Crumpet
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Crumpets,_hot.jpg
A crumpet is a cake made from flour or potato and yeast eaten mainly in the United Kingdom, but also in the nations of the Commonwealth.
The crumpet is circular in shape (usually; long and square varieties also exist) and has a distinctive flat top covered in small holes. It has a spongy texture and a fairly bland flavour.
Crumpets are served hot, usually with butter. Other popular accompaniments include jam, Marmite, honey, or cheese.
A pikelet is similar to a crumpet, but much thinner and sometimes irregularly shaped. (In some regions of Britain pikelet traditionally refers to a crumpet, muffin or other teacake; in Australia and New Zealand it means a Scotch pancake.)
Buttered_crumpet.jpg
Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (pub. 1861) lists the following ingredients as being sufficient for 24 crumpets:
- 1 qt water
- 2 oz yeast
- 1/2 lb potatoes
- 1/2 oz salt
The crumpet should not be confused with the sweeter English muffin.
The name "crumpet" is thought to have originated from the Welsh crempog, a type of pancake.
In the UK, "crumpet" has become a slang term for a woman regarded as an object of sexual desire. Historically it has also been used as a non-sexual term of endearment.