We eat piles of pancakes come Shrove Tuesday, but eschew the Lenten fast

In England our pancakes are symbols of our insular detachment, for each is rolled up by itself, aloof, with its own small slice of lemon.

The sociable pile of pancakes was not unknown on this side of the Channel, though the idea never really caught on.

Hannah Glasse ’s 18th-century bestseller The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy has several pancake recipes.