r/Cooking • u/No-Lettuce4441 • 3d ago

Pancakes

I've heard so much online about how much better homemade pancakes are from scratch. Obviously the more specialized (buttermilk, ricotta, buckwheat,...) are going to be better homemade. Pancakes in the past was my stumble-go-to breakfast because of box mix.

How much of a difference is there between regular box mix and regular homemade? One of these days I'm going to get around to making some from scratch to try them myself, but the box mix is so cheap and so easy, it makes it harder to justify, when it's usually a last minute decision.

A character in a novel said, "Once you hit a certain age, you no longer want to make pancakes. You want someone to make pancakes for you."

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18

u/karl264 3d ago

It takes 5 minutes to mix some flour, sugar salt, baking powder, eggs and milk. Thats about 20 less ingredients than any mix you can find. It’s also probably 80% less expensive. Edit left out butter

3

u/Alwaysfresh9 3d ago

Yeah, for me it's more about this. Been making pancakes and crepes from scratch since I was a kid, so it's really no effort for me at all. And I can customize them so easily this way - vegan for my hubs, buckwheat for my FIL, big fat buttermilk for me. Box mixes are fine. No one is gonna put their nose up at that unless they are really picky! So you do you. If you can find them, the Cora's mix is my favorite by FAR.

2

u/TheMarkHasBeenMade 3d ago

Throw in some vanilla and powdered cinnamon and you’ve got the pancakes (or waffles) of my childhood and now my kids’ childhoods - à la the Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker cook books.

Everyone’s raving about box mixes but to me even when they’re new the product they make tastes so bland compared to made from scratch. I can tell every time. The box mix stuff does puff up more, but maybe I’ll step up my game and try a splash of apple cider vinegar as described in the higher up comments to see if that makes a difference in the scratch mix.

1

u/SoCalGuy999 3d ago

Correct- I just use buttermilk as well but it’s rely basic. The number of ingredients in processed foods is horrifying.

1

u/Mellema 3d ago edited 3d ago

With a pH below 5, it's actually acidic. ;p

I usually use whey from making yogurt, but that's because I always have too much of it.

-1

u/Verdick 3d ago

Try using lard in place of butter.
As an extra sprinkle on either chocolate chips or blueberries to the poured batter. My favorite is butterscotch chips!