Shrove Tuesday - otherwise known amongst Brits abroad as Pancake Day brings back memories of traditional pancake races, many of which still take place in the quirky UK.
The general idea is for apron-clad contestants to reach the finishing line first having successfully flipped a pancake in a frying pan three times. Skill undoubtedly lies not merely in the running but in flipping finesse and catching a fully intact pancake, en-route!
Probably the most well chronicled pancake race is staged to this day at Olney in Buckinghamshire. Legend has it that back in the dark and distant year of 1445 an Olney housewife was reputed to have heard the shriving (confession) bell in the midst of making pancakes, dashing to the church in her apron, frying pan in hand.
Little did she know she had launched a million frying pans from that day to this, with eligible competitors in a traditional pancake race having to be of the increasingly vague 'local housewife' denomination, sporting apron and a hat or scarf.
By all accounts, capable contestants must toss their sizzling pancakes three times during the race that starts at the market square promptly at 11.55 am. The first woman to complete the winding 375-metre course (the record is 63 seconds set in 1967) at Olney and arrive at the church, serve her pancake to the bell ringer, and be kissed by him, is the winner. As an added bonus, the plucky pancake flipper also receives a prayer book from the vicar.
British pancakes are not nearly as densely throat-clogging as their American counterparts. More like a thicker version of a French crepe, they are best enjoyed with a spritz of lemon and a sprinkle of sugar. A squirt or twisted spoon of Lyle's gooey Golden Syrup is the sticky, sweet alternative to North America's thinner maple syrup.
For the real McCoy of a pancake from no-nonsense times, look no further than this lovely little recipe from The Complete Cook (for the Elizabethan Housewife) of 1671:
"To
make pancakes fried without butter or lard. Take a pint of cream and
six, new-laid eggs, beat them very well together, put in a quarter of a
pound of sugar and one nutmeg grated, or a little mace and so much
flour as will thicken as much as ordinary pancake batter. Your pan must
be heated reasonable hot and wiped with a clean cloth: this done, put
in the batter as thick or thin as you please'.
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