The top cooking mishaps Brits will suffer on Shrove Tuesday include their pancakes burning, ripping while cooking, or sticking to the pan – with over 25 million of the tasty treats set to go to waste next week.
A poll of 2,000 adults found that the typical UK household will make five pancakes on the big day next Tuesday (February 21st) – but 19% of these won't be successful.
Across the UK, this will add up to 25,133,195 pancakes being deemed inedible, with 38% destined for the bin, while 11% will be fed to pets – although three in ten (29%) will eat their failed pancakes regardless.
Other common pancake flops Brits have faced, and expect to experience again, include lumps of flour or bits of broken eggshell in the batter, or flipping the pancake and it landing on the floor or the hob.
Almost a quarter (23%) treat the first pancake they make as a practice run, with 32% saying this one always turns out the worst.
But nearly half (46%) say that these mishaps are part of the fun of Pancake Day.
The research, commissioned by Utilita Energy as part of its Bill Busters series, also revealed one in five (19%) make too much batter.
To combat waste, the supplier has worked with chef Jamie Oliver to create a pancake calculator.
Archie Lasseter, Utilita Energy’s sustainability lead, said: “It’s ironic that a day that was traditionally created to use up leftover ingredients, has now resulted in a lot of waste – and all the while, the cooking costs will be adding up.
“It’s always a fun event, testing out our flipping skills and getting creative with toppings, but this year more than ever, people will be wary of the cost.
“To help households budget, after answering a few basic questions, our smart calculator reveals the exact ingredients required, and how much each pancake will cost to make and cook.”
The research also found that Brits only rate their flipping skills a five out of ten on average, and typically make two lots of batter before it’s “right”.
And while 71% would prefer their pancakes to be overcooked, 16% opt for undercooked.
Despite three-quarters (76%) feeling confident when making their own batter from scratch, only 62% do so on pancake day.
One in three (32%) will buy a ready-made mix, either to save time (54%), to avoid wasted ingredients (42%), or because they believe it’s cheaper than buying separate food items (31%).
Nearly six in ten (59%) use what they already have in the home, in keeping with the traditional meaning of Shrove Tuesday – but 31% buy new especially for the occasion.
Those polled, via OnePoll, estimated the cost of ingredients at 30 pence, while they think the energy used to make a single pancake amounts to 10 pence.
However, Utilita’s stats revealed it’s much less – just 18 pence for the ingredients, and only a penny to cook a pancake, on average.
TOP 15 MISHAPS WHEN MAKING PANCAKES:
- Pancake sticking to the pan
- Burnt pancake
- Pancake ripping while cooking
- Broken eggshell in the batter
- Flipped and landed on the floor
- Lumps of flour in the batter
- Undercooked pancake
- Flipped and landed on the hob
- Cooked batter looked or tasted like scrambled egg rather than pancake
- Ran out of ingredients
- Used self-raising flour instead of plain flour
- Flipped and dropped the pan in the process
- Flipped and it fell down the back of the cooker
- Batter spat out the pan and caused a burn
- Flipped and it landed on someone
