Flapjacks or Crumpets… South African version (2024)

FAQs

Are crumpets and flapjacks the same? ›

Take crumpets. At least that's what I call them. Most folks in South Africa call them flapjacks. Now in the UK a flapjack is an entirely different thing – a sort of biscuity bar made with oats.

Pancakes, Crumpets and English Muffins

And while English muffins require yeast to rise, pancakes rely on baking soda or baking powder to puff up. So that's what makes crumpets unique: they use both baking powder and yeast to help them rise.

A crumpet (/ˈkrʌmpɪt/) is a small griddle bread made from an unsweetened batter of water or milk, flour, and yeast, popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

For something simple, yet enjoyable, serve them with butter and maple syrup or, for a savoury experience, try some bacon and fresh chilli. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous, enjoy the best of both worlds and serve with bacon and syrup to balance the sweet and salty flavour.

Most of my American audience call crumpets… English muffins. It's worth getting to know which is which as they are both very different.

In the US, a flapjack is a less common way of saying "pancake"; in the UK, it's a chewy, sweet granola bar.

Crumpets and English Muffins are both cooked on a griddle or stove top. They're about the same size and have craters or holes.

Crumpets are made only using baking soda, where as English muffins are made with yeast or sourdough (and occasionally a little baking soda to help things along). Crumpets are cooked only on one side, so the bottom is flat and toasted while the top is speckled with holes (delicious, butter-absorbing holes…).

The earliest possible reference to crumpets dates from 1382, when John Wycliffe, the theologian and Yorkshireman, translated a word in the Latin Old Testament as "Crompid cake":"a cake of a loaf, a crusted cake spreynde with oyle, a crompid cake".

I've looked through many recipes and I have found that there are three things that do still vary: the liquid used is milk or water, or a mix – milk makes a soft crumpet and water makes a crisper one; plain or strong flour is used (or a mix) – the former makes a rubbery crumpet and latter makes one that's a bit more ...

What is healthier muffins or crumpets? ›

Crumpets have a little fewer calories when compared to English muffins. Yet, English muffins can be considered to be the healthier option between these two yummy goods. The reason is that English muffins have fewer fats and no cholesterol.

In North America, Flapjacks and Pancakes Mean the Same Thing

Let's just get this out of the way first: here in the US, it's perfectly OK to refer to thin cakes made from batter as both pancakes and/or flapjacks.

The nuance in naming exists depending on where you live and the method in which you prepare it. For instance, folks from the South and Southeast call them flapjacks, while people from the West, North, and even the East tend to call them pancakes. Some states have entirely different names for pancakes altogether.

The word flapjack is traced back to the late 1500s. It's a combination of the verb flap, in the sense similar to flip or toss, and jack, which comes from the proper name (a variation of John) and is sometimes used in the names of objects, as in applejack or skipjack. Go Behind The Words!

In other English-speaking countries, the same item is called by different names, such as cereal bar, oat bar or (in Australia and New Zealand) oat slice. In the United States and Canada, "flapjack" is a widely-known but lesser-used term for pancake.

We call bread, bread and we call crumpets, crumpets (or maybe pikelets although officially they're a slighlty different thing to crumpets. Why do British people eat crumpets?

But in the UK, “flapjacks” mean something entirely different. British flapjacks (also called cereal bars, oat bars, or oat slices) are golden oat-packed, hand-held triangles, often enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack. They're commonly regarded as the chewy-crunchy ancestor of granola bars.