What do you call "pancakes" in your country?
This is what we Romanians call “pancakes” (clătite). In the US for example, these are not “pancakes”. What Americans call “pancakes”, we call “clătite americane” (American pancakes) or just “pancakes” (the untranslated English word).
The pancakes in the photos were made by me
I was on holiday in Romania in the Bihor mountains. An old woman served us a kind of pancake she called plăcintă - a very funny word except the c is read as "ch", not "s".
Anyway, the Czech word is not far from that - palačinka.
“Plăcintă” means pie. But pie means a lot of things in Romania… These are all “pies”. And it’s not the “c” that’s read like that actually, it’s the “ci” group. Like the group “ce” is read as “ch-eh”. Ce, ci, ghe, ghi, ge, gi… these are special letter combos in Romanian.
In the US if someone served me something like in the picture I’d call it a “crepe”. My expectation of a “pancake” is for it to be thicker (maybe like 1cm thick), and very fluffy (while a crepe is usually a bit crispy). However I’m not much of a cook so I don’t know if there are other differences between a “crepe” and a “pancake”.
Palatschinken, and if you cut then in stripes and put it in the soup they are called Fritatten.
In Brazil we call it panquecas ...the American ones we just add "american" to it but most of us don't even cook the American version..the regular ones are better and are part of our culture. We usually eat them with salty fillings like ground beef or chicken with tomato sauce or a white roux. I've seen panquecas with sweet fillings in restaurants but they usually call it crepes..
"palacinky/palačinky" in Slovak/Czech which is same as some people here said in german “Palatschinken”. The thick ones like they make in northern America with butter and maple syrup we call “lívance” here. I want to try those Japanese ones tho
„Palatschinken“ is what they call it in Austria. In Germany it‘s mostly called „Pfannkuchen“ (which is the literal translation of Pancakes)
Now comes the confusing part: In East Germany, they call it „Eierkuchen“ (Eggcake) and they call what West Germans know as „Berliner“ or „Krapfen“ (The filled donut without a hole) „Pfannkuchen“
So Pfannkuchen means totally different things depending on where you are in Germany.
Picture of a Berliner:
Eierkuchen-Jungs vereinigt euch!
Danish
Pancakes = pandekager
American pancakes = amerikanske pandekager
Also:
SocCeR = fodbold
foOtbaLL = amerikansk fodbold
In Russia: Those flat ones - bliny (блины) The American ones - just pancakes (pankeiki, панкейки)
Nutella? Lol...
Dosa from South India.
Super thin and crispy. Often glazed with clarified butter (ghee).
Eaten with spicy chutneys (dips/sauces)
Clatite
Fellow Romanian?
Here in Switzerland the name really depends on which one you're actually making. Omelettes, Pfannkuchen, Kaiserschmarrn, Crêpes, Pancakes. You can find them all. My mother likes making Omelettes the most, I like making Pancakes the most.
Mlyntsi
I call these crepes. (USA, unfortunately.)
I want pancakes
I'n Uruguay we call them "panqueques" if they have a sweet filling, we mostly use "dulce de leche" (similar to caramel) and eat them for dessert not breakfast. If they have a salty filling and are used as a meal we call them "canelones", always rolled with cilíndric shape.
Those are some good lookin crepes
No no, crepes are different. French recipe with more eggs.
In Croatian: palačinka (accentuated: palačínka, IPA: /palat͡ʃǐːŋka/, plural: palačínke). The origin is: Greek πλακοῦς (LS: "flat cake"), πλακόεντα > Latin placenta (OLD: "A kind of flat cake") > Romanian plăcintă > Hungarian palacsinta > Austrian German Palatschinke > Croatian palačinka. As Croatia has spent much of its history as a part of Austria-Hungary, its culture has left a strong mark especially on the northern dialects and the culinary practices there.
Sources:
However, Croatian pancakes are very thin and bigger in surface than American ones. They're made of batter, we usually fill them with jam and roll them up and eat like that (some other fillings are in use too, ofc). My sister sometimes buys herself some American pancakes, way thicker and covered in chocolate cream, and the rest of the family is always mildly horrified by them, lol. It's pretty much two different dishes IMO. Palačinke would probably better correspond to crêpes, but we don't have different words to distinguish American pancakes from crêpes...
I'm Austrian, we still call them Palatschinken. The extra thin ones are called crepe and the extra thick ones are called pancake, just like the French and English term, respectively. Palatschinken are somewhere in-between.
Depending on where you are in the United States you'll hear them called "pancakes" or "flapjacks." I think the difference is, a pancake is cooked in town on an electric or gas stove by someone wearing an apron, a flapjack is cooked in the woods over a campfire by someone wearing flannel.
Allegedly the term "hotcakes" also meant pancakes, but I think it's obsolete. It survives in the expression "to sell like hotcakes." In my experience, you're more likely to hear it used as a euphemism for tits than breakfast carbohydrate discs.
In northwest Mexico we call them "hotcakes" (pronounced "jotqueis" in Spanish). I'm not sure about the rest of the country, probably "panqueques".
I think I’ve heard “panqueques” in Spain
Well that's fascinating. You may find this hard to believe but I've never really considered Mexico's relationship to the pancake before. AFAIK "hotcakes" is an American term, I don't think I've heard the British use it, so...do you think of pancakes/hotcakes as American? Makes me wonder what the Spaniards call them.
In the United States what is pictured are not called pancakes. Those are Crêpes / crepes. Add a levening agent (baking soda) and flour and ya got American pancakes.
Want to make them better and more uniquely American and not so Fastfood American?
Use sourdough starter Or
Carefully stir in (to not make it flat) 7up or a not too bitter beer replacing some or all of the water Or
Replace some of the flour with fine corn meal, add rosemary and a pork product (eg sausage, cooked bacon cubes)
You want uniquely American, forget wheat flour and make some hoe cakes. Cornmeal based.
McDonald’s still sells “hotcakes” for breakfast.
Please don't ask this on the German feddit.org you will cause a war within germany. (It is "Pfannkuchen" and I will die on that hill)
Is it though? I thought we just had different regional names but we generelly agree that Pfannkuchen are the big flat ones and Pancakes are the small thick ones.
Those lunatics in Berlin though....
Yeah Pfannkuchen, Eierkuchen, Palatschinken, Plinsen, Flinzen, Crêpe (only on the christmas market) ...
Now please tell me how you call the smaller, thicker "American" pancakes.
I call them Löffelkuchen (spoon cake) and we make them mostly with berries in the batter (black current or blueberry).
I was already looking for any lost souls claiming "Eierkuchen" or similar. But I am a bit confused, I think you spelled "Palatschinken" a bit wrong 🤔
Pancakes are flapjacks if they're big and silver dollars if they're small, but in the picture I see crepes.
In finland american style pancakes are not really a thing that people make. usually we make crepe style pancake called lettu but we also have a thing that translates to pancake(pannukakku) that is not made in a pan but in oven on trays and they are usually denser and thicker than american style pancakes.
The oven made pannukakku is next level.
So basically a Dutch baby (I think that’s what they call it in the US)
Lettu or lätty
Literally just is synonym for flat
"Panqueca" pretty much pancake but with a portuguese pronunciation.
In England those are pancakes. Flour milk egg to make a batter that you shallow fly in a pan for about minute. I serve with sugar and lemon juice.
Pannekoek in Afrikaans, pancakes in South African English.
The thick American version we call flapjacks.
that's crêpes in France , and блины (bliny) in Russia
My wife is English and she calls my pancakes "scotch pancakes". Meanwhile she makes crêpes and calls those "pancakes". Shit is crazy, yo.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, Scotch pancakes are called pikelets. I made pikelets here in Scotland and someone called them drop scones. Shit really is crazy.
Same boat my man. I eventually stopped calling a drink dilutin and call it squash more often than not after years with her and feel like a knob.
Note I’m obv talking about my English wife and not your English wife.
Thanks for your valued contribution
as someone from the north of England, “scotch” or “ scotch drop” pancakes are very different from crepes and folks here will fight over that
In Waloon they are called "vôtes". Traditionally they are thicker with raisins in them. When made with buckwheat, they are called "boûketes".
It depends on where you are in Germany. The correct word for it however is of course Pfannkuchen.
and when you add apples into the pastry(?), then they are Mälgribbelscha
The thin dough is called "batter"
Are they also the thin rollable kind? Or the thick, stackable American kind?
I would say in between. You can roll them, but they are not as thin as the French crêpes.
In the US those would be called Crêpes. The thicker, fluffy version are pancakes. And the things that Japan makes are perfection. Actual Pan Cake.
The things that Japan makes.
Палачинки (palachinki) in Bulgarian. Also, hello fellow Lidl-customer and Martenitsa-enjoyer.
Crêpes in France. Those are ours, smaller than usual because I only have a small frying pan currently.
Note: some French regions also call them "galettes", either depending on the type of flour used, or on the type of toppings (sweet for crêpes, salty for galettes).
In Croatia we call them palačinke ("pa-la-cheen-ke")
i think we call those crepes. They're thinner pancakes.
Well in America we have pancakes, flapjacks, Dutch babies, crepes, Johnny cakes, and probably other things I'm forgetting about that are pancake-adjacent.
Silver dollar pancakes for the small ones. About 3 inch diameter. (About 7 cm?)
flapjacks
What would you call flapjacks if flapjacks refers to pancakes?
I think in the US it's synonymous with pancakes mostly but it may refer to more old-fashioned, rugged, whole wheat ones that are a bit thicker than most modern pancakes. It's definitely a bit ambiguous though. Whatever you linked to is definitely not something I've ever seen or heard of in the US though. Edit: I'll also mention I'm not sure what golden syrup is. We have stuff like karo or molasses as baking ingredients, or various maple or maple-ish syrups that typically top pancakes.
I would clarify that most Americans probably aren’t actually aware of anything besides pancakes and maybe crepes unless there’s a regional variety in their area
I think it will probably vary regionally. Diners and breakfast places often have lots of variations. A couple others I thought of are griddle cakes (old-fashioned pancakes) and saddlebags (which are pancakes mixed with meat and other stuff). I've seen stuff like yeast-raised whole wheat pancakes (which I don't know if they have a particular name). I could also name a few places where you could get things like okonomiyaki or scallion pancakes in my city. Those super thick Japanese-style pancakes also seem to be kind of trendy. America is a big place and there's lots of food variety.
To us flapjacks and pancakes are the same.
Sometimes they are bigger or smaller, flatter or fluffier
In England those would be pancakes or more rarely crepés. They’re what we have on pancake day.
The thicker American pancakes would be called American pancakes, sometimes Scotch pancakes or drop scones.
I'm curious how you pronounce "crepés" in English.
Kreps or kraeps
I wonder if drop scones are what the drop bears eat down undah
We call them Hot Cakes in Mexico (or in my town at least), also what am I seen in the second pic? A Hot Cake taco?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pancakes
Seems very relevant. Found it while trying to find the etymology of "flapjack", since I thought about it and that's not a normal word.
I also found out that some countries have a pancake day, where they eat pancakes. Seems to be a different method of celebrating what we call Mardi gras or Fat Tuesday, depending on your proximity to France/Louisiana. We often have something like a donut.
Seems the intent is the same: eat all your animal fat before lent so it doesn't go to waste.
Your cooking looks delicious! I would call it a crepe, but whatever it's called I would eat it. :)
My favorite thing about this comment is that your username is ricecake.
Cake appreciates cake.
Wikipedia never ceases to amaze me.
naleśniki :3
and it's the same in poland, i'd call what you made a pancake in poland, but in the UK i'd call it a crêpe
NALEŚNIKIIIII?!
oh boy that's a blast from the past lol!
In Denmark they're called pandekager and look like yours. American pancakes would be specified as amerikanske pandekager.
Panqueques in Chile
This brings me joy.
In northern Mexico many know them as Hotcakes
Jotqueis.
Pfannkuchen in Germany, but it's complicated...
"Eierkuchen" (literal translation "egg cake") is another word.
Where "Pfannkuchen" means something different, "Eierplins" is used (mostly in eastern Germany).
And then there is "Palatschinken" which is similar to the Czech word "Palačinke".
Palačinka (or palačinky, for plural)
In Brazil, the sweet, puffy ones are american pancakes (Panqueca Americana)
Because what we call pancake (unembelished 'Panqueca') is much closer to this thin pancake you're showing off. -- Except we make the batter with salt and fill it with savoury things like cheese or meat and roll it up in a... Roll. Closer to a burrito really.
Is the red/white band a Martenitsa? Happy baba Marta!
On topic, Bulgarians would call them палачинки (palachinki).
Blynai (general term) / Lietiniai (specific type) American ones are Amerikietiški blyneliai, but no one talks about or makes them .
Pannenkoeken in the Netherlands.
Pannenkoeken are also often baked with cheese or bacon (spek anyway).
Flensjes?
We call it panekuk in Indonesian I believe, based on the Dutch word. I’m more familiar with the American version growing up although that might just be because of American media. Also loved poffertjes as a kid (tiny versions of pancake). I don’t know if there’s an Indonesian spelling for that one.
I meant it more like what do pancakes look like in your country. What does the word represent. American pancakes:
In Canada, those are pancakes. The ones you made are crepes. It's a pan-cake because it's cooked in a pan, and rises like a cake. They have baking soda which is a levening agent and makes bubbles and a (hopefully) light and fluffy product. Crepes are more like a tortilla, decidedly flat.
Pancakes are also called flapjacks for some reason.
In Germany, they look like yours.
I had never made crepes until I met a Romanian at work and once she found out I cooked, she encouraged me to make her some things to remind her of home.
We had clatite first, with nutella and preserves. Now I usually think of crepes as clatite since that was what I got familiar with first. 😄
We also had Parprikash with mamaliga, and my favorite of the bunch, cozonac! I made 2, one with the nut filling, and I want to say the other was poppy. The nut one I have made a few times since. So tasty, and the rum flavoring makes it so unique!
She just randomly disappeared on day, so I don't know if she quit or what, but I will always have fond memories of my bried education on Romanian food!
You met some Romanian fairy creature that dined and ditched you.
Lol she was very secretive!
She had a husband supposedly, but she never really talked about him other than saying he existed. She came over for the paprikash dinner, but he did not. She supposedly came to America as a child. Her and some others were supposed to be here for some sports tournament thing, but whoever had the money in Romania stole it ,so they were stuck here and most of them just stayed.
We joked in the office she was in some weird kind of mafia situation, and then one day we never saw her again. Her whole situation was mysterious and fascinating from start to finish.
There are worse spirits I could have encountered and a hungry Romanian one! 😆
Back in university we had a pankegger, we got like 5 kegs and a costco bag of pancake mix and chocolate chips, we must have cranked out hundreds of pancakes. I just wanted to share that story it was so much fun.
Wait, that's amazing. I want to do that now, but I'm 40 and I only have like 5 friends. I'm so hungry.
Ya it was for a homecoming football game, must have been 10 years ago now but it was insanely fun. I don't even think we bothered going to the game haha! Just drinking pilsner and flipping pancakes, I made a core memory that day!
So what you have looks more like crepes or what we would call in Russian blinchiki (блинчики) a pancake would be called aladia (оладьи)
Don't you also have налистники? Or is that just some specific "type" of блин?
I have eaten оладьи, even though I was not aware they were called like that, and they were made with kefir/expired milk, right?
Yes. Yogurt and kefir can be used to make theat type of pancake.
Also налистники is another way to call crepes. They're the same thing.
In Croatian we call them palačinka (singular) and palačinke (plural).
That is actually for the whole Yugoslavian area. To pronounce this correctly in english, one would have to write it like this: ''Pallachincka'' (singular) or ''Pallachincke'' (plural)... and greetings to all ''Palačinke'' lovers (had to scroll quite a while to find the comment, but I knew there had to be one...good job). :D
Greetings to you as well fellow Palačinke lover.
In Romanian, “plăcintă / plăcinte” (which sound very similar) means pie/pies.