This activity is about cooking pancakes.
They are traditionally cooked on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), but there is nothing stopping you having them any time of the year!
You can find the date of Shrove Tuesday here: Shrove Tuesday (EXTERNAL LINK).
The other exciting part of this time of year is that it is about the start of spring!
Plants start growing again, and the days get longer.
Here are some photos from outside of the scout hut of two plants you see this time of year: snowdrops and daffodils.
Pancakes are flower, eggs, milk and water, mixed-together (called a batter), and then poured into a very small amount of hot oil and fried quickly.
It is normal to toss them in the air to flip them over and cook them on the other side.
We are going to cheat and use special pancake mix, to which we just add water.
If you want to make it properly at home, the professional recipe is at the end of this page.
- Heat your pan to a medium heat.
- When heated, add a little bit of oil.
- Tilt the pan to spread the oil evenly over the surface.
- Then put in a ladle or large spoon's worth (about 1/3rd of a cub) of batter in the centre : you don't need much.
- Tilt the pan again to spread the batter evenly over the surface.
- Wait for about 1 minute to let it cook on one side.
- Use the spatula to loosen the pancake from the sides and underneath, so that it moves in the pan.
- Shake it loose in the pan.
- Flip the pancake over (with the spatula or by throwing it into the air from the pan and catching it back in the pan!).
- Cook on the other side for a minute.
- Loosen again and slide on to a plate.
- You can create a pile of them and keep them warm in the oven on a low temperature until you are ready to eat them.
- Or you can eat them straight away!
Add your favourite topping and eat!
- Lemon juice and caster sugar.
- Maple syrup and bananas.
- Whipped cream and chocolate chips or chocolate paste.
- Cream and warm apple.
- Fresh berries and honey.
- Ice-cream!
- 4 portable camping stoves.
- 4 full gas cannisters.
- Frying pans
- Ladles
- 4 Tables
- Plates
- Knives and Forks.
- Sanitiser spray and disposable wipes.
Shrove Tuesday represents the start of the Easter period for Christians.
It helps to work backwards from Easter.
Easter is the time (typically in April) that Christians celebrate the Biblical story of Jesus returning from the dead after being crucified.
You can find the date of Easter here: Easter Sunday (EXTERNAL LINK).
In the Christian faith, Jesus also spent 40 days in the desert without eating (called "fasting"), to build up his mental and spiritual strength against the dangerous temptations of life.
Interestingly the number 40 appears in many places in the Bible.
The Christian faith honours this by asking its members to stop doing something desirable (e.g., playing computer games!) for a 40-day period before Easter.
They call this period Lent, and it begins with Ash Wednesday, a day when Christians have ashes placed on their heads to recognise that we all will die one day and return to dust.
The message is that we must live in the present and fully each day we have, and not behave as if we are going to live forever on Earth.
The day before the start of Lent is called Shrove Tuesday.
Christians use that day to decide what spiritual growth they want to achieve during Lent, and what wrongs they want to admit to.
They confess this in private to a priest, who forgives them in return.
This "forgiveness" is called a shrive old language.
For more information see Shrove Tuesday (EXTERNAL LINK).
In historical times, people would give up eating rich and unhealthy foods, as that was all that most people owned.
They would therefore eat all their eggs and fats (butter and oil) the day before the start of Lent.
A good way to use up eggs and fat is to make pancakes!
15 meters (or 49 feet)!
That is as tall as a 4 storey building!
It was made in the UK in 1994.
Here is another!
9.4 meters
As high as five tall people!
140
That is more than 2 every second!
They make a wish!
They believe it will come true if your pancake lands correctly back in the pan!
A blood pancake!
They mix pig blood into the pancake!
Why was the pancake good at cricket?
Because it was the best "batter".
Why couldn't the pancake sleep?
It could not stop tossing and turning!
What do bus drivers put on their pancakes?
What does a cat fill its pancakes with?
What does Julian like to eat?
A pancake is a simple batter that is spread out cooked thinly and quickly in a pan in hot fat.
The instructions below are for young people to try with their parents at home.
You will need:-
1. A frying pan
Preferably non-stick.
2. A spatula
To flip the pancakes over with.
Or you can try to throw them in the air from the pan can catch them!
3. A ladle
To put a consistent amount of batter in the pan.
4. A Bowl
For mixing the batter in.
5. A Sieve
To sift the flour in and make sure it has no lumps.
6. A Wooden Spoon and Whisk
For mixing the batter with.
7. Scales
Scales to measure the flour.
8. Measuring Jug
To mix milk and water.
To make 8 or so pancakes, you will need:-
- 120g grammes of plain flour;
- 2 large eggs;
- 210 milli-litres of milk, mixed with 90 milli-litres of water;
- pinch of salt;
- vegetable oil.
- Mix the milk and water together in a measuring jug.
- Put the flour and salt in a sieve over the mixing bowl and then shake the sieve (sifting) until it has all gone into the bowl.
- Crack the eggs into a separate small bowl (do not whisk).
- Make a dent in the centre of the mound of flour and pour in the eggs.
- Use a wooden spoon to mix the eggs and flour until they are combined.
- Then start to add the milk/water mix a little at a time and use the spoon or a whisk to mix with the flour and eggs.
- Keep adding the milk and water mix and whisking until the flour, eggs, milk, and water make a smooth liquid the consistency of cream.
- Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and mix in.
- Allow to stand for 20 minutes before using.
- Heat your pan to a medium heat.
- When heated, add a little bit of oil.
- Tilt the pan to spread the oil evenly over the surface.
- Then put in ladle of batter in the centre.
- Tilt the pan again to spread the batter evenly over the surface.
- Wait for about 1 minute to let it cook on once side.
- Use the spatula to loosen the pancake from the sides and underneath, so that it moves in the pan.
- Flip the pancake over (with the spatula or by throwing it into the air from the pan and catching it back in the pan!).
- Cook on the other side for a minute.
- Loosen again and slide on to a plate.
- You can create a pile of them and keep them warm in the oven on a low temperature until you are ready to eat them.
- Or you can eat them straight away!
Add your favourite topping and eat!
- Lemon juice and caster sugar.
- Maple syrup and bananas.
- Whipped cream and chocolate chips or chocolate paste.
- Cream and warm apple.
- Fresh berries and honey.
- Ice-cream!
In Switzerland they mark the start of Lent with two days of celebrations.
They call these celebrations "FASNACHT", which translates as "Fast Night".
The celebrations start at 04:00 hours in the morning on Monday morning, and finish at midnight on Shrove Tuesday.
During those two days, people form family groups ("cliques") dress up in strange and unusual costumes and walk around the town playing pipes, drums, and trumpets, and throwing confetti (Rappli) everywhere.
The is the largest of these.
See link Carnival of Basel (LINK).
Here is Basel on a map:-
Here is a video of some of the carnival participants:-
Some participants are called Waggis and they either give you presents or play a trick on you!
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Areas of neighbouring countries to Switzerland do the same (such as southern Germany).
In many counties around the world, Pancake Day is celebrated with a festival called Mardi Gras.
That is French for Fat Tuesday!. Mardi = Tuesday, Gras = Fat.
Again, it recognises the practice of eating rich fatty foods before starting the fast for Lent; not always pancakes.
For some countries Mari Gras starts in January and ends on Shrove Tuesday!
See: Mardi Gras (LINK).
Here is an example from New Orleans.
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Here they make rich King Cakes instead of pancake.
Here is an example in France.
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Here they eat their version of pancakes called crêpes.
They are cooked thinly on special hot plates.
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