Why You May Want To Avoid Buying Pancake Mix

Grocery shopping can be an anxiety-inducing endeavor, especially if you're trying to work within a budget. There are aisles of packaged ingredients, and plenty of them promise to save you time and money. One of the major questions on the minds of customers, however, is which ones are really worth it?

There is at least one product you can probably leave on the shelf, and it may surprise you to hear that it's pancake mix. If you grew up grabbing one of these boxes on a Sunday morning to make up a short stack for your loved ones, it may feel borderline blasphemous to begin omitting it from your grocery list. But the truth is, this stuff is really not much of a shortcut. It still requires you to shop for pricier ingredients like eggs, milk, and oil, and making your own pancake mix doesn't require a whole lot more — just some staples like flour, baking powder or soda, and sugar.  

The from-scratch option also gives you more control over the finished product. For one thing, you can be sure your ingredients are fresh. It's critical to use leavening agents that haven't been sitting around. Plus, flour does indeed deteriorate after a while. It also means you can ensure your flapjacks aren't loaded with preservatives, emulsifiers, or artificial flavors, and will reflect the quality you prioritize in your culinary projects.

You can also customize your pancakes when you make your mix at home. If you feel like experimenting with an alternate flour like whole wheat or rye, a freshly milled local option, or a gluten-free substitute, this is your chance. You can also work in some brown sugar, or swap some or all of the sweetener for a flavorful honey or even maple syrup if you want to double down and infuse the essence of that perfect breakfast pairing right into the batter.

If it's the convenience that you love most about your box, you can create your own premade pancake mix by measuring and combining dry ingredients ahead of time, then storing it in a jar. The homemade mix will keep for about three months. Investing a little time into packaging up your personal blend means you'll still be able to roll out of bed and quickly whip up your hotcakes without the hassle of measuring those elements every time, just as you would with the store-bought stuff. Either way, whether you want to make a basic buttermilk pancake recipe, switch it up with some fluffy lemon ricotta flapjacks, or even turn leftover sweet potatoes into a delicious short stack, it helps to know that you don't need to rely on a package in order to have your breakfast dreams come true.