Historically it is meant to use up all the fattening foods in one's house before the Lenten period begins, the 40 days leading up to Easter. Many people give things up during this period as a show of sacrifice. I've never participated in Lent. I actually didn't know much about it until I went away to college. There a lot of my friends would give up a vice, or several during Lent - mostly chocolate, fried foods, Facebook, drinking, etcetera.
Anyway, a British pancake, to me, is really more like a crepe. I'm completely ok with this as I find American pancakes very heavy. It's an easy recipe: 110 grams flour, 2 eggs, 200 ml milk, 75 ml water, pinch of salt, whisk. Luckily I had a native to take the lead on cooking....
Traditionally these pancakes are topped with fresh squeezed lemon juice and sugar or golden syrup. The lemon juice and sugar was very refreshing! We certainly indulged in two batches of these beauties this evening.
As with any holiday I suppose at some point businesses try to market it and profit from it more than if it were to remain static. This article of the most expensive pancake was in the headlines today!
