pre-reading question
What kind of food do you eat for breakfast?
How many ways do you know to serve pancakes?
World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast
A Local Legacy
When you think of pancakes you might think of the kind served in America, hot with melted butter and maple syrup. But in reality, people around the world love pancakes. As a result, there are lots of different kinds.
In America, pancakes are made with buttermilk and served for breakfast. In Russia, pancakes are called blinis, and are made from buckwheat flour and often served with caviar and sour cream. The Chinese use wheat flour and hot water to make pancakes in dozens of ways. In France, pancakes come in the form of a lacy crepe. In India, there’s the Gujarati pancake. Crispy and wafer-thin, it comes stuffed with spicy potatoes and yogurt. Did you know there were so many ways to make and serve pancakes?In 1986, an event that bills itself as the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast was revived for the 350th anniversary of Springfield, Massachusetts. The breakfast has been held every year since then. Hundreds of volunteers help with the event. In 1999, more than 71,233 servings of pancakes were served to more than 40,000 people. If you stacked up all those pancakes, they’d be more than 2 miles high!
When you have finished reading, return to this page and answer the questions below.
Post-Reading Questions
- True or False?1. Only people in America eat pancakes.
2. In China, pancakes come in the form of a lacy crepe.
3. In India, pancakes come stuffed with spicy potatoes and yogurt.
4. In Russia, pancakes are called Gujarati.
- Short Answer:5. Why was the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast revived in 1986?
Answers:1. false,2. false,3. true,4. false,5. for the 350th Anniversary of Springfield, MA
