- In America, pancakes are often eaten with maple syrup. Maple syrup is produced by
a) boiling sugar, water and maple seeds, and straining the result
b) taking the sap from the trunks of maple trees
c) flavouring ordinary syrup with a special kind of nut extract
d) by heating ordinary syrup to 320° but can only be sold as Maple syrup under licence from the Canadian government.
- On Pancake Day, the women of Olney in Buckinghamshire hold a race carrying their frying pans from the market square to the church. This tradition was first recorded in
a) 1445
b) 1645
c) 1745
d) 1845
- Olney is famous not only for its pancake race, but as the home of John Newton, who
a) invented gravity
b) wrote a famous pancake cookery manual
c) owns a famous pancake restaurant
d) wrote the hymn Amazing grace
- Today is Shrove Tuesday. Shrove means:
a) forgiveness
b) fat
c) merry
d) a flat cake
- We eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday because
a) there used to be a big egg market on that day, so eggs were plentiful
b) they remind us of Moses and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
c) people could make them to get rid of their eggs and milk before Lent began
d) spring was a time for marriage, and eligible young girls used to wear pancakes that day in place of hats.
- In Russia
a) Shrove Tuesday falls thirteen days later because the church follows an old calendar
b) people eat bliny (блины), which are a kind of pancake
c) there is no custom of eating pancakes before Lent
d) Lent is a time of feasting and celebration
- The traditional meal on Shrove Tuesday in Iceland is
a) salted meat and peas
b) pancakes
c) fishcakes
d) raw herring with onions
- In France, Shrove Tuesday is called
a) mardi gris
b) mardi gras
c) mardi crêpe
d) mardi du carnivore
- On Shrove Tuesday, there is a
a) pancake race between members of the UK House of Commons and House of Lords
b) competition to toss pancakes (pannekoeken) across the main canal in Amsterdam
c) party to which the Queen invites 84 old men and 84 women to eat pancakes
d) all three of the above
- Carnivals are often held on Shrove Tuesday. “Carnival” comes from an old Italian word meaning
a) eating festival
b) roundabout
c) arrival of spring
d) removal of meat
- A typical pancake of 20cm diameter and weighing 75 grams represents approximately
a) 35 calories
b) 50 calories
c) 175 calories
d) 310 calories
- The Guinness record for the highest pancake toss is
a) 3.37 m (11 ft 0½ in)
b) 5.57 m (18 ft 3½ in)
c) 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in)
d) 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in)
- The Guinness record for the largest number of pancakes made (and tossed!) in an hour by a single individual is
a) 256
b) 456
c) 656
d) 956
- The largest pancake ever made was in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, in 1994. Its diameter was just over
a) one metre
b) five metres
c) ten metres
d) fifteen metres
- A normal recipe for about 10 pancakes uses
a) 100 g (4 oz) flour, 200 ml (½ pint) milk and five eggs
b) 50 g (2 oz) flour, 200 ml (½ pint) milk and five eggs
c) 100 g (4 oz) flour, 200 ml (½ pint) milk and two eggs
d) 200 g (7 oz) flour, 100 ml (¼ pint) milk and five eggs
- The uncooked liquid pancake mix is called
a) gruel
b) batter
c) slop
d) dough
- Pancakes are called pöllukaka in
a) Iceland
b) Finland
c) Hungary
d) Tibet
- Kaiserschmarrn are Austrian pancakes made with
a) sweet white wine and marzipan
b) whipped cream, cherries and ginger
c) raisins, almonds and apple
d) chocolate, candied peel and biscuit pieces
- The expression “fit as a pancake for Shrove Tuesday” comes from
a) Shakespeare
b) the Bible
c) Dickens
d) Martin Luther
- Placenta and tagenites are
a) medical terms to do with new-born babies
b) geological terms to do with cave formations
c) Roman words for pancakes
d) vestments worn by a Greek Orthodox bishop
- The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD)
a) wrote a recipe for camel's milk pancakes
b) made a list of wholesome foods, which included pancakes
c) died as a result of eating a poisoned pancake
d) complained at the noise of pancake sellers outside his apartment
