Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, falls between February 3rd and March 9th, the day before Ash Wednesday, when lent begins. Shrove Tuesday has been around for over 1000 years. The tradition of eating pancakes came around because it used to be a good way to use up rich ingredients such as eggs and milk before lent. Lent is a Christian tradition where people remember the 40 days and nights Jesus spent in the wilderness, by giving up eating food that gives them pleasure such as dairy, eggs and meat. A more recent tradition is that people give up something that tempts them for like chocolate or alcohol.
It is believed that British people use roughly 52 million eggs on Pancake Day, which is 22 million more than any normal day! On average people in the UK consume 117 million pancakes on Pancake Day. This requires almost three million litres of milk and one million kilograms of flour. The ingredients required to make a simple pancake are milk, flour, eggs and a little bit of oil plus any toppings you may like.
So get your frying pans ready… It’s time to get tossing!
