Six strange Pancake Day facts in Britain

We have put together six strange Pancake day facts as today (Tuesday the 28th of February) is Pancake Day also known as Shrove Tuesday, marking 40 days leading to Easter. Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use egg and fat before Lenten fast began and pancakes were the best was to use up the ingredients. Here are the top six weirdest pancake day facts in Britain.

1. Traditionally the day was meant for fasting when Saxon Christians went to confessions and were absolved from their sins when a bell would be rung. That bell still exists but is now known as the pancake bell.

2. The most well-known and said to be the oldest Pancake Day races are held in Olney in Buckinghamshire. It originated from 1445 when a women heard the shriving bell when making pancakes and ran to the church still in her apron according to tradition. From this grew the race, where contestants, who can only be local housewives in from the area, must wear an apron and scarf or hat on their heads with a frying pan containing a hot pancake and during the race they must toss the pancake three times. The winner is the first women to get to the church, serve her pancake to the bell ringer and be kissed by him.​

3. Dean Gould in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in 1995 did 349 flips in two minutes, which is currently is the largest number of pancake flips in the shortest amount of time.

4. The day also contains several sport activities including street football, which is still experienced in Tamworth Herald and Warwickshire where they hold their annual Atherstone Ball Game.

5. The largest pancake in Britain was organised by The Co-operative Union Ltd based in Manchester, England. Measuring up to 15.01 m (49 ft 3 in) in diameter and 2.5 cm (1 in) on August 13, 1994.

6. An estimated amount of 52million eggs are used on pancake day in the UK.

Watch video below to make pancake using BBC Good Food Perfect Pancake recipe.​​​​​​​​