I have this argument with my wife often. I like to cook, and for me cooking is more than taking frozen meatballs and dumping them into a pan full of jar pasta sauce. I would rather make the sauce, maybe have some meatballs made in advance. My wife seems to think that pre-made stuff or mixes are the way to go. I would rather just make pancakes scratch, which isn’t hard, where she would rather I just open the mix, add water, and make the food. But I do agree that having a frozen lasagna is better than taking the full effort when I just want to get dinner going. So where are your eat the pre-made vs make it from scratch?

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️English
    12•1 day ago

    I would prefer to make it from scratch. But it’s usually cheaper to use frozen and I’m a broke bitch, so that’s usually what I have.

    Pancakes definitely don’t matter. They’re easy because it’s just mixing a few powders and some milk or water and egg. Why not just buy those powders already mixed with a binder? Unless it’s Bisquick. Fuck Bisquick pancakes. They’re just flat dinner biscuits!

    • @AA5B@lemmy.world
      1•18 hours ago

      It does make a huge difference to have a decent mix and Bisquick isn’t filled with all the crap of a standard mix. But remember Bisquick isn’t really a pancake mix: it’s a baking convenience combining a handful of common ingredients in common proportions. If you don’t want the convenience, do it yourself. It doesn’t really even take more time but you have to have the ingredients on hand.

      While I like the flatter style pancakes, if you want fluffier, thicker, make some bacon. Seriously, if you give a little time for the mix to do its thing, Bisquick will fluff right up. Make the mix, cook some bacon, put the pancakes on: bingo, fluffy pancakes

    • @Classy@sh.itjust.works
      7•1 day ago

      Pancakes definitely don’t matter

      Hard disagree. I don’t want 1/2 C of high fructose corn syrup, emulsifiers and preservatives in my pancakes, thanks!

      1.5 C flour, 1/2 Tsp salt, 3 Tsp baking powder, 1 egg, 1/4 C butter, then whole milk until you get the consistency you like. Best pancakes ever. People who need pancakes to basically be a vehicle to pour pure sugar into their mouth haven’t had good 'cakes.

        • Tiefling IRL
          7•1 day ago

          I certainly don’t. The best pancakes have butter and very little sugar. Maybe I’ll add a drizzle of ultra dark maple syrup if I want that taste, but I certainly don’t drench it.

        • @Classy@sh.itjust.works
          2•1 day ago

          Certainly, but do you not think that adding sugar to the pancakes as well as adding sugary syrup on top to be a little bit too much? I think it tastes best when you have a slightly salty, doughy pancake and then you can add the sugary syrup to that

      • @beastlykings@sh.itjust.works
        4•1 day ago

        Tell me more.

        I’d like to make these pancakes you describe. I’m assuming you melt the butter first before mixing it in? Roughly how much milk is a good starting point?

        I used to make Bisquick pancakes all the time, and recently changed to a name brand just add water kind because I tried it for camping once and realized it tastes just as good as the Bisquick, or good enough. I’m assuming that’s because Bisquick pancakes are also not actually that good, based on others in this thread.

        I like convenience, but I also like good food. I’m gonna make both and do a blind taste test with the wife.

        • @Classy@sh.itjust.works
          5•1 day ago

          I will detail my typical pancake process:

          1. Add 1.5 C of all purpose flour, 1/2 Tsp salt, 3 Tsp baking powder to large mixing bowl. Whisk together for like 15 seconds.
          2. Heat 1/4 C of unsalted butter (half a stick) in microwave. Use spoon to make a small pocket in center of dry mix.
          3. Add butter and one whole egg to the pocket, begin to mix with dry mix with spoon, slowly working together starting from the middle. Don’t turn it all at once or it will cake up badly.
          4. Once the mixture starts to get a bit dry, start pouring milk in, small amounts as you continue to mix. The mix will expand, get dry, add milk, etc, until the entire mix is wet and combines well. Good pancake batter should pour relatively poorly, as it is just barely too thick to run, but you can add it to a pan with a spoon. If it’s a bit too runny for your liking it’s no big deal, just add a bit of flour.
          5. Ideally you have a cast iron pan that has been heating for this time, medium heat. On my coil burner I’m usually set to about 4.5. Too low will take forever, but too hot will cook the bottom way too fast and they burn. It takes experimenting to get your setup perfect. I suggest using a bit of butter before you add the batter: dollop it on, push it around the pan, then wipe dry with a paper towel. You don’t want sitting butter in the pan, as it will make the cakes heavy and weird tasting.
          6. Add batter to your liking. Once the batter begins to bubble up on the surface, flip it over. The second side should cook for a bit less time than the first.

          My ideal pancake is a nice golden brown on one side and maybe slightly darker on the other, with a very subtly undercooked center. My partner always eats her body weight in cakes when I make them. I hope this works for you! Please tell me if you have other questions.

          • @psion1369@lemmy.worldOP
            2•1 day ago

            Replace half your milk with buttermilk and watch then grow super fluffy in the pan. And a nice flavor as well.

    • @TheOakTree@lemm.ee
      6•1 day ago

      I only buy krusteaz for pancakes. I don’t really think the amount of effort it would take to hand-make a similar batter would be worth it, nor would it taste remarkably better.

      Though, for actual food, I have the same sentiment as you. I like to cook and experiment, and I have a fairly easy time adjusting things by taste, but I don’t have the time/energy/money to be doing everything from scratch.

    • @Wolf314159@startrek.website
      3•1 day ago

      Pancake mix in particular benefits from the large scales at which the pre-mixed stuff is made. Measuring out those smaller proportions of dry powders precisely and accurately is much more difficult at home even if you opt for using a scale instead of measuring cups. Just read the ingredients list to avoid the brands that may include the extra binders and other ingredients you want to avoid.