page_title: Crempog
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Crempog / History
caption_attribution_description: Teitl Cymraeg/Welsh title:Dawns Flynyddol Dydd Mawrth Crempog Trewern Ffotograffydd/Photographer: Geoff Charles (1909-2002) Dyddiad/Date: February 10, 1940. Cyfrwng/Medium: Negydd ffilm / Film negative Cyfeiriad/Reference: (gcc01562) Rhif cofnod / Record no.: 3472229 Rhagor o wybodaeth am gasgliad Geoff Charles yn Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru More information about the Geoff Charles Collection at the National Library of Wales Mae ffotograffau Geoff Charles hefyd yn rhan o Broject Europeana Libraries Geoff Charles' photographs also form part of the Europeana Libraries Project
context_page_description: Crempog is a Welsh pancake made with flour, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and salted butter. Traditionally made on bakestones or griddles, crempog is one of the oldest recipes in Wales. They are also known as ffroes, pancos and cramoth and are normally served thickly piled into a stack and spread with butter. It is traditionally served at celebrations in Wales, such as Shrove Tuesday and birthdays.
context_section_description: The history of food in Wales is poorly documented, and much of what is known lies in verbal and archeological evidence. Wales has a long history of baking using a bakestone (Welsh: maen), a large round portable flatstone. The flagstone was replaced by a metal plate known as a gradell (griddle), and these appeared among the list of objects made by blacksmiths in the Laws of Hywel Dda (13th century). Bakestones were commonly used throughout rural Wales for making flatbreads with evidence of their use found in farmhouses and in the homes of landed gentry. Early flatstones were placed on a tripod over an open fire, though in many areas, especially in south-west Wales, a specially designed circular ironframe with a half hoop handle was used. By the early decades of the twentieth century built-in wall ovens were common throughout kitchens in Wales, though these would be wood and coal burning. The tradition of using a bakestone coexisted with these newer ovens. Heating the large ovens was generally confined to one day a week and was used to make bread and cakes to last the family until the next week. These were augmented with whatever could be cooked over the open fireplace using the bakestone. Common foods cooked using this method were cacen radell (griddle cake), bara crai' (unleavened bread), cacen gri (speckled cakes) and crempog.
  Although there is no documented evidence of the earliest crempog recipe, the basic ingredients, readily available in Wales suggests a long history. The recipe for crempog reflects very old cookery traditions that were once common throughout Britain. Bobby Freeman, writing in 1980, states that crempog, along with cawl, is the one Welsh ingredient to have endured from past times. Despite crempog being a staple of Welsh cuisine due to its ease of preparation in past times, it is also connected to traditional celebrations. Crempog was served on Shrove Tuesday throughout Wales and was associated with birthdays, especially in south Wales, where the stack of pancakes are cut down in wedges and served like a cake.
caption: Women with Crempogau at a traditional Shrove Tuesday Dance in Trewern (1940).
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