By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com
Normally I would never try a product like the Batter Blaster™ but my mother bought a can for me and deposited it in my refrigerator. I made brunch for Easter Sunday and decided to add some pancakes to my little buffet. Batter Blaster is described on their website as:
With its unique, pressurized, patent pending process, Batter Blaster™ makes organic light and fluffy pancakes and light and crisp waffles in minutes! And while breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it’s also the most skipped meal. Batter Blaster is fast, easy and fun for the whole family. Batter Blaster makes breakfast a blast!
If you have ever used whipped cream in a can then you will be right at home with Batter Blaster. If you haven’t used whipped cream in a can, crawl out from under that rock. After you free yourself from the rock you can operate the can by holding it inverted above a hot griddle and pressing against the nozzle to release the batter.
For my tests I heated my All-Clad Griddle to 400 degrees. Once the griddle was hot on both sides I squeezed out enough batter to create a circle about 3 inches across and made six pancakes. I let the batter heat up and form bubbles throughout. The first thing I noticed is how the batter is darker and less natural looking than what I mix. Batter Blaster claims it is organic and the ingredients are quite natural, but it had an unnatural look to it. Undeterred, I let the batter cook and flipped the pancakes once there were plenty of bubbles present. The pancakes cooked very quickly, much faster than my mix does. After just a few total minutes the pancakes were ready to be removed from the griddle.
I removed the pancakes from the griddle, and topped them with spray butter and Maple Grove Farms Pure Maple Syrup. I linked to the syrup company because their maple syrup was the highest one rated by Cook’s Illustrated Magazine and tastes great. I bought it after reading the comparison they did and have been purchasing it ever since. If you don’t have it in your cupboard I suggest you pick it up the next time you are at the grocery store.
So how did they taste? The syrup was great as usual but the pancakes were less than stellar in the flavor department. They were rubbery in texture and reminded me of the ones you get at McDonald’s. I suspect they use a batter dispenser of sorts at McDonald’s although I’m sure they don’t pay for a brand name mixture like Batter Blaster.
The pancakes didn’t have much flavor and had the consistency of something you would expect out of a can. Comparing them to my own pancakes is like comparing cheese in a can to aged Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. If you don’t know how to make your own pancake mix, I suggest learning. While it’s super easy to use a can of mix like with Batter Blaster, they just don’t taste right or have the right texture to them. I appreciate the effort that went into the invention and respect the people who made it. It’s just not something I plan on ever using again personally.
The pancakes made with Batter Blaster are low in calories and sit well on the nutrition front. I am very impressed that they didn’t inject tons of fat or calories into the mix and they deserve kudos for that. Most food of convenience is laden with fat and this group bucks that trend.
Todd, you should try DeWafelbakkers Frozen Pancakes!! They are headquartered in N. Little Rock, AR, in business for 25+ years. Seriously, you will never make homeade pancakes again. They are available at Walmart and Kroger around Central Arkansas. There is also a DeWafelbakker “All Natural” line of Waffles and Pancakes available at Whole Foods and Fresh Market. Fantastic!!
I did not know about it but will give them a try.