It’s Pancake Time!

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Some days ago we’ve wrote a post about Mardi Gras and how people all over the world celebrate and let their senses loose in these few weeks preceding the Easter Lent. When it comes to Mardi Gras, ‘forbidden pleasures’ is the magic formula. And speaking of pleasures, the Lent is not quite the gourmand’s favorite time of the year, if I may say so.

Especially when it comes to such a ravishingly common and outrageously delicious desert like pancakes. Whether we’re speaking of a huge stack of fluffy American pancakes, decadently soaked in butter and maple syrup, or the sophisticated ‘crepes flambees’, pancakes all over the world will be celebrated, praised and devoured within the next days, as part of the annual Pancake Week.

So take a pen, cancel out all the plans within the next two weekends with a line and draw a steamy fresh pancake above it, because these upcoming weeks will take your stomach into the most amazing journey to the pancakes’ heaven and back!

Maslenitsa

What is known as the Russian Mardi Gras Carnival, Maslenitsa will be celebrated this year by Muscovites between the 8^th and 14^th of February. The Russian Pancakes, known as ‘blini’, are an essential part of the Maslenitsa rituals: they symbolize the sun and the generosity of nature.

Whether they are topped old-school with home-made jam or go ‘gourmet’ with some best quality Russian caviar, ‘blini’ will be present on each table. And in order to support the preservation of these interesting traditions, the Russian Parliament (Duma) has just approved the construction of a Pancake Week Monument in central Moscow.

Pancake Day in Britain

British chefs and housewives get the chance to prove their talent at tossing pancakes during Pancake Tuesday, or what the Christian calendar records as the Shrove Tuesday (the day preceding the first day of Lent, coinciding with Mardi Gras). The English have been proving their ability at cooking pancakes since the 15^th century.

Each year, the inhabitants of Olney, Buckinghamshire hold their now famous Pancake Race. The contestants, carrying a frying pan, engage a 400 yard pancake tossing race towards the church’s gate – the one that crosses the line first and meets the pancake tossing requirements is declared a winner.

National Pancake Week in the US

As for the United States, here the inhabitants of Liberal, Kansas, have decided to follow England’s example and have joined their forces with the English in organizing the International Pancake Race. This year, National Pancake Week will start on Valentine’s Day (anyone craving for some heart-shaped buttercakes?) and end on the 20^th February. The National Pancake Week is a brilliant excuse to annoy all your beloved ones by cooking pancakes for seven days in a row or just spoiling yourself with a decadent desert at some top-rated restaurant (most American restaurants are sure to serve the most original varieties of pancakes this week).

If you are a fan of the thin pancakes – also known as the French crepes – it might be of great help to know that the French have their own Crepe Holiday, known as ‘La Chandeleur’. Although la Chandeleur was celebrated on the 2^nd of February, it is worth mentioning, just in case that this time next year you decide to fly to France and get a taste of the notorious ‘mille-crepe’ or the mouthwatering ‘galettes’ (salty pancakes).

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Sandy wrote on February 27, 2010:

read the book Detective Pancake.

Detective Pancake wrote on March 6, 2010:

“Your eggs are missing from your plate. There is syrup on the wall. If your breakfast is in crisis, there is one name you can call. Detective Pancake is on the scene. It’s a messy sort of crime. I promise to solve your case fore your dinnertime.”

 

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