What is the difference between crepes and Swedish pancakes?

Question

We just made the Swedish recipe this morning, and it seems like crepes...

Asked by Trey Jackson

Answer

I'd say the difference, at least to Swedish people, is that crepes is more of a non-sweet main dish. If it's rolled up and filled with meat/vegetables/fish/mushrooms, and possibly with the addition of cheese on top of the rolls; the "Swedish pancake" turns into a crepe.

To Swedes, "pancakes" are exclusively had with sweet toppings such as jam, sugar, cream, ice-cream etc. Thus, it is often had as a dessert, or as a side-dish traditionally accompanied with yellow pea and pork soup.

So where the French would put any kind of toppings on their crepes, having it as a main dish or a snack, Swedes would traditionally put sweet toppings on their pancakes, calling it "crepe" only if it is prepared as a main dish and filled with non-sweet stuff;

Answered by Lars Andren

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Milk alternative in pancake batter

Question

What could I use in place of milk in pancake batter? Would rice milk or soya milk work? What about in scotch pancakes?

Asked by Sam Holder

Answer

Soy milk works great in pancakes. My basic recipe for pancakes is about a cup of flour, about a cup of soy milk, a tablespoon or two of sugar and veg oil, and a few teaspoons of baking powder. Works great, makes nice, fluffy pancakes. (I know, not a "recipe" so much as list of ingredients with approximate proportions, but that's how I tend to cook, experimenting and learning from experience as I go...)

Edit: I don't know about scotch pancakes; I've never made them, but upon looking up a couple recipes, I don't see why it wouldn't... Soy milk behaves much like milk in these kinds of recipes, the only difference being that soya adds a bit of binding that dairy milk doesn't (and perhaps a smidge of a taste difference?)

Edit2: Haha, ok, so my "pancakes" are much more like your "scotch pancakes" -- there is such a wide spectrum of "pancakes", from crepe-y types to big, fluffy types... So then, yes, I'd say soya'd certainly work fine for scotch pancakes; for your "pancakes", I still suspect it'd be alright. With crepes mainly you just need liquid (hence the mixing with water in your posted recipe) -- the milk is mainly for some added flavour; I'd conjure that soya would work just fine.

Answered by TJ Ellis

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Eggs in Pancakes, health hazard?

Question

I want to make pancakes. I have a powder mix that needs only milk to be ready. However there is note on the power mix's box that says I can add an egg to the mix as well.

Question is, how safe is it ?? Is there a risk of salmonella ?

Thanks !

Answer

Eggs are completely safe in cooked food, and pancakes are cooked. Pancakes made from scratch have egg in the batter too. As long as you don't drink the batter, or more realistically, leave an uncooked bit in the middle of the pancakes, you're totally safe.

(And of course, it doesn't take much to kill salmonella, and a mL of uncooked batter right in the middle of a pancake has ridiculously small odds of getting you sick even if it's somehow still cold, but if you're trying to play by all the rules, then you should make sure they're fully cooked - you probably want that anyway.)

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Is it safe to store batter/dough that contains eggs?

Question

I sometimes like to make a large batch of pancake butter or cornbread dough, and fry/bake it whenever I want some freshly made pancakes or cornbread. Both these liquids contain eggs. Is is safe to store them in the fridge, so long as they eventually get cooked? Nothing is being consumed raw here.

If so, how long can I reasonably store the batter/dough before things get iffy? I'm wondering about salmonella in particular.

Answer

Of course you can store them in the fridge. When things start to smell bad, you should toss it. From what I remember off hand, every pancake or cornbread batter recipe I've read says about a week is safe.

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What does “buttermilk” mean in an American pancake recipe?

Question

I want to experiment making American style pancakes (I usually make Austrian style unleavened palatschinken). The recipe I found says "buttermilk", but I remember reading somewhere that the Americans sometimes misuse the word for milk thickened by fermentation. What should I use for the recipe, real buttermilk or fermented whole milk?

And if you have ever shopped in a German supermarket, do you know which product would come the closest to what the recipe author meant? I have the choice between buttermilch, sauermilch, dickmilch and kefir. Currently leaning towards sauermilch (it isn't really very sour, tastes actually less sour than yogurt).

Answer

You are correct that in the US buttermilk refers to cultured milk and not the soured leftovers from making butter. Historically buttermilk was the liquid left after making butter that had fermented during the accumulation of the cream. It was described as milky and sour- not creamy like modern buttermilk.

Your recipe is certainly referring to the cultured variety. I have never seen or heard of actual buttermilk being sold anywhere and so I have no idea if it can be used in the same recipes.

The milk doesn't have to be whole. The product is thick, creamy, and tart not unlike a loose yogurt.

I don't know German but I can say that Kefir (if it is the same product as one with the same name in Russian) is definitely not buttermilk. It can be used as a substitute as it has a similar texture but the flavor is very different.

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How to store pancakes

Question

Can I just put a stack in the freezer, with some paper between each? Do I need to make any changes to my ingredients (Milk, Flour, Butter, Sugar, Salt, Eggs) for efficient storage?

When I reheat them in the pan, will they regain the same texture?

Answer

Pancakes behave like high-fat bread. They go stale rather quickly.

Your recipe doesn't need to be altered.

Let them cool completely so you don't freeze condensation. Wrap them tightly to keep out air. If you really care about them you can use the paper between layers but I haven't found it to be necessary. If they freeze together they can be easily pried apart.

I have never tried recooking them in the pan so I can't speak to how well that would work. I reheat mine either in the microwave or toaster depending on how much time I have. The texture is not exactly the same as fresh but not worse, just different.

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Almond Flour pancakes

Question

I have this really tasty recipe for pancakes that use almond flour and whey protein (along with Ricotta cheese and lemon). However, the problem is, these pancakes don't "flip". Does anyone have any advice on what could be done to improve this tasty breakfast treat? Oh, and I have also tried to make it in a waffle maker, and that doesn't work right either. We lovingly call this recipe "Scrambled Pancakes". :)

Here is the list of ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cups sour cream
• 4 packets Splenda, stevia, or erythritol
• Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup natural or vanilla whey protein powder
• Pinch of salt

Answer

It is no wonder you can't keep them whole. There isn't anything in the recipe to give them integrity.

A normal pancake has lots of egg and lots of flour. When you are frying them, the proteins of the egg uncurl and connect to their neighbours to set in a loose, weak mesh. You know how the egg white sets when you fry an egg without whisking it? That happens in a pancake batter too, but much weaker, because there is a load of other stuff swimming around, so the protein molecules have less neighbours to build their connections to.

Then there is the flour. As usual, when you heat a batter, the gluten proteins in flour do the same thing as the egg white proteins, building their own mesh which permeates the whole pancake. While there is less gluten building than in a well-kneaded dough, it is enough to make the pancake hold together.

In your recipe, this just doesn't happen. You have no gluten content at all. So the stronger holding-together-part falls away. Unlike wheat flour, almond flour has no gluten. So it isn't contributing to holding the pancake together.

So what about the whole other protein you have in there? Well, the point is, it is already set. Ricotta, whey protein are both cooked proteins. They can't uncurl and connect a second time. So instead of helping the binding, they are inhibiting it. Every egg protein molecule which could have connected to a neighbouring egg protein molecule in a more fluid batter now keeps bumping into almond, ricotta and whey particles, to which it can't bind at all. So what you have here is a mixture of wetted powders without a binding agent. No wonder it can't hold together.

The best way I can see here is adding wheat flour back. You don't have to sacrifice all of your almond flour. Make a partial substitution, and also substitute part of the whey protein. This will keep the proper viscosity of the batter, while preserving the almond flour taste.

The way the recipe is constructed, however, it looks like somebody decided to exterminate all the carbs in it just because. If you are determined to keep your pancakes zero carbs, you can try throwing out all the whey powder and adding egg white instead. I can't guarantee this will be enough to do the binding, but if you insist on "real pancakes", this is worth a try.

I don't think there are any other traditional techniques you can use to improve your "batter" bonding. Of course, nowadays you can experiment with additives. Transglutaminase looks like your best bet. You'll probably need lots of tries until you get the recipe right, but it should bind the cooked ricotta proteins well enough. You don't want a superstrong binding for this application.

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why do my pancakes (crêpes) take such a long time to cook?

Question

I am making crêpes and I wonder why they take such a ridiculously long amount of time to cook, about 5 or 6 minutes per pancake. I remember once upon a time I was making crêpes cooking them about 90 seconds on one side, and than 30-60 seconds on the other side, and they where ready. Now, after 3 minutes of cooking on one side, they are hardly separable from the pan, and it takes at least 5 minutes in total to make them eatable.

I tried both on medium and maximum flame. I am now doing it on a propane-butane portable stove in a van, but the maximum flame on the stove doesn't differ visually in size from a maximum flame in a brick-house stove. When I was doing them some years ago it was in a brick house on methane gas.

I do it on a simple thin Teflon-coated pancake pan.

I also don't use any eggs, and I am trying different mixtures of flour, usually about 85% of wheat flour, and the rest either: corn flour, rice flour or powdered milk. And 900 ml water per 400 grams flour mixture.

But even when I tried making them once with 900 ml milk plus 400 grams wheat flour, they also took a long time to make.

Is it because of the lack of eggs, the heat is too low, the pan is bad or something else?

What to do to cook pancakes at a rate of 1 pancake per 2 minutes again? On propane-butane without using eggs. Preferably only using grain products and water.

Answer

If it doesn't contain eggs, or at least something that serves as a substitute for eggs, it's not a crepe. Crepes cook quickly because eggs need very little time/heat to set up. Like justkt said, what you've described is a tortilla. I'm not exactly sure how or why a tortilla "sets up" (if you can even use that term for a flatbread), but it's a completely different mechanism than cooking eggs, and takes a much longer time.

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