Q 01/05

What leavening agent gives American and Scottish pancakes their thick, fluffy texture?

A) Baking powder

B) Yeast

C) Whipped egg whites

D) Sourdough starter

Answer · why

A) Baking powder

French crêpes and Nordic pancakes skip it entirely, which is why they come out thin enough to roll.

Q 02/05

Which of these is NOT another name for a pancake in North America?

A) Hotcake

B) Popover

C) Griddlecake

D) Flapjack

Answer · why

B) Popover

A popover is a puffed egg batter baked in a hot tin, closer to a Yorkshire pudding; the other three are all pancakes.

Q 03/05

A 'silver dollar' pancake is about how big across?

A) 1 to 2 inches

B) 5 to 6 inches

C) 2 to 3 inches

D) 8 to 9 inches

Answer · why

C) 2 to 3 inches

It is named for being a shade bigger than the US silver dollar coins minted before 1979.

Q 04/05

Historically, why were pancakes made on Shrove Tuesday?

A) To honour the patron saint of bakers

B) To mark the end of the harvest

C) To feed pilgrims on the road to Rome

D) To use up fat and eggs before Lent

Answer · why

D) To use up fat and eggs before Lent

The name comes from 'shrive', to be absolved after confession; the French call the same day Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday.

Q 05/05

Shrove Tuesday can fall on any date within which range?

A) 3 February to 9 March

B) 1 January to 28 February

C) 1 March to 15 April

D) 14 February to 20 March

Answer · why

A) 3 February to 9 March

It sits 47 days before Easter, so it moves with the moon; the earliest and latest are about five weeks apart.