, Britain's most popular Pancake topping is lemon.


Do you agree? Let us know your favourite Pancake topping over on our Facebook page or take part in our poll on Twitter!



by Richard Hopwood
Double TWO