Selling Like Hotcakes

I know you’ve heard the phrase, “Selling Like Hotcakes”. But how exactly did that phrase come to be?

To discover the answer we climb into our Wayback Transport Ship and set our coordinates for Colonial America in the mid and late 1700s. What we know today as pancakes and hotcakes, were known as hoe cakes, Johnnycakes, and flapjacks in the American Colonies. The term, “Pancake” appeared in England as early as the 1400s, but “Hotcakes” is distinctly American and comes from America's Colonial heritage.

Let’s meet Amelia Simmons who authored what is believed to be the first cookbook in the new world entitled “American Cookery” published in 1796. In Ms. Simmons’s cookbook, we see two recipes, one for “Johny Cake or Hoe Cake” and a second for “Indian Slapjack. Ingredients for hoe cakes included milk, “Indian meal”, and molasses. The recipe for “Indian Slapjack” included milk, “Indian meal”, and four eggs.

Whether you were a frontiersman, a farmer, or a townsperson, you very likely had eaten and loved these tasty delicacies. Some liked their hoe cakes fried in bear grease, while others preferred lard. Whichever camp you were in, everyone agreed they were delicious.

By the early 1800s, hoe cakes were more commonly known as hotcakes. Hotcakes became big sellers at community and church social fundraising events. By 1825, any item that sold well was said to be, “Selling like hotcakes”.

The phrase "selling like hotcakes” has flourished as an American saying for 200 plus years and continues to be popular today.

If you're curious about exploring more about hotcakes, you’ll find the references I used for this podcast in our show notes.

If you would like to comment on this or any other episode, email me at CarterMethod@gmail.com.

Until our next visit, I’m your host Stephen Carter wishing you blessings in abundance.

References:

Rebecca Rupp, “Hot off the Griddle, Here’s the History of Pancakes”. “National Geographic”; February 27, 2018. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/food/the-plate/2014/05/21/hot-off-the-griddle-heres-the-history-of-pancakes/

Matt Soniak, “The Origin of 10 Food Phrases”; “Mental Floss”; October 10, 2010. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/26034/origins-10-food-phrases.

Webb Garrison, “Why You Say It”; Thomas Nelson Publishing. Page 152.

Microphone used: BY