PANCAKES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 261, 3 November 1928, Page 4 (Supplement)

PANCAKES.

(By An Englishwoman in Paris.)

The custom of eating pancakes in February arose some time after the origin of Candlemas became known. There may be some among us who have forgotten that Candlemas dates from the Christian era, and that those of the Roman faith believe it to originate with I the Purification of the Virgin.

I But no matter whence the origin, it lis customary in France to eat pancakes on February 2. In some households, even in Paris, where traditions will hold apparently for ever, the mistress of the house enters the kitchen at an early hour, and herself prepares them for the family. The peasants in France, according to Victor Hugo, never fail to make pancakes on February 2, and this is done not from culinary motives alone, but out of superstition, as it is believed by this simple folk that the flour thus handled ensures a good harvest of corn.

Prized Recipes. There are, of course, many preparations, and almost every province in France has a recipe that is supposed to be better than those of others. A* everybody knows, eggs play the important part in the nature of this dish. As you in England have your pancake day on Shrove Tuesday, a recipe for making pancakes without eggs may be worth nothing. For a cupful of flour, a piece of butter the size of an egg is -required, and, with the addition of a little milk and water and a pinch of salt, a smooth paste is made. A dessert spoonful of bakingpowder replaces the eggs. A mixture of oil and butter is put into a frying pan, and when well heated a tablespoonful of the paste is dropped therein. When the paste bubbles on one side it is turned on the other, and a number of small cakes are thus obtained. These can be served with either salt or sugar, according to taste; but in every case piping hot.

Another kind of pancake is obtained by scraping raw potatoes, peeled, of course, mixed with flour and water to make the usual paste, fried as before, and served with a lettuce salad.