The Tuesday before Lent is Shrove Tuesday , better - cognize in theUnited Kingdomas Pancake Day . accord to custom , Anglo - Saxon Christians would cook up big heap of pancakes to use up rich constituent likeeggsand butter before the 40 - day Lenten fast . When the church building rang the " Pancake Bell " on Shrove Tuesday ( exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday ) , the faithful were call to confession where their sins were forgiven or " shriven . "

Today , Pancake Day is still widely celebrate in the U.K. with prison term - reward tradition like aproned housewivesracing through the streets holding frying pans , total townsplaying massive games of street soccer , and of course , eating loads of delightful pancakes .

In the spirit of make better pancakes , a squad of physicists based in Poland have created thePerfect Pancake Calculator , which doles out scientifically try ratio for cooking up 15 dissimilar types of outside pancakes . British - style flapcake , for example , are light and crepe - like , while Canadian ploye are dense and bubbly and only cooked on one side . Select the type of pancake you need and the calculator will tell apart you what proportions of Milk River , flour , eggs and rock oil you require , as well as give specific preparation education .

Olney Pancake Race

Depending on how slight or thick you need your battercake to be will affect how much flour and Milk River you add . " The higher the amount of dry ingredients , the thick the mixture that ca n’t spread out on the surface of the cooking pan uniformly and form a perfectly circular hot cake , " the calculator website notes . " During the preparation , water supply from the hitter vaporizeslifting a substance just a bit . If the batter is too thick , it will be propel upward unevenly , and therefore some part will get electrocute more than others — that ’s how craters and island are formed . "

It might seem odd for a pair of Ph.D. students to spend so much clock time thinking about things like " pancake geometry " ( a volume of hitter multiplied by a flannel-cake ’s diameter ) , but they are part of the crew atThe Omni Calculator Project , a startup whose goal is to make life story a little easier by aid humankind make smarter decisions .

" We have a net ton of pocket-sized or big decisions to make . Often , they involve a spot of math — we purchase houses , start line , boil eggs for breakfast . And this is when we go the easy route and trust on a hunch , instead of hard data , " writes Omni Calculator father Mateusz Mucha in an email . " We ’re making these job wanton , quick and merriment to solve so that next time you have a decision to make , you make it the right way . "

Other handy solid food - related calculators you might want to check out are theCoffee to Water Ratio Calculatorthat spits out exact measurements of H2O to coffee berry earth for different coffee berry durability and brewing methods ( dripping , French pressure , cold brew ) and thePizza Party Calculatorwhich state you exactly how many pies to order based on the number of people and their thirst level ( yes , " starving " is an option ) .

Pancake Day FAQ