PANCAKES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 July 1940, Page 8

PANCAKES

A SCOTCH RECIPE. I I wonder if readers know about the I Scotch girdle? says an overseas writj er. It is a thick, round sheet of iron with a semi-circular handle over the top. As with the old-fashioned frying pan, there is a small ring at the top of the handle for hanging it over the fire from a hook and chain down the chimney. In cottages on the west coast of i Scotland small round pancakes are still made over the fire, but Ihe girdle, or if you haven't one, a thick S frying pan, can be heated over a gas f ring, moving it about so that it is | evenly heated. | The pancake batter is made from S about half a pound of flour, half a I teaspoonful of baking soda, a teaI spoonful of syrup and a tablespoon- | ful of sugar mixed together with a 1 beaten egg and enough buttermilk to | make it fairly thick. The Scots house- | wife I questioned knows her recipe too 3 well to’ weight anything, for she has i used “four handfuls of flour, and two I fingers of soda since she was married £ 30 years ago or more.

She told me the important things to remember as I watched her bake them. ‘'Start heating the girdle before you mix the batter and rub it over with a piece of suet. It should be hot enough to smell slightly, but not burn. Quickly pul on tablespoonfuls of batter, allowing it to run oil the side of the spoon. Leave the pancakes until bubbles appear and then turn them over with a knife. They should be brown on both sides and can be eaten hot or cold, spread with jam or butter.” , When I remarked that buttermilk was sometimes difficult to get. she told me that sweet milk was all right if you added a teaspoonful of cream of tartar to the flour. "But it costs more that way.” she added. "Sometimes I only use half an egg in winter, or, if it’s party time and I want some whites, I use the yolk alone.”