Pancakes

Pancakes

Sudi Pigott: Flipping Good! (Kyle Books 207)

Who doesn’t love pancakes!? Pancakes are probably the most ancient food that we have prepared. Already in the Stone Age, our ancestors had a device with which they milled cereal grains into flour, and then mixed them with water and baked them into cakes on a flat stone placed on coals. In its present form, the Romans were probably the first to make pancakes, the sweet dough of which was made from eggs, milk, water and flour and eaten fried with pepper and honey.

In addition to the traditional ingredients, pancakes are also made from quinoa, coconut, chestnuts or chickpeas, so even those with gluten sensitivity can eat them. There are also pancakes with yeast or potatoes, such as the Finnish ‘pannukakku’ or the Irish ‘boxty’. In addition to traditional jam or cocoa, the fillings can also be variable: e.g. meat, onion, egg or seafood. You can eat them for breakfast, as a dessert or as a main dish. In many places, it is a typical dish of the festive period too: in France, on February 2nd, on the day of the Chandeleur, pancakes filled with apples or cherries to make the whole year happy, in the Scandinavian countries, ‘ableskiver’ (pancake dumplings) is an indispensable element of the Christmas breakfast. In this book, we find different pancake recipes from 25 countries, from American to Indian to fragrant Arabic specialties. The recipes are illustrated with wonderful and mouth-watering pictures.

Sudi Pigott is called the ‘ambassador of pancakes’ by her friends, because she comes home from every vacation with newer and newer recipes. The author is obsessed with good food and has been writing about the best ingredients, artisan producers, specialty shops, culinary trends and gastro destinations for over a decade. She currently lives in London with her husband and son.