Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is the name of the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

The word ‘shrove’ is the past tense of the English verb ‘shrive’, which describes the means by which to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and penance.

On this day, Catholics are encouraged to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of Lent.

Pancake Day

The tradition of making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, which gives it the alternative name of ‘Pancake Day’, dates back centuries, it is rooted in the need to use up rich ingredients like eggs, milk, and sugar before the 40-day fasting period of Lent begins.

Pancakes became the favoured dish for this purpose because they are simple to make, delicious, and perfect for clearing out pantry staples.

By the 16th century the custom had become well-established in Britain and in some towns, ‘pancake races’ started, like the famous one in Olney, Buckinghamshire, dating back to 1445, where women will run a race while flipping pancakes in a skillet. That is said to have begun when a housewife, late for church, dashed out still holding her frying pan!

Today, as our nation has become more secular in nature, the day is less about religion for most as the original meaning has been largely forgotten, and has become more about making and eating pancakes.

Pancakes in Slaidburn

When I worked at the Hark to Bounty in Slaidburn tradition was that every Shrove Tuesday the local Young Farmers Club would turn up to use our kitchen for making pancakes.

The parents would sit out the front of the bar gossiping in that way only farmers do, about lambing, Texel prices at Bentham auction market, Gimmer sales at Carlisle, that sort of thing, often nursing a pint of bitter.

Their sons and daughters would be queuing at the kitchen door, and then through the kitchen to the bank of ovens, where a lot of laughing could be heard from as they flipped and lost a lot of pancakes on the floor (or ceiling!).

They would then go to the tables in the restaurant area and pick toppings from a selection of sugar, chopped lemons, maple syrup or chocolate sauce, and after take their plates to where we had set up a line of tables for them.

Inevitably, with the pub being the heart of the community like many are, a few of the young farmers either currently worked there or had worked there in the past (the distinction was not always clear) so would know where to find some less conventional toppings, so the resulting pancakes could be quite exotic (especially if they egged each other on!)

The youngest would sit together and it was sometimes the first time they had met each other outside of the local primary school, and the older of the Young Farmers would often hang around to natter and have a few lagers before drifting off back to work.

All-in-all it was a very important social occasion for them, and if we had any passing ramblers, cyclists or other tourists (called ‘ofden-cumbers’ in the local Bowland dialect) in they would comment on this in approval or bemusement (I could usually sense that they’d never seen anything like this before and felt quite sad that they might have missed out on these kind of social occasions in their childhood).

The tourists would, of course, be given a plate of pancakes made by the young farmers but sadly t’ Bounty is now closed and I doubt anywhere else in the country has this tradition so I don’t think they’ll ever see it again, it’s just another one of those things that quietly disappears without anyone really noticing, thus leaving the world a duller and less-friendly place.

Pancake recipe

Here’s a quick and easy pancake recipe similar to the one we used in Slaidburn;

Ingredients (Makes about 4)

• 100g (3/4 cup) of plain flour
• 2 large eggs
• 250ml (1 cup) of full-fat milk
• A pinch of salt
• Butter or oil for frying

Method:

1. Mix the batter: First whisk the flour, eggs, milk, and salt together in a bowl until smooth. It should be runny, like single cream. Then let it rest for 10 to 20 minutes if you have time (this is optional but helps the texture).
2. Heat the pan: Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a small knob of butter or a drizzle of oil. Make sure to swirl it to coat the pan.
3. Cook the pancakes: Pour a thin layer of batter into the hot pan, tilting it to spread evenly. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the edges lift and the bottom is golden. Then (this is the fun bit) flip and cook the other side for another minute.
4. Repeat: Stack them on a plate and keep going until the batter’s gone.
5. Serve: Top with classics like a squeeze of lemon juice and sugar, or get creative; maple syrup, fruit, or even a savory twist like cheese is just as good.

A B-H

(4th March 2025)