Related Literature

Pancakes are ancient food. The word pancakes appears in print as early as 1430. Pancakes may
have been around since Neolithic humans domesticated einkorn wheat, ground it into flour mixed
with bird’s egg and goat’s milk and poured the batter on a heated rock.
It happened before there were pans and long before ovens. The ancient cooks dropped a little
gruel on a hot rock of campfire, resulting in thin cakes that were tastier than plain gruel or cakes
cooked directly in the embers of the fire.
Perhaps because of this ancient lineage, pancakes are associated with rituals in many countries –
Shrove Tuesday, Candlemas, and Chanukah to name a few.
From these rudimentary beginnings sprang a vast array of bread and pancakes, but the two were
originally the same. The ancient Greeks used griddles to cook a flat loaf drizzled with honey called
‘kreion’ and cakes of soft cheese. The Romans as revealed in the cookbook by Apicius made
dishes similar to modern pancakes. Medieval pancakes, frequently made form barley or rye and
lacking leavening, were relatively heavy affairs. They were quite different from contemporary fluffy
or tender versions. Pancake Day is another name for Shrive Tuesday, from the custom of eating
pancakes on this day, still generally observed. Shrive is an old Saxon word, of which shrove is a
corruption and signifies confession.

The custom of dining on pancakes on Shrove Tuesday is Roman Catholic origin that on the day
when all rejoiced alike in the forgiveness of their sins, all should feast alike on the same simple
dish. The pancakes were prepared, denoted by the ringing of the ‘pancake bell’ from the church
tower.Pancakes are an essential part of a classic American breakfast. One of George
Washington’s breakfast foods were pancakes that literally in maple syrup. He would plunge each
piece of his pancake under the syrup, sopping it good before he ate it.

Pancakes somehow evolved to be exclusively Sunday morning or overnight-guest breakfast fare.

Since they are easy to make and there are so many different ways to prepare them, pancakes are
a favorite’s hearty food to cook for a crowd. The first colonial settlers were taught by local Native
American to make griddlecakes from Rhode Island Narragansett maize. These griddlecakes soon
became a staple, known among the settlers as johnnycakes. Pancakes prevailed as the
household bread in homes with no ovens, only an open hearth.
Pancakes in the Horn of Africa region (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia) are known as
injera (sometimes transliterated enjera; Oromo: budenaa; Somali: canjeero). Injera is a yeast-
risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teffflour, it is a
national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia (where it is called
canjeero or lahooh) and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh).
Pancakes in South Africa refer to crepes. They are traditionally prepared by the Afrikaans
community on gas stoves, and called a pannekoek in Afrikaans, eaten on wet and cold days.
Pannekoeke are served with cinnamon-flavored sugar (and sometimes lemon juice); the sugar
may be left to dissolve onto the pancake; if eaten immediately the pancake is crispy. It is a staple
at Dutch Reformed Church fetes.[20] American-style "silver dollar" pancakes are eaten in South
Africa, as "plaatkoekies" or "flapjacks". In South Africa, there is a variation of the pancake called a
crumpet. It is made from self-raising flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt. The smooth batter is fried
in butter resulting in a slightly raised flat cake. Crumpets are always served hot, usually for
breakfast, with butter and golden syrup.
India has many styles of Pancakes. Variations range from taste to main ingredient used. All Indian
pancakes are made without using any raising agent. Pancakes prepared using north Indian
cooking style are named "Cheela". Sweet Cheelas are made using Wheat flour based batter
sweetened by Sugar or Jaggery. North Indian salty pancakes are made using batter prepared
from Gram flour or green gram paste (moong daal). Salty pancakes are sometimes garnished with
Indian cottage cheese - Paneer. Pancakes in north Indian cooking style resemble more with
Crepe than American flapjacks due lack of any rising agent. Dosa, Appam, Neer dosa, and
Uttapam are pancakes prepared using south Indian cooking style. They are prepared by
fermenting rice batter and split skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water. Meetha pooda
are a common breakfast food item in the Punjab. It is a sweet pancake which can be eaten with
pickles and chutney. Most of the pithas inAssam are types of pancakes served on occasions such
as Bihu. In Bengal is found a semi-sweet pancake called pati-shapta which is sometimes stuffed
with grated coconut and thickened milk and dunked in sugar syrup. In Goa, a traditional Goan
pancake called "AleBele" or "Alle Belle" is eaten at tea time, the pancake is closer to a crepe in
texture and filled with jaggery & coconut mixture.

Related studies
“THE UTILIZATION OF TIYESA (Pouteria lucuma) AS MAIN INGREDIENT IN PANCAKES” by
Precious Balgona and Christopher Tambogon of Mariano Marcos State University on November
16, 2012. This study was designed to determine the feasibility of tiyesa (Pouteria lucuma) fruit as
pancake ingredient. The data on the organoleptic tests like appearance, texture and taste were
used. The acceptability test used 5 Points Hedonic scale with corresponding numerical score
(Highly acceptable, very acceptable, acceptable, not so acceptable, not acceptable). Thirty (30)
respondents were randomly selected at Brgy.10, San Jose and Brgy. 9, Sta. Angela, Laoag City.
Results were statistically treated using mean average scores. The formulation made of 25% tiyesa
(Pouteria lucuma) + 75% flour was recommended for making pancakes. The product was rated
the most preferred in terms of taste, appearance and acceptability.

It was recommended that further improvement of appearance, texture and taste should be done to
make the product better. The researchers also recommend the search for other ingredients that
can be added to the product to improve its taste.