January 28 is National Blueberry Pancake Day. IHOP is trying to muscle in and create their own “Pancake Day” on February 5th. In many parts of the world, pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras). But that occurs the following Tuesday – Feb. 12th. Just what are you doing, IHOP? Trying to bypass the official petition-your-congressman procedure? We’re sticklers for the official rules, which state that September 26 is the true National Pancake Day, and that’s what we’re going with. See how easy it is to get bogged down in the details, though?
Pancakes were created by the same folks who gave us Plato, democracy, gyros, and the Olympics. Hats off to Ancient Greece! They were called tagenon, which means “frying pan,” and were originally made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and curdled milk. A papyrus scroll was recently unearthed in an archeological dig near Athens; scholars made the startling discovery that it is in fact an ancient fast-food menu touting a breakfast sandwich called the McTagenon, a precursor to the McGriddle. (It should be noted that not all scholars agree with this particular interpretation). Eventually, the thin, round cakes spread throughout Europe and Asia, with multiple regional variations including crepes, potato pancakes, blintzes, blini, and crumpets. The first reference to the word “pancake” appears in the 15th century. In North America, pancakes are sometimes called flapjacks, hotcakes, griddlecakes, or johnnycakes. They are typically served at breakfast topped with butter and maple syrup, and occasionally double as blankets for pigs. In other parts of the world pancakes may be topped with ingredients like fruit, honey, jam, cream, cheese, nuts, and vegetables.
Fruit is often added to pancake batter, and in the U.S., blueberry pancakes are especially popular. It’s no wonder they’ve got their own food holiday! We wanted to savor our blueberry pancakes, so instead of knocking back a quick microwaveable breakfast, we decided to make Brinner instead. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, Brinner is simply “BReakfast for dINNER.”
God, I miss Scrubs.
Anyway, Tara whipped up blueberry pancakes from scratch, and we were good to go!
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