Pancake
This article is about food. For other meanings, see Pancake (disambiguation). |
Two sourdough pancakes with pats of melting butter. |
A
pancake, sometimes called a
hotcake or a
crêpe, is a
batter cake fried in a
pan or on a
griddle with
oil or
butter.Pancakes can be eaten hot or cold, and are generally filled or topped with a sweet or savoury
sauce or
condiment.
Most types of pancake batter contain some kind of
flour, most commonly
wheat flour, or
buckwheat flour, and a liquid ingredient, such as
water,
milk, or
ale. Pancakes are sometimes made with
cornmeal (Jonnycakes) in the U.S. and
potato pancakes are also popular in various
European countries, such as
Germany and
Poland. In some countries, such as
Egypt,
Canada and the
United States, pancakes contain a
leavening agent, such as
baking powder or
yeast. The batter of the
Ethiopian injera is left to ferment in order to achieve a similar effect.
The oldest surviving pancake recipe in the
English language dates from the 15th century.
British pancakes have three key ingredients: plain
flour,
eggs and
milk. The batter is quite runny and forms a thin layer on the bottom of the
frying pan when the pan is tilted. It may form some bubbles during cooking, which result in a pale pancake with dark spots where the bubbles were, but the pancake does not rise. These pancakes may be eaten sweet with the traditional topping of
lemon juice and
sugar, or wrapped around savoury stuffings and eaten as a main course. When baked instead of fried, this batter rises (despite having no raising agents â€" it rises because the air beaten into the batter expands) and is known as
Yorkshire pudding. British pancakes are similar to
French crêpes, and
Italian crespelle, but are not "lacy" in appearance. However, in
Scotland pancakes, known as Scotch pancakes or drop scones in the rest of Britain, are more like the American variation and are served as such (see below). Scotch pancakes often have sugar in the batter, and are not eaten with syrup. Americans with a sweet tooth, however, can always opt for the double sweetness of a Scotch pancake with syrup.
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North American (Canada and the United States) style pancakes |
Canadian or
American pancakes contain a raising agent, usually
baking powder, and different proportions of eggs, flour and milk which create a thick batter. This batter is either spooned or poured onto a hot surface, and spreads to form a cake about 1/4 or 1/3 inch (1 cm) thick. The raising agent causes bubbles to rise to the uncooked side of the pancake, at which point they are ready to be flipped. The resulting pancakes are very light in texture and are often served at
breakfast topped with
maple syrup and
butter or
peanut butter.
In the U.S., pancakes can also be referred to as
hotcakes,
griddlecakes, or
flapjacks. A typical portion served in restaurants is 3 to 4 pancakes of more or less 14 cm (5 inch) diameter. A smaller number may be ordered by requesting a "short stack". Diners usually serve 1 or 2 pancakes of more or less 25 cm (10 inches) diameter. A "silver dollar" pancake refers to a pancake about 7 cm (3 inches) in diameter - these are usually served in groups of five or ten.
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Scottish pancake and fruit crumpet. |
Pancakes similar to the North American pancake but smaller (usually about 3.5 in / 9 cm across) are known in the
British Isles as
Scotch pancakes or (after the traditional method of dropping batter onto a griddle)
drop-scones, and in
Australia and
New Zealand as
pikelets. They can be served with
jam and
cream or just with butter. In the U.S. these are known as "silver dollar pancakes" since the individual pancakes are each about the size of a U.S.
silver dollar (with
Eisenhower on the face, no longer minted). In
Scotland, they are rarely served as a breakfast item, but are more commonly considered a dessert item. They are available plain, or as a fruit pancake with
raisins baked in, and larger thinner
crumpets are made from the same recipe by watering down the mix. The griddle is generally called a girdle in Scotland.
French crêpes, popular in
France,
Quebec, and
Brazil (where they're usually called pancake, or only crêpe) are made from flour, milk, and eggs. Due to their thin consistency, they are usually served with a large amount of filling, widely ranging from
fruit and/or
ice cream, to
seafood.
German pancakes often served in American pancake houses, are shaped like a bowl, come in avariety of sizes, some quite large and nearly impossible for one person to finish. They arecommonly eaten with lemons and powdered sugar, although
jam is sometimes used as well. The pancakes eaten in
Germany, however, are of the British variety. They are called
Pfannkuchen, although in some areas that is instead the local name for
Berliner, a type of
doughnut. In
Swabia, cut pancakes (
Flädle) are a traditional
soup ingredient.
In
Austria pancakes are called
Palatschinken, a word derived from Latin
placenta by way of Romanian, and are usually filled with apricot jam but are also known to have a pleasing taste filled with a chocolate sauce or hazelnut spread. Similar pancakes with similar names can be found throughout the former
Austria-Hungary (today Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and
Serbia), see
Palatschinken.
Scandinavian pancakes are similar to British pancakes. They are traditionally served with jam and/or ice cream or whipped cream, although they may also be served as a main dish with a variety of savoury fillings. Traditional
Swedish variations can be somewhat exotic. Some resemble British pancakes with a tiny diameter; these are called
plättar, and they are fried several at a time in a special pan. Others resemble German pancakes but include fried
pork in the batter; these are cooked in an oven. There are also
potato pancakes, called
raggmunk. These contain shredded raw potato and, sometimes, other vegetables. If the actual pancake batter is left out, the fried cakes of grated potatoes are called
rårakor. Both the latter kinds are eaten traditionally with pork rinds and/or
lingonberry jam.
Vegan pancakes are not associated with any nationality, however they are a distinct and popular type of pancake. Generally,
vegan pancakes emulate the American pancake by using direct substitutes such as
egg substitute and
soy milk. However, some variations employ baking soda and occasionally a small amount of vinegar as raising agents.
In
Malaysia and
Singapore a pancake-like snack is made with a filling, usually cheese or
kaya but occasionally bean paste, ground peanut, blueberry or custard. There are other interesting variations, such as those made with soya bean partially replacing the flour.
In
Russia,
Poland and
Ukraine,
blintz and blini are made from wheat or buckwheat flour, yeast, butter, eggs and milk. Blini come from the French
crêpe which were introduced during pre-Soviet times.
In
Ethiopia,
injera is made from a fermented sourdough batter of buckwheat or the more traditional
teff.
In
Hungary,
palacsinta are made from flour, milk and/or soda water, sugar, and eggs. They are served as a main dish or as a dessert, depending on the filling. Sweet wine can also be added to the batter.
In
Italy,
cannelloni are made from pancake batter or noodle dough. They are then filled, covered with cheese, and baked.
In the
Middle East,
pita is made from flour and yeast.
In
India,
dosa are made from rice flour and fried in a skillet.
In
Chinese cuisine,
green onion pancakes are the thin pancakes made with buckwheat flour and green onions, served with
moo shu dishes.
In
Mexico they are generally called "hot cakes" rather than "pancakes". They are similar in style to pancakes served in the U.S. but are perhaps more likely to mix or replace wheat flour with corn. In addition to being a popular breakfast item at restaurants throughout the country, it is not uncommon to see "hotcakes" vendors on the streets of
Mexico City at all hours of the day and night, selling a single cake topped with some kind of sweet sauce.
In
Egypt,
katief is made.
In
Venezuela, in poorer communities pancakes are topped with butter and white cheese.
In
Japan,
Dorayaki are a popular sweet consisting of bean paste sandwiched between two pancake-like patties of
castella.
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Pancakes with strawberries and cream. |
Pancakes are comparable to
waffles without syrup traps.
Most types of pancakes, but not the
Breton galette, are cooked one side at a time and flipped by the cook halfway through. The process of tossing or flipping them is part of the essence of the pancake, and one of the skills that separates the experienced cook from the beginner.
North American pancakes can be made sweet or savoury by adding foods like
blueberries,
strawberries,
cheese or
bacon to the batter;
bananas are sometimes dipped in the batter too.
British pancakes can be stuffed after cooking with a wide variety of sweet or savoury fillings. Both are often sweetened after cooking by pouring on syrup or sprinkling with powdered
sugar.
In
Canada and the
United States, the pancake is usually a
breakfast food, but it is so popular that a franchised restaurant called
International House of Pancakes, commonly called IHOP, has more than 1,000 restaurants serving at all hours of the day. North American pancake lovers travelling abroad should bring their own
maple syrup, as it is produced in
North America and can be expensive and hard to come by elsewhere. Even
table syrup (a less expensive artificially-flavoured replacement for maple syrup) can be difficult to come by elsewhere.
In
Britain, pancakes are eaten as a
dessert, or served savoury with a main meal. They are also traditionally eaten on
Shrove Tuesday which is also known as "
Pancake Day". (Shrove Tuesday is better known in the United States, France and other countries as
Mardi Gras or
Fat Tuesday.) According to tradition, this was in order to use up the last of the fat and rich foods before
Lent. Charity or school events are often organised on Pancake Day. One popular event is a foot race in which each participant carries a pancake on a frying pan. They have to keep tossing their pancakes in the air (and catching them again) as they run.
Every Shrove Tuesday, the towns of
Olney,
England and
Liberal, Kansas have a pancake flipping competition. The two towns' competitors race along an agreed-upon course, and the times of all of the two towns' competitors are compared, to determine a winner. There are other '
Pancake Races' in Britain, but Olney (according to
legend) is where it all began.
In an old story about Olney a woman was cooking her pancakes when she heard the
bells of
St Peter and St Paul's Church calling her to worship. She ran out of her house still holding the pancake in its pan, and still wearing her
apron. This is how the Pancake Race originated.
Other English-speaking countries, such as
Canada and the
United States, also celebrate Pancake Tuesday, though to a lesser extent.
In the
Netherlands pancakes are called
Pannenkoeken and eaten at
dinner. Pancake
restaurants are popular family restaurants and serve many varieties of sweet, savoury, and stuffed pancakes.
In
Sweden it is traditional to eat
yellow pea soup followed by pancakes on Thursdays. There is no such nationwide consensus regarding the other days of the week.
A smaller pancake, often called a "silver dollar" pancake, is sometimes used in the creation of
hors d'oeuvres in place of
crackers or other bread-like items.
Banana pancakes in particular are a popular menu item in Western-oriented backpackers' cafes in many Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, India, and China.
*thin pancakes:
**
blintz**
crêpe**
galette*
okonomiyaki*
pigs in blankets*
tortilla*
Bunny with a pancake on his head*
History of the Olney, England pancake race
