Flapjack (oat bar)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2007) |
 Flapjacks with added dried fruit | |
| Type | Dessert bar |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, golden syrup/honey |
In the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, Ireland, and Newfoundland a flapjack refers to a baked bar,[1] cooked in a flat oven tin and cut into rectangles, made from rolled oats, fat (typically butter), brown sugar and usually golden syrup.[2] In other English-speaking countries, the same item is called by different names, such as muesli bar, cereal bar, oat bar or (in Australia) a slice.
The snack is similar to the North American granola bar, and in the United States and most of Canada the term flapjack is a widely-known but lesser-used term for pancake.
Varieties
As well as being baked at home, they are widely available in shops, ready-packaged, often with extra ingredients such as chocolate, dried fruit such as glace cherries, nuts, yoghurt and toffee pieces or coatings, either as individual servings or full unsliced trayfuls. A variant of such available in shops in the United Kingdom is known as the "Bakewell flapjack".[3] Some flapjacks may contain maple syrup. They are usually an alternative to a biscuit (cookie) or cake, and textures range from soft and moist to dry and crisp.[1] Because of the high levels of fat and calories in traditional recipes, some "diet" versions are available with lower fat and calorie content.[4]
History
The Oxford English Dictionary records the word "flapjack" as being used as early as the beginning of the 16th century, although at this time it seems to have been a flat tart.[1] Shakespeare refers to "flap-jacks" in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, but this is one of the many anachronisms in his historical plays and does not suggest that he thought it was a middle eastern dish, merely a common English dessert of the time:
- "Come, thou shant go home, and we'll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo'er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome."
- Act II Scene I
Later, flapjack would be used to describe something similar to an apple flan, but it is not until 1935 that the word is first used to describe a food made of oats.[1] In the UK, this usage has mostly superseded earlier recipes.
In the United States and Canada, "flapjack" is a widely but lesser-used term for pancake.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d 1,001 Foods to Die For, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007, p. 866, ISBN 0-7407-7043-8
- ^ Davidson, Alan; Jaine, Tom; Vannithone, Soun (2006) [1999], The Oxford Companion to Food (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 306, ISBN 0-19-280681-5
- ^ LaurenJC. "Bakewell flapjack". All Recipes UK. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
- ^ Ginger (2015-02-05). "Flapjacks or Granola Bars – as close to healthy food as it gets, I suppose …". Ginger&Bread. Retrieved 2017-09-01.