With Pancake Tuesday nearly upon us, experts have warned about the potential hazards of improperly disposing of your leftover batter.
If you’re anything like us, you’ve been counting down the minutes until the upcoming Pancake Tuesday.
Once observed solely by Christians as Shrove Tuesday, the annual event has become increasingly secularized in recent decades and is now a highly-anticipated date on the calendars of foodies across the UK.
It’s estimated that, on average, over 117 million pancakes will be eaten nationwide tomorrow as folks celebrate the occasion with the indulgent snack.
Pancakes are famously easy and cheap to whip up, making them the perfect treat to enjoy amid the cost of living crisis. It’s also a dish that can please all taste palates, with endless recipes for both sweet and savory pancakes available online.
But before you start mixing up your signature pancake recipe, there are a couple of housekeeping rules that you should probably be aware of - especially when it comes to cleaning up.
Experts have now urged people not to pour their pancake batter down the drain - an action that could end up costing you a whopping £300.
"Pancake batter contains flour, fat, and oil and this is a recipe for disaster when it comes to drains as it can quickly harden in pipes and lead to blockages and burst pipes which can be costly to repair," the plumbing specialists at Rated People explain.
Pouring your leftover pancakes down the plughole can also wreak havoc on the environment, with the gooey fluid one of the key ingredients in the fatbergs that block the UK’s sewerage system.
"A fatberg is when fat and grease combine with unflushable items (such as wet wipes and cotton buds). Fatbergs prevent water from flowing through, and it’s estimated that South West Water spends a huge £4.5 million every year just clearing blockages from its 17,000km sewer network," the experts at Rated People continued. "One recent fatberg in London’s sewers, nicknamed ‘Fatty McFatberg’, was reported to have stretched for 250 meters and weighed in at a whopping 130 tonnes."
To avoid contributing to this ecological mess, the best option is to find alternative ways to use up your leftover pancake mix. If you're happy with your recipe but full up on doughy goodness, you can freeze the liquid for up to three months. You can also turn the pancake batter into those Yorkshire puddings you'll need for your Easter Sunday roast, or use it to coat the cod in your next Friday night fakeaway. The possibilities are endless!
If you must dispose of it, be sure to put it in the food waste bin – but only after it's cooled down.
