A 1975 community cookbook recipe for pancake soup has gone viral on Reddit, featuring bacon fat-fried pancakes cut into strips and served in savory bouillon broth. The unusual recipe, discovered in a community cookbook, calls for a batter seasoned with nutmeg to be fried on a griddle greased with bacon fat. The thin pancakes are then cooled and cut into strips about a quarter-inch wide before they’re added to a broth made with bouillon cubes.
The recipe, titled ‘pancake soup’ and created by a woman named Johanna Rhodes, claims to feed eight people. The photo of the recipe was shared on the subreddit r/Old_Recipes by a woman with the username ‘_Alpha_Mail_.’ She expressed intrigue at the dish and noted that she hadn’t heard of it before. However, some users on the platform were quick to dismiss the idea, with one commenter stating a preference for having pancakes and broth served separately.
Despite the criticism, others praised the unconventional dish, with comments such as, ‘That’s different and creative,’ and ‘Beef stock with pancake pieces floating in it doesn’t sound particularly joyous.’ Many users recognized the dish as flädlesuppe or aritatten, a traditional German and Austrian comfort food, especially in the southwestern region of Swabia. A Redditor noted: ‘It is a way to use up leftover pancakes and resembles a noodle soup.’
Jessica Randhawa, a California chef and owner of the food blog ‘The Forked Spoon,’ commented that the recipe appears to be a ‘quick and easy shortcut’ for flädlesuppe, which she and her family discovered on a 2023 trip to Europe. Her son, a pancake and soup lover, ordered it multiple times in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Randhawa speculated that the recipe may have been brought to the U.S. by German or Austrian immigrants in the 20th century or recreated after someone tried it abroad or at a community gathering.
While some people thought the pancakes would turn to ‘mush,’ others advised enjoying the soup right away. The discussion also included a variety of tips for trying the recipe with store-bought crêpes or pancakes, different broths, and a handful of fresh herbs. Some even suggested making a version with tomato soup, noting that the pancakes make for very fluffy noodles that soak up the soup deliciously.