"ShroveTuesday" news and stories

Over the years, the Tuesday prior to the beginning of Lent (known as Shrove or Fat Tuesday in most areas of the country - New Orleans knows it as Mardi Gras) has become recognized as a day to eat pancakes. To quote myself from last year, this is because "pancakes were a good way to use up the ingredients in your cupboards that were prohibited during Lenten austerity."

For as long as Pancake Day been part of our modern cultural vernacular, the International House of Pancakes (aka IHOP) has been giving away a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes to all comers on this most holy of breakfast days. Last year, they tried to move their free giveaway one week later so as not to have their business reduced by Super Tuesday, but they experienced more than a little backlash as a result, owing to the fact that those who observe Lent aren't going to disrupt their fast so that IHOP can have a better day at the till.

Happily, IHOP's pancake giveaway is back where it belongs this year. They'll be giving out free short stacks (one per customer, three pancakes per stack) tomorrow, February 24th between the hours of 7 am and 10 pm. In conjunction with the giveaway, they are conducting a fundraiser for the Children's Miracle Network, so if you go in for some pancakes, consider making a donation. Oh, and just because the pancakes are free doesn't mean you should skimp on tipping your servers!

The general recipe for pancakes seems to be 100g plain flour, a pinch of salt, 1 medium sized egg and 300ml milk. Of course variations abound: 

• using 115g each plain flour and caster sugar, 115g eggs, 50ml water, 3tbsp Pear Liqueur, 115ml milk
• using 115g flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 medium egg, 125ml milk, 100ml cold water, 1 tbsp brandy, 1tsp sunflower oil
• using 150g plain flour, 1 tsp caster sugar, 300ml full fat milk, 2 eggs

Savoury variations have saffron infused in the milk or using a mix of flours (whole grain, buckwheat or maize) . The addition of Calvados or Cointreau to the batter adds a subtle flavour. All recipes require resting for 30 minutes before using. The addition of fruit to the mix is another option; such as the Blueberry Pancakes pictured from the Epicurean I am going to use the bottom combination of ingredients (as listed above) and serve with a walnut cream and butterscotch sauce.

Any other delicious variations we can try?