Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie (2024)

ByJoe Rumrill

Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie (4)

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Considering how technically simple they are to make, the perfect at-home pancake always seems to elude us, doesn't it? The taste always seems a little lacking, the texture's either too mushy or firm, and it's always so tough to get them to end up round and not shaped like something out of a sci-fi film. Flapjacks ordered from a diner, however, rarely disappoint. The items we have in our cupboards are often the exact same as a restaurant's might be ... so what's the big secret? Before you start installing red vinyl booths in your own breakfast nook, we've got the answer.

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Restaurants are simply better equipped to make tastier meals since they haveprofessional-grade appliances and higher-quality ingredients than would be available to the average cook at a standard grocery store. These establishments' primary function is to whip up delectable A.M. eats, whereas home cooks have a million things on their minds. Plus, just the knowledge that they won't have to wash up their own dishes can make a customer more excited about what they're about to eat.

Restaurants use better quality ingredients

Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie (5)

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There's no getting around the sheer simplicity of using a boxed mixfor making pancakes in the comfort of your own kitchen on a weekend morning. However, along with that ease, you may be taking a hit in the overall taste department. Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience. Using milk instead of water when you're utilizing it as a mix-in creates a fluffier texture in the end, much like it does when the same is done to scrambled eggs.Restaurants also refrain from using butter and oil on the griddle, popular ways to grease pans when in your own kitchen, which tend to affect the flavor.

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Overall, it's no wonder that the high quality of restaurant ingredients and standards tend to put their flapjacks over your homemade ones. Don't look at it as competition, look at it as something to aspire to!

Restaurants have professional griddles

Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie (6)

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Unless you happen to secretly live in a Denny's, you likely don't have access to a restaurant-grade griddle. These powerful stovetops are designed to be used every day and are usually made from heavy-duty cast iron for maximum heating efficiency. These griddles are kept at a continuous temperature of around 375 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day, which, according to the Great American Pancake Company, is the ideal griddle temperature. The constant heat leads to a more evenly cooked pancake, that never runs the risk of having the batter poured too early. If the heat is always at the right level, it's always the correct time.

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After taking all of this into consideration, there's no reason to feel bad that your pancakes don't measure up to your neighborhood breakfast dive. They've got the edge over your home stove facilities, and barring a total overhaul of your kitchen, it will always be that way. But, hey, at least at home you don't have to reserve a table ahead of time ... you know the chef personally!

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Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie (2024)

FAQs

Why Pancakes Always Taste Better From A Restaurant - Foodie? ›

Restaurants have professional griddles

Why are diner pancakes so much better? ›

While the griddles themselves likely vary from one diner chain to the next, diners are pretty much all working with a waffle iron or griddle that's already piping hot. IHOP, for instance, requires its pans to be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and uses Crisco instead of butter to grease them, says Grimm.

Why does the last pancake you make always taste the best? ›

Why does the last pancake you make always taste the best? Leaving process continues and allows for the ingredients to meld.

How do restaurants get pancakes so fluffy? ›

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

Why do IHOP pancakes taste so good? ›

In an interview with Delish, IHOP's vice president of culinary innovation revealed that the pancake house keeps the wet ingredients “ice cold” in the prepared batter. This eliminates any heat interaction with the glutens that might cause the batter to rise prematurely.

Why don't my pancakes taste like restaurant pancakes? ›

The batter ingredients remain fridge cold before cooking

If you're wondering why your pancakes don't measure up to those served at a restaurant, you may want to follow the professionals' lead and leave your ingredients in the fridge until you're ready to mix the batter.

Do restaurants put pancake batter in scrambled eggs? ›

Restaurants do have a few tips, tricks, and secret ingredients for really elevating this seemingly simple dish. For example, IHOP adds a little pancake batter to their scrambled eggs to ensure they are light and fluffy while remaining filling, according to The Daily Meal.

Does milk instead of water make pancakes better? ›

Add Dairy for Richness

If your pancake mix simply calls for water, substitute the same amount of milk and enjoy an airier texture. For guaranteed moisture and richness, add some melted butter to your batter. A few tablespoons of Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese will give your pancakes a richer flavor.

What is the scientific secret of fluffy pancakes? ›

When chemical leaveners, such as baking powder, create bubbles in a cooked pancake, the gluten network traps these bubbles and allows a pancake to rise and stay fluffy yet still keep its shape.

Why do you throw away the first pancake? ›

Why is the first pancake often so ugly that it gets tossed? Pancake experts say that there are some possible reasons, including the amount of butter being used, the temperature of the heating surface, and so on. Perhaps the first one is a "tester." Once it is made, the next batches will be fine.

Why are restaurant pancakes so much better than homemade? ›

Restaurants have professional griddles

The constant heat leads to a more evenly cooked pancake, that never runs the risk of having the batter poured too early. If the heat is always at the right level, it's always the correct time.

What makes Denny's pancakes so good? ›

Now you can have Denny's fluffy buttermilk pancakes at home everyday! Have you ever wondered why Denny's pancakes are so much more delicious than ordinary pancakes? The secret is buttermilk. Indeed, buttermilk not only makes pancakes more moist and fluffier, it also gives a tinge of tang not found in usual milk.

Why do restaurant waffles taste better? ›

Many of the main diner waffle secrets are about not what's in these breakfast treats — although there are some sneaky additions that some diner chefs make — but how they're made. Diners will commonly cook their waffles in commercial-grade makers, using heat that's way above the capacity of a standard stove.

How does Gordon Ramsay make pancake MiX? ›

Gordon Ramsay's recipe

You will need 2 eggs, separated, 2 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 60g vegetable oil, 300g buttermilk, 160g plain flour, and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Whisk the egg whites “*ntil foamy”. MiX all the other ingredients in a second bowl, then fold in the egg whites.

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