RAVE

Trader Joe’s “Buttermilk Pancake and All Purpose Baking Mix” is a really good pancake mix. In fact I think their BUTTERMILK PANCAKE MIX may be be one of the best pancake mixes you can buy. TJ’s mix is better than well-known commercial big brand pancake mixes such as Aunt Jemima’s. What really makes it better is it is not “100% complete” meaning besides water, you have to add one ingredient when you mix it up: You have to add an EGG. Yes people you heard me right, you actually have to add an egg along with water to make this into a batter.

I hope you have had time to have recovered from your momentary shock. Just know this is the very reason this mix is better. Think about it. Your pancakes will be made with real (not powdered) eggs so taste almost scratch home made.

Now if cracking an egg sounds like too much work, face it you are way too lazy.  Seriously having to add a real fresh egg is why Trader Joe’s pancake mix tastes far better than other commercial mixes like Aunt Jemima’s that are “100% Complete”. The ones that have you add only water taste inferior to this because the eggs in those mixes of course are dehydrated eggs made into powder. Don’t you think a real egg taste in your pancake will taste better than dried powdered eggs? I don’t know if you ever ate powdered eggs but I remember eating some a long long time ago in Summer Camp. The fake rubbery “scrambled eggs” were rubbery yet hard and just tasted disgusting.

I promise you it will be worth the tiny bit of extra effort and expense add a real egg or two when you mix up the TJ pancake batter. You will get a batch of wonderful pancakes !

That real egg gives these pancakes a homemade taste, not to mention a lovely yellow color that makes “homemade” pancakes, compared to a commercial mix where you only add water. The ingredients list does say powered buttermilk, which is where “buttermilk pancakes” comes from.

Now if you wanted to, you could even improvise a bit by mixing in a bit of milk (or buttermilk for that matter) or yogurt or kefir for some, or all of the water. I sometimes add some milk (in a 50/50 ration of 1/2 cup milk plus a 1/2 cup water). This will make an even richer velvety pancake. One reader here says he does add some buttermilk, which could be great extra flavor I would think. Or you can add some Almond or Soy milk if you prefer. But this is of course optional. Just following the box’s directions exactly adding water plus egg makes decent fluffy pancakes, about as good or better than most diners make.

OPTIONS: On occasion I might add other things to the pancake mix, for example adding Cornmeal: which makes you some nice “Corn Cakes”. I also add a tiny bit of oil or butter for those. These Corn Cake pancakes are quite good! You just compensate for the extra dry stuff with a little extra wet stuff (water or milk or buttermilk, etc). Keep the ratio so they are the same density.

Other substitutions for varieties sake:  Adding Regular or Quick Rolled Oats will yield OATCAKES. Add some Wheat Germ will give you get a extra nutty flavor and healthiness! Bananas? Jamaican Pancakes. Raisins? Nuts? Blueberries (TJ FROZEN BLUEBERRIES) Frozen strawberries? You get the picture. You can improvise with this mix to make a variety of pancakes easily from it.

Its also a “versatile base”….it says “Pancake And All Purpose Baking Mix” and on the back of the box they give some recipes for other things you could make using it such as Waffles, Drop Biscuits, Scones, even Focaccia (by adding yeast). I haven’t tried using it yet for these, but I should. I must try making some scones someday. I love them.

The box says “No Preservatives”. We like that right? Price-wise its pretty reasonable, $1.99 for 2 lbs of mix which is not bad compared to big brands like Aunt Jemima’s…which by the way also has “trans-fats”! So why would you not use this? Bottom line: This mix makes excellent pancakes and is worth trying instead of the supermarket brands you might normally get. Get some of this to keep in your pantry and maybe next Sunday make some wonderful pancakes for the family. They will rave about them and say you’re the Number One Pancake Maker!

TOP WITH BUTTER, SYRUP, FRUIT, JAM…. or what ever you like best on your pancakes!

BONUS RECIPE: Spiced Chai Pancakes (see link)

https://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/breakfast/spiced-chai-pancakes

UPDATE 1 – Since writing the original post, I’ve learned my blood pressure was a wee bit higher than it should be, so I am now reading product labels carefully for Sodium, trying to be careful about my daily salt intake. Upon examining the NUTRITION INFO on the box I found this mix has a pretty high Sodium content! (UPDATE: this is an older outdated version; They reduced the Sodium)

NUTRITION FACTS
Serving size 1/2 cup mix
Calories 220
Total Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 900 mg
Total Carbohydrate 42 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 7 g
Vitamin A 0 IU
Calcium 40 mg
Iron 1.44 mg

UPDATE 2 – SINCE I ORIGINALLY REVIEWED THIS, THEY CHANGED THE RECIPE AND REDUCED THE SODIUM  TO 520 mg (it was 900 mg) So Sodium about 1/2 of the previous version!

INGREDIENTS
Unbleached Enriched Flour, Oil, Powdered Buttermilk, Dextrose, Salt.

Now you could make your own “pancake mix” a la Alton Brown’s recipe (link below) and keep it, ready to use, in a cupboard, fridge, or freezer. Then just add oil or butter and buttermilk and eggs, to the dry mix (and forego seperating the eggs) Of course this will cost far less than TJ’s or any other commercial mix and you can control the salt / sodium. But TJ’s stuff is easier, let’s face it.

Alton Brown’s pancake (mix) recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/instant-pancake-mix-recipe/index.html