Tesco has unveiled the nation’s pancake preferences ahead of Shrove Tuesday. The supermarket giant says the average UK adult will tuck into four and over half will have at least one.
When it comes to the savoury versus sweet debate, it says we’re a sweet-toothed nation, with 87% of people it surveyed citing sweet varieties as their favourite. Yet many less traditional savoury toppings and fillings remain popular, including chicken (15%), vegetables (12%), steak (9%), salsa and guacamole (9%) and even curry (6%).
Jamie Robinson, Tesco Executive Chef, suggests trying a cannelloni – or crêpe style – pancake for something different. He said: "Pretty much anything works, but one of my go-to recipes is grilled chicken, mozzarella, and sun-blushed tomato pesto all rolled in a crêpe, topped with more mozzarella and baked until golden brown."
For a grown-up pancake, add a little drop of orange liqueur into the pancake batter. Tesco also suggests trying its recipes for Millionaire’s pancakes, extra sweet Birthday Cake pancakes. - and even savoury Hot Dog pancakes with caramelised onions and drizzled with mustard and ketchup.
The nation’s top 10 pancake toppings according to Tesco
- Lemon juice (48%)
- Sugar (46%)
- Maple syrup (29%)
- Ham and cheese (24%)
- Nutella (24%)
- Bacon (19%)
- Sausage (18%)
- Banana (16%)
- Cream cheese (15%)
- Chicken (15%)
When it comes to when they’re eaten, those aged 18-34 eat pancakes the most frequently (16 times a year), with breakfast being the preferred meal of the day to enjoy them (46%), compared to the one in five (20%) who prefer to eat them as an evening meal. By contrast, those aged over 55 are most likely to enjoy them as an evening meal - half (48%) are most likely to eat them at this time, compared to the 21% of over 55s who prefer to eat them at breakfast.
The figures come from a survey of 2,000 UK adults between January 23 and 25 conducted by Opinium Research.
