On your marks, get set…go!

You can’t get a tastier – and better for the budget – tradition than Pancake Day.

With Shrove Tuesday on February 28, get ready to celebrate the day by reaching for the frying pan and the most basic of ingredients.

In Gravesend town centre shops and businesses will come together for the annual pancake race.

Heats will take place at noon and 12.30pm with shoppers gathering to watch the hotly-contested fun.

Town centre manager, Graham Long, said: “Come down and join us for this fun, free event.

“It’s a chance to see and support your favourite shops and businesses having a laugh, some fun and a flipping good time.”

The fifth annual race day is held in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation, and sponsored by the Buzz Local Gravesham, with pancakes coming from McDonald’s and Outline Health & Fitness at Cascades Leisure Centre providing pre-race warm-ups.

In Hollingbourne, the seventh annual pancake race will be held from 1.30pm to 3pm at Cardwell Pavilion.

The race is organised by Hollingbourne WI and is open to all.

It takes place on the Lance Memorial playing field on Shrove Tuesday, February 28, with Ladies WI walking and running races and a children’s race.

Pancakes will be tossed according to instructions on the day, while hot cross buns and drinks will be served at the pavilion.

Tasty

Whether you like plain lemon and sugar, fruity with cream, or like it less sweet, the humble pancake is still a tasty treat. Here’s how to whip one up – how you top it off is up to you.

Ingredients:

100g plain flour

2 large eggs

300ml milk

1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil, plus a little extra for frying

1. Put the flour, eggs, milk and a pinch of salt into a bowl or large jug, then whisk to a smooth batter. Set aside for 30 minutes to rest if you have time, or start cooking straight away.

2. Set a medium frying pan or crêpe pan over a medium heat and carefully wipe it with some oiled kitchen paper. When hot, cook your pancakes for one minute on each side until golden, keeping them warm in a low oven as you go.

3. Serve with lemon wedges and sugar, or your favourite filling. Once cold, you can layer the pancakes between baking parchment, then wrap in cling film and freeze for up to two months.

Pancake Day: The Flipping Facts

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was a time of fasting and Shrove Tuesday was the start of 40 days of abstinence, so tempting flour, eggs and sugar needed to be out of reach.

The pancake featured in cookery books as far back as 1439.

The largest pancake was created in Rochdale in 1994. It measured 15.01 m (49 ft 3 in) and was one inch thick. It also weighed 3 tonnes (6,614 lb).

The fastest flipper is thought to be Australian celebrity chef Brad Jolly, who holds the record for most tosses of a pancake in one minute with 140 flips in 60 seconds.

Dominic Cuzzacrea tossed a pancake a record breaking 9.47 m (31ft 1in) in New York in 2010.