When Pancakes Meet Soup: The Surprising Revival of a Vintage Recipe
In the vast universe of culinary traditions, sometimes the most unexpected combinations capture our imagination. Recently, an intriguing recipe from 1975 has found new life online, challenging our modern notions of what belongs in a soup bowl. This unusual dish, simply titled “pancake soup,” features thin pancakes fried in bacon fat, cut into strips, and served in savory broth. The recipe’s rediscovery highlights how food traditions evolve, disappear, and sometimes resurface in the digital age, connecting us to culinary practices that may seem foreign to contemporary tastes but represent comfort and practicality for previous generations.
The recipe emerged when a Reddit user with the username “_AlphaMail” shared a photo from a 1975 community cookbook in the subreddit r/Old_Recipes. Created by someone named Johanna Rhodes, the recipe calls for a nutmeg-seasoned pancake batter to be cooked on a bacon fat-greased griddle, then cooled, cut into quarter-inch strips, and added to broth made from bouillon cubes. The poster admitted being initially confused, expecting something sweet with “milk, sugar and fruit” before realizing it was actually savory pancake strips in broth. This moment of culinary culture shock perfectly captures how disconnected many Americans have become from certain food traditions that were once more commonplace in immigrant communities or during more economically challenging times.
Reactions to the recipe revealed a fascinating divide between those unfamiliar with the concept and those who recognized it immediately. Many commenters expressed skepticism or even distaste: “I would rather just eat pancakes and have my broth on the side,” wrote one user, while another commented they were “totally on board with the pancake making and frying in bacon grease, but the bouillon soup brought that to a grinding halt.” Others, however, recognized the dish as flädlesuppe or aritatten, a traditional German and Austrian comfort food particularly popular in the Swabian region. This division highlights how culinary knowledge often follows cultural and family lines, with dishes that seem bizarre to some representing beloved comfort food to others who grew up with these traditions.
Those familiar with the European origins of the dish were quick to offer context and guidance. Several commenters explained that flädlesuppe typically uses leftover pancakes or crêpes as a practical way to transform yesterday’s breakfast into today’s lunch. “It is a way to use up leftover pancakes and resembles a noodle soup,” one Redditor noted, while another enthusiastically added, “I could eat this every day. True comfort food.” The practical aspects of the recipe also drew appreciation, with one person noting it was a “great way to feed a family on next to nothing.” Others suggested modifications, recommending different broths, fresh herbs, or even trying tomato soup with the pancake noodles. These exchanges demonstrate how traditional recipes often evolve through personal adaptations while maintaining their essential character.
Jessica Randhawa, a California chef and food blogger, provided professional insight by explaining that the recipe appears to be a “quick and easy shortcut” for authentic flädlesuppe, which her family discovered during a 2023 European trip. Her son, then nine years old and a fan of both pancakes and soup, enjoyed the dish multiple times across Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Randhawa theorized that the recipe likely arrived in America through German or Austrian immigrants or was recreated after someone experienced it abroad or at a community gathering. She noted that while traditional flädlesuppe typically repurposes leftover crêpes, added to hot broth just before eating, Johanna Rhodes’ version appears designed to make all components simultaneously. This adaptation reflects the practical realities of immigrant cooking, where traditional methods often undergo modification to suit new circumstances, available ingredients, and changing lifestyles.
The rediscovery of this pancake soup recipe illustrates how our understanding of food continues to evolve in the digital age. Community cookbooks once served as repositories of local knowledge and practical wisdom, passed between neighbors and generations. Today, platforms like Reddit allow these culinary time capsules to reach global audiences, sparking conversations that bridge cultural divides and historical periods. What might seem unusual to modern American palates often reveals itself as part of a rich tradition elsewhere in the world or from earlier eras. The humble pancake soup—whether you find it appealing or not—reminds us that culinary traditions are never static but constantly adapting to new contexts while maintaining connections to their origins. In an age of global fusion cuisine and constant innovation, there’s something particularly satisfying about rediscovering these simpler dishes that speak to resourcefulness, practicality, and the universal human desire to create comfort through food.
