Over 12 million pancakes will be devoured in Ireland on Shrove Tuesday, according to a studycarried out by Empathy Research. The study was commissioned by Siúcra, and has revealed some curious facts about the tradition.
The survey revealed that the average person enjoys 2.55 pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, with an impressive 70% of the population making their pancakes from scratch, while 20% will rely on a ready mix, 6% will use ready-made pancakes, and 4% will enjoy pancakes in a café or restaurant.
Just under a third of the survey’s respondents (31%) admitted to not knowing the ingredients in a basic pancake batter, with males significantly less likely (59%) to know the ingredients than females (79%).
Joanne McAllister, Trade Marketing Manager for Siúcra Ireland said, “At Siúcra we want to inspire people to rediscover the joy of home cooking. Pancake Tuesday is the perfect excuse to get creative and have some fun in the kitchen and something that all the family can get involved with. It is also a great opportunity for children to witness simple ingredients being turned into delicious creations and to enjoy the spectacle of pancake tossing.
“Preparing pancakes doesn’t require a great deal of skill or time and they are an extremely versatile dish. The choice of fillings and toppings is endless so once you have mastered a basic batter, you can experiment with sweet and savoury options to create a dish that can be enjoyed at any time of the day. To encourage people to rustle up a stack of pancakes, we have developed delicious new recipes to show how Siúcra can transform your humble pancake from drab to fab.”
When it comes to pancake toppings, Empathy Research’s study found that Irish people have a preference for sweet toppings with a small minority (12%) choosing savoury options such as cheese, ham, bacon and chorizo. The nation’s favourite topping is the classic combination of lemon and sugar (38%) followed by maple syrup (20%) and chocolate spread (15%).
While it is customary to flip pancakes, less than half (43%) of Irish adults will be practicing their flipping skills on Pancake Tuesday, with men (53%) significantly more likely to do so that women (34%).
Siúcra has developed delicious new recipes especially for Pancake Tuesday including Black Forest Pancakes, a revamped version of the retro classic, Gingerbread Pancakes with Sticky Bananas, which your little monkeys will go bananas for, Crêpes with Raspberries and Chocolate Fudge Sauce to add a dash of ‘je ne sai quoi’ to your pancake party and Spinach Pancakes with Caramelised Ham and Cheese, which are sure to brighten up any plate.
Siúcra is also offering recipes, tips and prize competitions on its website as well as its Facebook and Instagram.
The nationally representative survey was conducted in February 2017 by Empathy Research through an online omnibus survey. A sample size of 1,003 was achieved with quotas set on gender, age, social class and region to achieve a sample aligned with national population.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donncha Mac Cóil
