Whole Earth partners with celeb chef Simon Rimmer to celebrate Pancake Day winners
Ahead of Shrove Tuesday, Whole Earth polled UK consumers to find what they will be tucking into today, with findings revealing the classic lemon and sugar combo is still the favourite.
More than 135 million pancakes will be scoffed today, an average of seven pancakes per household.
Thinner and larger in radius to the American-style, English pancakes first appeared in 13th Century cookbooks – along with the lemon/sugar flavouring.
More luxuriant toppings from other regions – like chocolate spread, maple syrup and marshmallows – have grown in popularity, however, 61% of those polled by Whole Earth are traditionalists. Coming in second, with a big drop, chocolate spread was voted a preference for 23% of fans. 11% of the group veered towards the American combo of bacon and syrup, while 6% will be going the savoury route.
One in two would like to be more adventuring with their filling and topping choice, yet 37% hadn’t even considered peanut butter.
Top 10 toppings
1 | Lemon & sugar | 61% |
2 | Chocolate spread & strawberries | 23% |
3 | Choc spread & banana | 20% |
4 | Banana & syrup | 14% |
5 | Bacon & syrup | 11% |
6 | Choc spread & marshmallows | 10% |
7 | Blueberries & syrup | 10% |
8 | Cheese & ham | 6% |
9 | Peanut butter & banana | 6% |
10 | PB & choc spread | 5% |
Whole Earth commissioned Perspectus Global to poll 2,000 UK-based adults in February 2023, to heighten the Drizzler, its squeezy peanut butter launched in April last year, as a perfect pancake partner.
Nicola Turner, Whole Earth brand controller at Ecotone UK, “Our research reveals the nation is divided when it comes to pancakes. We are getting more adventurous when it comes to recipes, but the nation is missing out, as peanut butter isn’t enjoying the spotlight it deserves.”
The brand has teamed up with UK celeb chef Simon Rimmer to help win its place in the nation’s favourite toppings, by squeezing more out of Pancake Day with his recipes, available on its website.
Do you turn or flip?
According to the survey, the nation is divided on this one, with 51% taking a slow flip in the pan and 49% throwing caution to the wind.
Of those who flip, 22% say those who don’t are missing the point of Pancake Day.
The pancake capital of the UK is London, where people will eat an average of eight of the fluffy treats, followed by Leicester (7.6), Liverpool (7.4), Oxford (7.4) and Sheffield (7.3).
A third of the nation’s parents admit to feeling under pressure on Pancake Day. The secret to get through it unscathed is to make enough batter (52%), never underestimate the number of pancakes everyone will eat (35%) and use a non-stick pan (33%).
One in four Brits claim to never resort to a batter mix, while 20% believe the answer lies in making the batter in the morning and refrigerating it.