What is Shrove Tuesday All About?
Shrove Tuesday is the day before the beginning of Lent,
which is known as Ash Wednesday. Everybody knows that, don’t they? But what is
it all about, and how is it celebrated across the Globe?
It’s Pancake Day
I always remember as a child my mother tossing pancakes in
the air and serving them up with lemon and sugar. I loved them, it was one of
my favorite days of the year after Christmas and Easter, oh and of course my
Birthday (which happened to coincide with Bonfire Night as well, so double
whammy there).
The word ‘shrove’ comes from the old English term ‘shriven’,
which means ‘confession’, and it derives from the fact that people used to go
to confession on the night before Ash Wednesday to cleanse themselves of their
sins.
Lent is a period of fasting in the Christian calendar, so on
the day before Ash Wednesday people would get rid of all their fattening food
such as milk and eggs, and they would combined this with flour to make what we
know in England (and most Commonwealth countries) as pancakes.
What about Mardi Gras?
In other countries, the term ‘Mardi Gras’ is used, which
literally translates from the French to ‘Fat Tuesday’! Massive carnivals are
held in many major cities from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Sydney, Australia. A
bit of a far cry from the Pancake Races of old England, where people run whilst
tossing a pancake in a frying pan, but they derive from the same thing. The Rio
carnival began in the late 1700s when the Portuguese settlers introduced their tradition
of throwing flour and water at each other. See how the English were far more
refined here—they added eggs and made a meal of it. Mind you, one or two tossed
pancakes landed on a poor unwitting individual on occasion.
In Greece, they have Kathari Deftera, or Clean Monday, which is the end of the
3-week period of Carnival celebrations. Meat, eggs and other dairy products are
consumed, because these are not permitted during Lent. Also, certain seafoods
are used up, and salted, cured cod roe is mixed with lemon juice, olive oil and
breadcrumbs to make ‘taramsalata’.
How to make pancakes the English way
You need:
·
125g plain flour
·
A pinch of salt
·
1 tbsp caster sugar
·
2 free-range eggs, beaten
·
25g melted butter, plus extra
for cooking
·
250ml semi-skimmed milk
·
3 tbsp cold water
·
1 lemon
Here’s what you do
1. Put
the plain flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the
centre and add the eggs. Start stirring with a balloon whisk, then slowly whisk
in the melted butter, milk and water. Increase your whisking speed until you
have a thin batter about the consistency of single cream.
2.
Next, heat a frying pan
(preferably non-stick) over a medium heat, drizzle in a teaspoon of melted
butter and wipe it over the base with kitchen paper.
3.
Drop a small ladleful of pancake
batter into the pan, swirling so it coats the base evenly in a thin layer. Cook
for 2 minutes or until the underside is golden, then flip and cook on the other
side for a minute or so. Remove to a warm plate and repeat.
4.
Sprinkle with sugar, fold and serve
warm with a wedge of lemon. Alternatively, you can serve it with maple syrup or
jam, but that is more American style.
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