There's a short stack of names to describe next Tuesday: Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday and Tuesday of Carnival among them. But all those monikers sound the same when said with a mouthful of pancakes.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Pancakes' connection to the eve of Lent derives from the tradition of clearing pantries of rich ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar before the fast that forbade people from eating them.
Pancakes' connection to the eve of Lent derives from the tradition of clearing pantries of rich ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar before the fast that forbade people from eating them.
The stackable breakfast staple is such a crucial ingredient in preparing for Lent that the day has also been branded National Pancake Day.
The food's connection to the eve of Lent derives from the tradition of clearing pantries of rich ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar before the fast that forbade people from eating them. Because those three items happen to be part of the pancake recipe, the circular breakfast confection became the popular meal on the day before Lent: Shrove Tuesday.
This convenience is the first of several reasons for the worldwide willingness to scarf down pancakes, said New Hope Mills Retail Sales Manager Dawn Weed-Korbel. The ease of making them and their ingrained tradition as a breakfast, dinner or dessert item have also contributed to the popularity of pancakes.
“They're kind of a comfort food,” Weed-Korbel said. “The people who like our mixes are really loyal; they say their families look forward to eating them every weekend.”
The Auburn-based New Hope Mills, which has been producing pancake mixes since the mid-1900s, will celebrate National Pancake Day in its own way by offering free samples from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that Tuesday and possibly hosting a pancake-eating contest. The Mills' pancake mixes, which come in flavors from apple cinnamon to pumpkin spice, are prepared without preservatives from unbleached and unenriched flours.
“Not all pancakes are created equal,” Weed-Korbel said. “There are so many different ways to make them; it's really fun when you get into it.”
Whether they're prepared from just flour, eggs and milk, in the English tradition, cut into strips, prepared thin like crepes or made from cornmeal instead of flour, pancakes are among the most versatile foods around.
Syrup, whipped cream, chocolate chips and fruits are among the more conventional additions to a pancake meal. The Dutch sometimes add bacon as a pancake filling and the Swedish often eat theirs with pork rinds or pea soup.
Flipping pancakes as they're cooking is a challenging task that has grown into an oft-observed National Pancake Day tradition. Pancake races require competitors to flip pancakes as they run in the same manner as the mythologized English housewife who was still flipping hers when she rushed to a pre-Lenten church service in Olney in 1444.
However one chooses to celebrate National Pancake Day, there's only one essential ingredient. And as Weed-Korbel learned from growing up in the family that made pancakes for a living, there can hardly be too many to go around.
“They seemed so normal to me,” Weed-Korbel said. “I didn't mind; they do taste good.”
If you go:
What: Free pancake samples
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: New Hope Mills, 181 York St., Auburn
To learn more: Call 252-2676 or visit www.newhopemills.com
Pancake meals
What: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
When: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: Jordan Masonic Lodge, North Main Street, Jordan
Cost: $5.25 adults, $4.50 seniors, $3 children and $15 for families (up to five members; additional family member is $2.50 each)
To learn more: Call 708-4940
What: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
When: 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: SS. Peter & John Episcopal Church, 169 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $6 adults, $5 seniors and children
To learn more: Call 252-5721
What: “Fat Tuesday” Pancake Supper
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: Mid-Lakes United Methodist Church, Route 41A, New Hope
Cost: Free (donations accepted)
To learn more: Call 685-3017
What: Pancake Supper
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 97 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles
Cost: Free
To learn more: Call
685-5048
The food's connection to the eve of Lent derives from the tradition of clearing pantries of rich ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar before the fast that forbade people from eating them. Because those three items happen to be part of the pancake recipe, the circular breakfast confection became the popular meal on the day before Lent: Shrove Tuesday.
This convenience is the first of several reasons for the worldwide willingness to scarf down pancakes, said New Hope Mills Retail Sales Manager Dawn Weed-Korbel. The ease of making them and their ingrained tradition as a breakfast, dinner or dessert item have also contributed to the popularity of pancakes.
“They're kind of a comfort food,” Weed-Korbel said. “The people who like our mixes are really loyal; they say their families look forward to eating them every weekend.”
The Auburn-based New Hope Mills, which has been producing pancake mixes since the mid-1900s, will celebrate National Pancake Day in its own way by offering free samples from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that Tuesday and possibly hosting a pancake-eating contest. The Mills' pancake mixes, which come in flavors from apple cinnamon to pumpkin spice, are prepared without preservatives from unbleached and unenriched flours.
“Not all pancakes are created equal,” Weed-Korbel said. “There are so many different ways to make them; it's really fun when you get into it.”
Whether they're prepared from just flour, eggs and milk, in the English tradition, cut into strips, prepared thin like crepes or made from cornmeal instead of flour, pancakes are among the most versatile foods around.
Syrup, whipped cream, chocolate chips and fruits are among the more conventional additions to a pancake meal. The Dutch sometimes add bacon as a pancake filling and the Swedish often eat theirs with pork rinds or pea soup.
Flipping pancakes as they're cooking is a challenging task that has grown into an oft-observed National Pancake Day tradition. Pancake races require competitors to flip pancakes as they run in the same manner as the mythologized English housewife who was still flipping hers when she rushed to a pre-Lenten church service in Olney in 1444.
However one chooses to celebrate National Pancake Day, there's only one essential ingredient. And as Weed-Korbel learned from growing up in the family that made pancakes for a living, there can hardly be too many to go around.
“They seemed so normal to me,” Weed-Korbel said. “I didn't mind; they do taste good.”
If you go:
What: Free pancake samples
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: New Hope Mills, 181 York St., Auburn
To learn more: Call 252-2676 or visit www.newhopemills.com
Pancake meals
What: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
When: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: Jordan Masonic Lodge, North Main Street, Jordan
Cost: $5.25 adults, $4.50 seniors, $3 children and $15 for families (up to five members; additional family member is $2.50 each)
To learn more: Call 708-4940
What: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
When: 5 to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: SS. Peter & John Episcopal Church, 169 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $6 adults, $5 seniors and children
To learn more: Call 252-5721
What: “Fat Tuesday” Pancake Supper
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24
Where: Mid-Lakes United Methodist Church, Route 41A, New Hope
Cost: Free (donations accepted)
To learn more: Call 685-3017
What: Pancake Supper
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 97 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles
Cost: Free
To learn more: Call
685-5048
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