So long Aunt Jemima
Under threat of exposure and public humiliation I agreed that it was time to try that whole pancake thing once again. Perhaps you’ve caught a whiff of my irritating greener-than-thou attitude? That grating pride I send out over the airwaves for each non-exploding loaf of bread baked and each precious raspberry harvested from the garden?
How dare I brag about a batch of brownies? The audacity is despicable. Why? Because I make, I mean, I used to make pancakes from the box.
It was first brought to my attention that this was pathetic about a year ago. And by pathetic I mean I was told in no uncertain terms by my pal Peggy that using pancake mix was akin to spreading butter on a twinkie and calling it homemade. It worked. She successfully guilted me into trying pancakes from scratch. The results tasted like cardboard, if that cardboard had been dragged behind a car and then slathered in syrup. Not good.
But recently I was encouraged to get back up on that horse. I started out on Saturday morning with some hungry children and the proven recipe of my friend Kelly’s mother. Determined, I grabbed the flour and set out to honor Eileen’s memory, and kick the Jemima habit to boot.
Eileen would have been proud.
The pancakes were beautiful. And tasty. Light and fluffy, and when I added a swirl of strawberry puree, yeah, well, that didn’t turn out quite as well. But didn’t they look pretty before the berries charred black and sent billows of smoke into the kitchen?
For the next batch I added some puree to the batter, and that was a delicious success.
In the interest of fair reporting, I scanned the ingredients list on the pancake mix. A lengthy list, which is never a good sign, but it was not altogether terrible. So why shun America’s favorite Auntie? Well, for one, homemade really does taste better. And another thing? The packaging. If you don’t know the evils of yet another extra box, swing by Sustainable Dave’s site, he’ll fill you in.
Thanks to those who insisted I keep my nose to the pancake griddle, I am ready to say farewell to this old Aunt Jemima–
I don’t need her anymore. I’ve got some pancake confidence, a good recipe, and a mini-Jemima of my own.
14 Replies to “So long Aunt Jemima”
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Thank you so much Daphne! (You made me cry. Are you happy now?) I sent it along to my family to enjoy. My mom would be so touched!
Well, I hate to disagree, but there is true deliciousness in a box of Krusteaz instant blueberry pancakes and a liberal dousing of Log Cabin corn, er I mean, maple syrup product. I have been trying to perfect the pancake for a decade and I still can’t do better than the “just add water”! You’ll have to school me.
My husband is the pancake maker in our family and he is truly a pancake snob. He would not eat one that came out of a box! Yippee! We have been doing this right for years. The only thing is he of course likes the nasty Mrs. Butterworth syrup on it. I have “control” over the kids and we are all eating maple syrup! I have liked that for years. Yippee for us! I love your education! Keep it up my friend!
Thank you for mentioning Eileen in your blog. She was the queen of making everything from scratch. I sometimes worried that I would be sent into the pasture to grow our own wheat.
I feel like I should defend my indictment but not sure how…either way, I’m glad you homemade pancakes were a success!
I love to make from scratch all things sweet and yummy, but I much confess to relying on a mix for pancakes. The ones from scratch do taste good, but it’s the FLUFF factor I crave! From the box, they’re so light and airy and mine are always flat as, well, as a pancake!
If you’re ever in the mood for pumpkin pancakes, I like these ones: http://weelicious.com/2008/11/26/vegan-pumpkin-pancakes/. The recipe on weelicious for banana pancakes (http://weelicious.com/2008/06/10/whole-wheat-cinnamon-banana-pancakes/) is yummy, too!
Cute pic.
So am I free to date Aunt Jemima now?
Can’t wait til I get to taste the new age marvel. How about blueberry? G-P M
We expect the homemade pancakes whenever we come to visit!
My sister just brought me the minimally packaged oatbran pancake stuff they make in Amish country (several bags). Next time my mom goes to Colorado I’m sending her with some of this stuff for you. The Amish have got it right. also, watch your mail, I’ve sent an accompaniment for your next batch o’ flapjacks. happy griddling!
Wait, I use Krusteaz whole wheat pancake mix. It comes in a bag, not a box and it has “whole wheat” in the name… that counts as homemade, right?
I will give it a try – thanks for sharing the recipe. Very cute picture of mini-Jemima! xoxo
I still love Peanut butter and chopped bannanas, and pecans on mine. 😉 it’s almost like having desert for breakfast! I did try adding some almonds (really finely chopped) into the last batch of batter. Yum! Oh and my recipie has 1+ T of vanilla in it and a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. Thanks for the wonderful post!