Yummy crispy pancakes doused in lemon juice and sprinkled with sugar was the ubiquitous lunchtime treat on ‘Pancake Tuesday’ in every Irish home growing up in the 80s. Even now, kids still look forward to eating the greasy and sugary treat and every home has their variations on the ‘perfect’ recipe. But where does this sweet treat originate from?
Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday as it is known just about everywhere, is a Christian feast day whose date is determined by Easter, and a day preceded by the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday). The expression ‘Shrove’ or ‘‘shrive’ means ‘to confess’ and this was a day celebrated in the Middle Ages as a period to confess one's sins and receive redemption before the beginning of Lent.
Feast Before Famine
As well as penitence, Shrove Tuesday, was a day to eat all your favourite fatty foods before the beginning of the Lenten fast. Up until relatively recently, fatty foods such eggs and dairy were forbidden during Lent, so the day before proved to be a perfect time to binge on pancakes which are essentially butter, eggs, and sugar. (It was also time to use up all the eggs and fat in the house before the fast began.)
Source schooldays.ie
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