Archeology of the pancake

At the crepe maker, in Quimper (undated postcard) • BRITTANY MUSEUM RENNES PUBLIC DOMAIN / PRESS DEPARTMENT

It's not a legend:the Bretons were already making pancakes in the 13th ^th century. It is not known if they were good, but the monks appreciated them. In the 15th ^th century, only a few texts mentioned this essential specialty of Breton culture, but they became more numerous in the 17 ^th century. As for earlier periods, there are only a few traces. However, about ten years ago, galettières (plates for making pancakes) were discovered in the former abbey of Landévennec, in Finistère, a monastic foundation created in the V ^e century by Saint Guénolé, the oldest in Brittany. It now houses an archaeological site and a museum.

Pieces of these medieval circular terracotta dishes rested in the pits of this former abbey, measuring 1cm thick and 30cm in diameter on average. For five years, researchers have been studying these pancakes, carrying out chemical analyzes with chromatography and mass spectrography. They revealed the presence of short chain fatty acids (traces of phytanic acid and cholesterol, as well as products of the degradation of triglycerides at high temperature), which indicates the presence of dairy products and in particular the use of butter for cooking. The resistant ceramic allowed cooking at high temperatures.

Experimental paste

By reproducing the gestures with similar materials, the scientists reconstituted five galettières and carried out a dozen experiments:they concluded that the food cooked in these containers was in the form of a liquid paste cooked at more than 200 ° C and containing dairy products. The monks of the abbey tasted their pancakes well! As for the difference between crêpes and galettes, the former would be thin and the latter thicker. The results were presented this summer at the Landévennec museum, in an exhibition open to the public which will be extended next year. Research continues.