Shrove Tuesday traditions from around the world

Shrove Tuesday traditions from around the world

Italy – Carnevale

Carnevale is a three-week celebration of flamboyant parades and beautiful costumes which marks the last chance to indulge before Lent. A popular sweet treat to enjoy during Carnevale is chiacchiere (pictured below), a golden deep-fried sweet dough sprinkled with icing sugar and, depending on the region, served with melted dark chocolate or zabaione, a classic Italian custard.

This February, you can get your hands on chiacchiere at Lina Stores, available in its King's Cross and Marylebone sites as well as for takeaway from the Soho deli.

New Orleans – Mardis Gras

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which is the last day where people eat rich, fatty foods before the fasting of the Lenten season. Celebrations vary across cities; in New Orleans, Mardi Gras parades are a vibrant display of masks and costumes, lasting two weeks and culminating on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). King cake, po' boys, jambalaya, beignets (shown below) and pancakes are a few foods typically eaten during celebrations.

Denmark – Fastelavn

In Denmark, to mark the coming of Lent, Fastelavn, or Shrovetide, takes place seven weeks before Easter Monday on a Sunday. A popular treat to enjoy during celebrations is fastelavnsboller, or lent buns (pictured below). Found in Danish bakeries and supermarkets in the weeks leading up to fastelavn, the pastry buns are filled with cream or jam and topped with fruits, chocolate or icing.

Canada – Shrove Tuesday

Similar to how we celebrate in the UK, Canadians celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes, using up any eggs, milk and butter before the start of lent. The UK's staple lemon and sugar is swapped for maple syrup and bacon, along with more unfamiliar toppings such as partridgeberry jam and sausages. Many pancakes also include small objects in the mix, such as coins, buttons, rings or bits of string, with each object symbolising a certain fate (it's believed that those who find coins in their pancakes will become rich).

Trinidad and Tobago – Carnival

Held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event famous for its colourful costumes, calypso music and energetic celebrations. Food is integral to Carnival, with popular street food dishes including corn soup and doubles (pictured below) — two pieces of flat fried bread filled with curried chickpeas, with condiments such as hot pepper sauce, pickled green mango and tamarind chutney.

Poland – Fat Thursday

Pancakes, pastries and jam-filled doughnuts are what's on the menu in Poland on Fat Thursday, held on the last Thursday before Lent. It's one of the busiest days of the year, with bakeries opening earlier than usual to prep for the day ahead. Historically speaking this was not always the case; the 17th Century saw the Polish celebrating by eating excessive amounts of bacon, lard and vodka for a whole week. A traditional Polish delicacy to celebrate Fat Thursday is deep fried Polish chruściki (shown below), also known as angel wings.

Holland – Vastenavond

Despite being the home of the enduringly popular Dutch pancake, Shrove Tuesday doesn't involve pancake flipping in the Netherlands. Instead, Tuesday marks the last day of Carnival, also called Vastenavond, where parades line the streets. People also use up any rich and fatty foods before Vastentijd (Ash Wednesday). On the Tuesday, Dutch people often eat stamppot, a meal consisting of mashed potatoes, vegetables and meat.

Pancake recipes from around the world

Japan

Shrove Tuesday is not a tradition in Japan, however that's not to say the country is short on pancake dishes. Japan is the birthplace of light, airy and fluffier-than-clouds soufflé pancakes, where egg whites are whipped up to form a meringue before being gently folded into the batter.

If savoury is more your thing, have a go at recreating okonomiyaki, a trendy Japanese savoury pancake that's cooked on a flat griddle. Made with wheat flour, pancake fillings typically include cabbage, meat, or seafood, with toppings such as okonomiyaki sauce, seaweeds flakes and pickled ginger.

Vietnam

Pancake Day is not celebrated in Vietnam, however these Vietnamese pancakes make a great addition to your savoury pancake repertoire. Uyen Luu's recipe for Vietnamese bánh xèo is light and herby, stuffed with salad leaves and juicy king prawns.

China

Crisp savoury pancakes are a popular street food and breakfast dish in China, where a thin, chewy pancake provides the perfect base for roast duck, pork or chicken. If you're looking for a classic recipe, try Ching-He Huang's Peking duck pancakes, or make our crispy duck and peach pancakes for a sweeter twist. Alternatively, check out our duck with mole sauce and Peking-style pancakes – it's a Chinese-Mexican hybrid which is mainstream in America.

For those not so keen with sweet pancake variety, pay a visit to London restaurant Din Tai Fung for its crispy golden prawn pancake (pictured below), where a crispy fried exterior encases pockets of juicy prawns and pork.

Mexico

Mexican hotcakes are a popular sweet street food which are similar to American pancakes due to their thick and fluffy texture. Sweet toppings include brown butter, cinnamon maple syrup and spiced goat's milk caramel. Gorditas de Nata, (pictured below), are also similar to pancakes, but look more like an English muffin.

Alternatively, you could give your pancakes a Mexican-inspired twist with these savoury quesadilla pancakes from BBC Good Food.