Result and Evaluation

Result
Whilst the final two pancakes were chocolate sauce and caramel ice cream, which was somewhat predictable as soon as bacon went out, I feel like today has been a success as I have found some new pancake toppings that are slightly obscure, but have been proven to liked by more people than just myself, which was the aim of this project for me on a personal level, so I feel like it's been a success in that respect.

I asked my tasters some questions afterwards to see what they thought of the project. 

Q). Which was your personal favourite pancake?
A). Two said caramel ice cream, one said nutella and coconut, one said coconut, sugar and cinnamon.

Q). Which was your least favourite pancake?
A). Bacon and maple syrup, cheese, mint sauce, oranges and cream.

Q). Which pancake were you most pleasantly surprised with?
A). Two said butter and sugar, one said peach and meringue, one said ham and mushroom

Q). Which pancake were you most disappointed with?
A). Two said bacon and maple syrup, one said jam, the other said strawberries and cream.

Q). Out of all the pancakes you didn't eat, which one would you not want to eat?
A). Ham and mushroom, green tea, chilli and tomato, prawns.

Q). Out of all the pancake toppings you ate for the first time today, would you eat any again next time you ate pancakes. If so which one?
A). Two said no, one said butter and sugar, the other said bacon and maple syrup. When I asked the two that said no why they wouldn't they both said that they just preferred the more traditional toppings.

I see this as a success, as one of my tasters said their favourite pancake was coconut, sugar and cinnamon, one of my less conventional toppings. Not only this, but there was a range of most pleasantly surprising pancakes, which shows that there were a few obscure toppings that were really nice. The same could be said for the most disappointing pancakes however, which is slightly disappointing in itself. The range of the answers for the least favourite is pretty broad, and I think that reflects the fact that not everyone ate the worse pancake toppings, which was the idea. The ones that people wouldn't have wanted to eat are pretty understandable, and the answers to other questions don't contradict this. The thing I'm most pleased with however, is that two of them said they'd choose to eat some of the pancakes again. Which to me shows a pretty high degree of success in the project, especially since those two were ones that came form my initial first hand research.

Evaluation
Initially I said I wanted to find out which world cup country had the cuisine for the best pancake topping. The results show that Belgium, Argentina and Colombia are the top three, but there are so many other good choices that I don't feel that the strength of my project came in the conclusion, but more the process of reaching the conclusion. 

The fact that you had to choose one topping over another meant that you had to try both to know for sure that one was better than the other. If you'd told me beforehand that I could choose to have an Italian based topping or a Bosnian based topping, I'd have chosen the Italian one all day long out of a lack of adventurousness on my part. This method avoided this, and hence I found nice obscure toppings from Colombia, Nigeria, Bosnia and Portugal that I wouldn't have otherwise. I wonder how many people in the UK have ever had grapefruit on a pancake, or grapes with pepper.

I really enjoyed this project, which was stressed to be important when we were briefed, which gives me encouragement, because looking back, really, what I've gathered are opinions rather than facts, which isn't really what I associate with research. But in all honesty I think you could have left me for another decade before I came up with an idea that was more appropriate to me and that I'd enjoy doing as much, so I'm happy.

What Next
From here onwards I will think about my presentation, which I feel will need to highlight the successes in my project rather than "expose" the lack of hard facts gained from it. Before this I also want to put together a few surveys about pancakes generally to try and gain a bigger understanding about them and where they stand in Britain's food culture today.

Pancake World Cup Continued

Half Way Point Review
After all 32 countries had had a pancake eaten I wrote down some observations and thoughts on how the day had gone so far. We stopped for a bit as people were starting to get full and the kitchen was getting hot due to the heat from the pancake machine. There was rather a lot of mess as well, obviously. 

Favourites

At the half way point I'd have definitely said that the most likely candidates to win would've been chocolate sauce, caramel ice cream and bacon and maple syrup. Unfortunately when I wrote down which toppings would be competing against each other, it turned out that chocolate sauce was against bacon and maple syrup, which I thought was a shame given that there were a few toppings left in that seemed a bit underwhelming to me, such as banana, peach and meringue, and apple and raisin. But I suppose this is why it's important to have a variety of tasters.

Surprises

For me, regardless of what happened after this point, today was a success because of how many new pancake toppings I discovered that were really nice. I thought the grapefruit and sugar one in particular was really, really nice. Alongside this were other surprises, coconut, cinnamon and sugar, nutella and cocount, grapes with pepper and cinnamon, and bacon with maple syrup were all very nice. 

I was surprised however at a couple of exits. I thought that vanilla ice cream would go further, although I suppose the fact that caramel ice cream got through means that there's more variety left. Alongside this, I had a lot higher hopes for the pineapple pancake, especially given that it was in a pretty weak group on paper.

General Observations

Whilst it's not really a surprise, it seems like the sweeter pancakes are being more successful, with sangria, chilli and tomato, prawns, cheese, mint sauce and green tea all going out. 

I also noticed that all the toppings representing African countries failed to get through. Whilst I'm not surprised that mint sauce didn't get through, I'd have given all the others a fair shout at getting through, and like I said, I think the biggest surprise for me so far was how nice the grapefruit one from Nigeria was. 

The strangest thing I noticed is that earlier on in the day, the tasters were starting by deciding which pancakes they didn't want to go through. But then as the day went on that started to reverse, which is a good thing because it makes me feel like they're enjoying it more because they're having a harder time distinguishing between good options rather than doing it by a process of elimination.

Second Stage
For each match-up in the second stage I cooked a new pancake each time so that the taste of each pancake was fresh in the mind/mouth of my tasters. I didn't feel the need to take photo's of the pancakes from here on as I already had photo's of every pancake from the first round. The result of the second stage is below.

There weren't really any surprise results in this round. At a push I'd say apple and sugar being chosen over jam was a slight surprise as I didn't really rate apple and sugary. I was also slightly surprised that chocolate was chosen above bacon and maple syrup given how excited the taster was about a bacon and maple syrup pancake. It would've been interesting to see how far it would've got had it been matched up with something else.

Pancake World Cup

Group A
(Left to Right) Brazil, Croatia, Cameroon, Mexico

Brazil - Bananas
Croatia - Ham & Mushroom
Cameroon - Peanut Butter
Mexico - Mango & Avacado

What The Taster Thought
The taster wasn't a massive fan of peanut butter, and so ate that on first to confirm to himself that it wouldn't go through. He was very keen on the ham and mushroom one, which went through as group winner, but said it was close between the other two.

1st - Ham & Mushroom
2nd - Banana

What I thought
I would agree with ham and mushroom being the first choice in this group as it was clearly the nicest in my opinion, but I preferred the mango and avocado to the peanut butter or bananas. 

Group B
(Left to Right) Spain, Holland, Chile, Australia

Spain - Sangria
Holland - Butter & Sugar
Chile - Chilli & Tomato
Australia - Apple & Raisin

What The Taster Thought
The taster thought that the nicest two were butter and sugar and apple and raisin in that order. He thought the sangria one was disgusting, apparently red wine doesn't sit right with pancakes. He thought that the chilli and tomato one was alright, but preferred the apple and raisin.

1st - Butter & Sugar
2nd - Apple and Raisin

What I thought
I wasn't sure what was so great about the butter and sugar one, I found it quite greasy, and would definitely have put apple and raisin was my favourite. That said I preferred the butter and sugar one to the other two.

Group C
(Left to Right) Colombia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Greece

Colombia - Coconut, Cinnamon & Sugar
Ivory Coast - Melon & Lime Juice
Japan - Oranges and Cream
Greece - Prawns

What The Taster Thought
He thought that the coconut, cinnamon and sugar one was really nice, and predicted it would go far. He preferred the oranges and cream to melon and lime because he said the taste was stronger. He thought the prawn one was disgusting.

1st - Coconut, Cinnamon & Sugar
2nd - Oranges & Cream 

What I thought
I would agree that the coconut, cinnamon and sugar was by far the nicest, I really liked it. I would personally have picked the melon and lime over oranges and cream, but I'm not a huge fan of oranges, so that probably explains that. I too thought the prawn one was pretty terrible.

Group D
(Left to Right) Italy, Argentina, England, Costa Rica

Italy - Vanilla Ice Cream
Uraguay - Peaches & Meringue
England - Strawberries & Cream
Costa Rica- Golden Syrup & Orange Peel

What The Taster Thought
The taster really struggle to decide which were his favourite two in this group as he thought they were all really nice. He came to the conclusion that his favourite was golden syrup and orange peel because it was so sweet but had the orange taste as well. He chose peaches and meringue as his second choice because he thought the flavour was stronger than the other two.

1st - Golden Syrup & Orange Peel
2nd - Peaches & Meringue

What I thought
I didn't think it was as close as my taster did. I think the golden syrup and orange was noticeably the nicest and would've put the ice cream through second. I thought the other two were both ok, but nothing special enough to overthrow the classic ice cream.

Group E
(Left to Right) France, Switzerland, Ecuador, Honduras

France - Orange
Switzerland - Cheese
Ecuador - Blackberries & Cream
Honduras - Raspberries & Blueberries

What The Taster Thought
He tried the cheese one first to confirm that he wouldn't like it as much as the other three, he thought it was pretty bad. Blackberries and cream was his favourite, and said that he chose raspberries and blueberries as his second choice, as he'd also been the taster for group c, and though that oranges and cream was nicer than just oranges. He did say that he thought both pancakes he chose would've benefitted if the blackberries and blueberries were swapped over. 

1st - Blackberries & Cream
2nd - Raspberries & Blueberries

What I thought
This would've been a simple choice for me because I really like blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. I'd have put the raspberries and blueberries through first though as I felt that the cream hid the taste of the blackberries a bit. 

Group F
(Left to Right) Argentina, Nigeria, Bosnia, Iran

Argentina - Caramel Ice Cream
Nigeria - Grapefruit & Sugar
Bosnia - Nutella & Coconut
Iran - Pear, Honey & Cinnamon 

What The Taster Thought
The taster had a really tough time with this group as he said he loved them all. He said that they all would've won any of the other groups that he was my taster for. Eventually he settled on the decision that nutella and coconut was his favourite, and caramel ice cream would be second, but I could see the hesitation in his face.

1st - Nutella & Coconut
2nd - Caramel Ice Cream

What I thought
Whilst I wasn't too big on the pear, honey and cinnamon pancake, I too thought they were all nice. Personally I'm not a massive fan of ice cream, and so I probably would've put grapefruit and sugar through with nutella and coconut. I was really surprised at how nice the grapefruit was, and am really disappointed it didn't go through. 

Group G
(Left to Right) Germany, USA, Portugal, Ghana

Germany - Apple & Sugar
USA - Bacon & Maple Syrup
Portugal - Grapes, Pepper & Cinnamon
Ghana - Pineapple

What The Taster Thought
Although slightly underwhelmed by the bacon and maple syrup, he still liked it enough to put through. He chose apple and sugar first though because he thought the bacon and maple syrup was too sickly. He thought the other two were alright but nothing special.

1st - Apple & Sugar
2nd - Bacon & Maple Syrup

What I thought
I personally thought the bacon and maple syrup pancake was really nice, and was possibly my favourite so far. I wasn't too fussed about the pineapple or apple and raisin but was pleasantly surprised by the grapes. I'd probably have put them through second. 

Group H
(Left to Right) Belgium, Iran, Russia, South Korea

Belgium - Chocolate Sauce
Iran - Mint Sauce
Russia - Jam
South Korea - Green Tea

What The Taster Thought
The taster was very clear that chocolate sauce was the nicest and jam was a clear second. He hated both the mint sauce and the green tea. 

1st - Chocolate Sauce
2nd - Jam

What I thought
I agree completely with him. 

Preparation

I went to Morrisons earlier to buy all the stuff I'd need for the various toppings. There were many things I'd not bought before, I didn't even know what a mango or avocado looked like.

I was surprised at how expensive a lot of things were, I thought fruit was meant to be cheap because the government want people to eat more of it. Apparently not. Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries are ridiculously expensive, whilst I was surprised at how the more exotic fruits such as mango, avocado and melon seemed comparatively cheap, or at least a lot better value.

From Second Hand Research Continued

Ecuador

There are desserts in Ecuador called espumillas, which are like spongy meringue nests, which are generally topped with cream and either blackberries and/or passionfruit. 

Espumillas

Honduras

Whilst I could find no feasible Honduran dessert or even food in general to take inspiration from, although apparently the people in Honduras tend to eat a lot of berries, in particular raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. 

Nigeria

Because of both the size and location of Nigeria, their food culture varies largely on both location and time of the year. Tropical fruits are the predominant thing that are eaten year round across the country, with mangos, grapefruits and pineapples being particular favourites.  

Bosnia


Apparently, the main desserts in Bosnian family households are nuts, ice cream, and more interestingly small cubes of sponge cake covered in chocolate and coconut called cupavci. 

Cupvaci 

Iran

A popular dessert in the Middle East are Persian poached pears, which are pears soaked in honey and white wine, topped with sugar and the option of nuts. 

Algeria

Algerian food has no sort of dessert that is noticeably "theirs", although I noticed in my research that a lot of their more traditional meals revolve around lamb and various types of sauces, with mint being a common ingredient. 

Korea

In south-east and east Asian culture it is uncommon for a dessert to follow a meal, instead people tend to have some sort of some sort of variety of herbal tea.

From Second Hand Research

Cameroon

Apparently the people of Cameroon eat a lot of this stuff called fufu. Fufu is a chunky mushed up thick dough-like substance made from flour, the cassava plant, and yams. It is often accompanied with peanut soup, which is a common dish in Cameroon.

Peanut Soup and Cassava

The Cassava Plant

Mexico

It seems like Mexican people traditionally have a strong taste for exotic fruits, particularly mangos and avocados.

Chile

My research suggested that a lot of traditional Chilean recipes are very tomato based and tend to be quite spicy. Chilli and Tomato seems appropriate given the name of the country.

Columbia

A popular traditional dessert in Columbia is a thing called cocadas blancas, which are coconut flavoured sweets with sugar and cinnamon. They sound really like a really interesting thing to turn into a pancake topping.

Cocadas Blancas 

Ivory Coast

Ivorian people traditionally have a slice of melon with lime juice for dessert because of how refreshing and juicy it is compared to how dry the rest of their food generally is.

Uruguay

There's a traditional Uruguayan dessert called chaja, which is a plain sponge cake topped with whipped cream, peaches and crushed meringue. Sounds like an interesting concept.

Chaja 

Costa Rica

It seems to me that Costa Rican desserts are all very concentrated with sugar, and I didn't find a single Costa Rican dessert that had any mention of fruit, the closest thing to this I found was orange peel. Because of this treacle and orange peel seemed and appropriate topping to represent the sugary nature of their desserts.

From My Own Knowledge

Spain

I've been to Spain a few times, and Sangria seems like the thing that Spain have that's unique to them, other than tapas, but that's far too broad a thing to turn into a pancake topping.

England

The most stereotypically English food I could think of for a pancake topping would be strawberries and cream, and I think they're pretty recognisable as an English thing because of it's association with Wimbledon.

Italy

I think that when most people think of Italy, they think of pizza, pasta, and ice cream. Ice cream is definitely the prime candidate for a pancake topping.

Switzerland

Switzerland is the country of cheese, a cheese pancake could be interesting.

Portugal

I went to Portugal a few years ago and had some spiced grapes, which were surprisingly nice. Apparently they're a common thing in Portugal.

Ghana

For one of my A2 graphics projects a did some research on Ghanaian exports, and from that I know that Ghana are the main exporters of pineapples to Europe, so a pineapple topping seems appropriate.

Belgium

Belgium is notorious for being the best chocolate makers in the world, and given that chocolate is a classic pancake topping, they match up well.

Conversations With People

Brazil

According to my step-dad, a lot of meals in Brazil, particularly desserts, use bananas. He said that the nicest food he had in Brazil was banana fried in breadcrumbs.

Croatia

Having spoken to a cousin who spent a month in a student exchange program a couple of years ago from his secondary school, he said that what he noticed about food in Croatia was that mushrooms were used in a lot of the home-cooked food, and a lot of people ate a lot of ham and bacon.

Holland

My grandparents said that in most restaurants they went in in Holland hand Poffertjies on the menu, which are pancakes served with butter and sugar. 

Australia

My step-dad went backpacking around Australia when he was younger. From the conversation I had with him it seems like a lot of raisins are used a lot in food there.

Japan

When I spoke to my step-dad about Japanese food, he said that other than sushi, one of the most prominent things he could remember about Japan was that a lot of shops and stall sell oranges. Personally I think that this is a good thing, because a sushi pancake just sounds wrong.

Greece

One of my best friends from secondary school's dad apparently runs a beach-side restaurant in Greece. My friend says that a lot of food there and in Greece in general revolves around seafood, particularly prawns.

France

My step-dad's brother lives in France, he says that one of the most popular desserts in France is something called a Crepe Suzette, which is a pancake with a lemon, orange and brandy sauce with vanilla, although he says that the overwhelming taste is generally the orange and vanilla.

Argentina

According to my step-dad, a large amount of land in Argentina is used for cattle farming, and so BBQ'd beef is a popular food in Argentina. He also said that there's very little cold food eaten as meals there, and that everything tended to be quite sweet. 

Germany 

My mum said that in Germany there's a food called apfelkuchen, which is, to her words, "a sort of cross between a pancake and a cake, but filled with apples". She said that when she had it in Germany it was very sweet. 

USA

My grandparents said that in Canada and in the Northern states of the USA, A common thing to eat for breakfast is pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. Apparently this is traditionally a Candadian thing that the USA has adopted. Either way, it sounds amazing.

Russia

When I spoke to my mum about food in Russia, she said that there was very little that stood out about it from when she was there, but said that she ate something there called oladie, which are apparently pancakes that are about as thick as crumpets, which you eat with jam.