This article will be addressing the age old question: Pancakes or Waffles? It will be looking at the history of both, and seeing what people think nowaday.
The history of the pancake, scientists say, can date back 30,000 years to when people were making flour out of cattails and ferns. There is very solid evidence that pancakes were around 3,500 years ago. The pancakes that were made that long ago were just a sort of flour or cornmeal that was combined with water and cooked on an open fire, so it is debatable that you can actually call them pancakes.
The unofficial pancake has been around for 3,500 years, but when was the more modern pancake established? The Elizabethans ate pancakes flavored with spices, rosewater, sherry, and apples. These pancakes were usually eaten right before lent, as a way to combine the eggs, milk, and butter, that you could not eat during lent, into one delicious last hurrah.
American Cookery, was thought to be the first all-American cookbook. It was published in 1796 and had two recipes for pancakes, although they were called “Johnny Cakes” and “Indian Slapjacks.” These pancakes were a little more complex than the ones that our Neolithic relatives ate, they were made with milk, cornmeal or flour, and molasses. These pancakes eventually developed into the buttery goodness we eat to today.
Waffles, unlike the pancake, have been around for a shorter period of time, they were actually derived from pancakes in the 1200s. A craftsman made a set of “irons” that had the shape of honeycombs on them to make the pancakes into waffles.
At the beginning of the French Revolution Thomas Jefferson left his position as the minister of France and returned to the U.S.A, he brought back with him a waffle iron and because of this “waffle frolics” or waffle parties were invented. A waffle party was an event where guests could enjoy waffles sweetened with maple syrup or molasses, or they could have them savory with kidney stew. This savory treat eventually evolved into a southern favorite now known as: chicken and waffles.
Now that we know the history of both the waffle and the pancake, let’s shift to the present day and see which breakfast food is favored by the student body at Bethany Christian Schools.
I did a poll to see which was the crowd favorite today, and the vote was split 51%-49% with the slight majority of people who voted preferring pancakes over waffles. It is understandable that people like pancakes better, given that have been around for a longer period of time. However the other way to look at it would be to say that since waffles have not been around for so long, people would like the variety they bring to the breakfast table.
All in all I think that we can agree that waffles and pancakes are both an amazing breakfast treat, and no matter which came first, they have both come a long way, and are a delectable breakfast meal.