A history of the eating of pancakes in Scotland
Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, as it’s become fondly known, has fallen later than usual this year.
The date of Shrove Tuesday depends on the date of Easter Sunday.
The sweetest day of the year moves around with the Lunar Calendar, not the Gregorian.
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring Equinox and Shrove Tuesday takes place 47 days before this, so Pancake Day falls on Tuesday 4 March this year.
Shrove Tuesday provided people with the opportunity to use up pantry ingredients before embarking on the Ash Wednesday Lenten fast.
Traditionally, the event was called Bannock Night in some parts of Scotland.
Bannocks, a savoury cousin of pancakes, were crafted using oatmeal, eggs and beef stock – cooked on a cast iron girdle, accompanied by brose or meat gruel.
Bannock Night had various folklore traditions, where one person would pour the batter onto a hot girdle, and the other would flip it and the third person would serve the treats to the group.
The hot Bannocks would be stored in a baker’s apron. Members of the group would then ‘draw’ a Bannock, revealing their future romances and joys.
By Oliver Millward
