Pancakes

Mark Bittman, cook and renowned columnist for the NY Times, said he had no idea why people buy pancake mix instead of making it themselves.  After making these pancakes from scratch, I totally agree.  They were amazingly fluffy and simple, and they totally made my morning. =)

So here's a little pancake science.  This recipe calls for mixing 2 tbsp of white vinegar with 2/3 cup of milk.  Why?  Adding vinegar (or lemon juice) to milk is a great way to make your own delicious buttermilk!  But why doesn't that curdle the milk and make it gross?  Here's an answer from foodreference.about.com:

When adding lemon juice or vinegar to hot milk, it will curdle almost immediately, but adding it to cold milk will not produce a reaction for quite some time.

As with so many cooking things, temperature is a huge factor.  Cold slows so many reactions, which is why putting food in the fridge often stops it from breaking down as quickly.  I love science!!

It always takes me a little bit of time to figure out the right heat, but after briefly experimenting with a cast iron skillet, I find that I prefer a standard non-stick pan at medium-low heat.  If I had a griddle, I would use that in a heartbeat, but it's another item on the cookware wish list for now...

What more can I say?  Pancakes are awesome and you should eat them.

Adjustments / Substitutions

I used lactose-free milk instead of regular milk, and they tasted totally awesome.  No qualms there.

Next Time

I would just start off on a lower heat instead of a higher one, because I feel like it's much easier to just wait longer for them to cook and adjust upwards instead of burn them and go "Aw crap!  I just burnt one of my 8 precious pancakes!!"

Source: Fluffy Pancakes - kris (5 star rating with over 4500 reviews?  Yeah, they're good.)