CATEGORY

Pancake and Waffle Mix

2009 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER

Aunt Jemima

What Makes a Great Pancake and Waffle Mix?

For a classic, sweet breakfast, nothing beats a stack of pancakes or a fresh waffle. Use dry pancake and waffle mix to skip a few steps in the cooking process — simply whip the batter and get the skillet hot, and you'll have a hearty breakfast ready in minutes.

The best pancake and waffle mix will dissolve completely once you've added all the necessary ingredients. The resulting pancakes or waffles should be fluffy and enticingly golden brown.

In great pancake and waffle mix, look for notes of toasted flour, egg, and oil in its moderate overall aroma. Buttermilk pancake and waffle mix will feature these same notes, in addition to lactic and dairy accents.

A moderate level of sweetness will be the predominant basic taste in a high-quality pancake and waffle mix, with very low amounts of saltiness, sourness, and bitterness also detectable. In the buttermilk variety, sourness will play a slightly greater role.

The same notes from the pancake and waffle mix's aroma profile will carry through to the mix's overall flavor, at slightly increased intensities. Along the same lines, a great buttermilk mix will feature lactic and dairy notes at slightly more evident levels than in the same mix's aroma profile.

Expect pronounced tenderness from each bite of pancake or waffle, as well as moderate moisture that lends a quick dissolve. The best mix will allow pancakes and waffles to absorb syrup at a moderately quick rate, with the flavors complementing one another.

We know what makes a great pancake and waffle mix, but what makes a bad one?

The worst mixes are bound to not only create pancakes and waffles that form into an awkward, cohesive mass when chewed, but ones that become soggy and disintegrate all too quickly. Another issue to watch for in inferior pancake and waffle mixes is the potential presence of an unpleasant aftertaste stemming from chemical leavening.

Why is Aunt Jemima the best pancake and waffle mix?

Our expert chefs were happily surprised by the fully developed flavor of Aunt Jemima's pancake and waffle mix; certain chefs even compared it favorably to scratch mixes they've had. The pancakes made from Aunt Jemima's mix were appropriately fluffy and absorbed syrup at a reasonable rate.

This judging was for dry pancake and waffle mix, not including refrigerated pancake mix, or frozen pre-made pancakes or waffles.

Other Leading Brands:

Betty Crocker, Betty Crocker Bisquick, Hungry-Jack, Krusteaz