Learn the history of pancakes while eating banana pancakes

I used to love pancakes when I was little and drowning them in maple syrup. After awhile I thought, perhaps I like maple syrup and not the pancake? Well, it seems, yes, I do love maple syrup but I have noticed, pancakes bring out the best in maple syrup. They compliment each other perfectly. The pancake gently soaks up all the maple syrup like a sponge but not so much so that you can’t taste it and maple syrup isn’t so sweet that you can’t have more. It occurred to me, I have no idea how long pancakes have been around.

It seems researchers have found pancake remnants of pancakes in the stomachs of human remains dating as far back as 5300 years. In ancient Greece and Rome they made pancakes with wheat flour, olive oil, honey and curdled milk. [3] Sounds very decadent!

I enjoy eating food from all cultures and I have noticed there is a version of a pancake in almost every cuisine I have had. Koreans have this pancake like dish called Buchimgae [4]. It is a mix of pan friend ingredients that are fried in a batter with egg mixed in. So kind of like a savory pancake/omelette type dish.

The Dutch have these great little pancakes called Poffertjes [5]. The first time I had these they looked so cute and tasted even better. They were fried in these little pans that almost looked like muffin tins only smaller and more cups. The result was fantastic! Little pancake bites sprinkled with icing sugar! Yummy.

Crepes are another type of pancake that is very familiar to many. Normally associated with French cuisine, they can be found throughout Europe, Canada and parts of South America. A crepe is a very thin pancake usually filled with some type of filling which is rolled up in the thin pancake or crepe. Depending on the filling there are two types of crepes, sweet or savory. As a result, crepes can be eaten as a dessert or for a light meal like breakfast or lunch. [6]

There are a lot more pancakes out there in the world. Every country seems to have their take on the pancake. 24 Pancakes from Around the Worldgives a nice description of 24 different variations of pancakes from different countries with recipes.

Below is a recipe for banana pancakes that I found at 3 Ingredient Banana Pancakes Glueten-Free Flourless, Low-Calorie when I wanted pancakes but only had bananas and eggs. It’s a perfect recipe because you don’t need much at all. They are also flourless so perfect for those that are gluten free. [1]

banana pancake frying. — Here is a banana pancaked cooking.

Ingredients:

1½ large bananas, ripe to overripe (~200g)
2 eggs
⅛ tsp baking powder

Directions:

Mix the eggs and baking powder together.
In another bowl, mash the bananas up leaving chunks.
Pour the wet egg mixture into the bananas and mix.
Scoop batter out into a frying pan, like you would with pancake batter, and fry. Flip and fry other side.
Serve with berries or maple syrup.

Recipe notes:

The riper, (is that a word?), the bananas, the better. Even overripe bananas are good. When mashing up the bananas, leave some chunks as the chunks add to the fluffiness of the pancake. I do find when frying these pancakes you have to be careful when you go to flip them otherwise they will not be set and with sploosh (is that a work?) all over the place making a mess. I also like to “overcook” the first side of the pancake so I am more confident the pancake will stay together before I flip it.

Modifications for future versions:

I have tried modifications to this recipe where I have added a bit of match powder or a bit of protein powder. There is not a lot that can be modified as there are only 3 ingredients!

cricket protein powder banana pancakes — Here is my protein powder banana pancake modification. I used cricket protein powder.

Tea pairings:

Since this is a breakfast and I usually enjoy a black, or stronger tea with a bit of milk first thing in the morning, that is what I would pair any breakfast dish with. However, bananas usually have a mild flavour. Although, very ripe bananas have a strong flavour and scent. For a milder flavoured banana, I would suggest a milder tea like white or green. However, if the bananas are the on the very ripe or overripe side, I may go with whatever tea you usually have in the mornings, so in my case a black tea.

Note:

I’m no cook, chef, baker or tea somelier. So everything I make and suggest is based on the enjoyment of creating something new, cooking, baking and especially tea! I hope you enjoy the recipes and suggestions, both making them and the trying the results!

References:

3 Ingredient Banana Pancakes Glueten-Free Flourless, Low-Calorie, July 2013, Eugine Kitchen, URL: http://eugeniekitchen.com/banana-pancakes/
Beginners guide to pairing tea with food, Andreea Macoveiciuc, Jan 2014, River Tea, URL: http://www.rivertea.com/blog/beginners-guide-pairing-tea-food/
The history of pancakes, June 2015, Kate’s Kitchen, URL: http://www.kateskitchenkc.com/blog/the-history-of-pancakes/
Buchimgae, Wikipedia, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchimgae
Poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes), Tara, June 2016, Tara’s Multicultural Table, URL: https://tarasmulticulturaltable.com/poffertjes-dutch-mini-pancakes/
Crepe, Wikipedia, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%AApe
24 pancakes from around the world, Tashween Ali, Feb 2014, Buzz Feed, URL: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tashweenali/pancakes-from-around-the-world

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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!