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Breakfast

Ginger Pancakes

A batter of flour, ginger, buttermilk, and eggs cooked on a griddle, topped with crystallized ginger.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Ginger Pancakes

8 ea. 4-inch pancakes
Time2–3 minutes per side

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over low heat while preparing ingredients.

  2. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk ground ginger into the dry ingredients.

  3. Microwave buttermilk and milk in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup for 20–30 seconds until it is room temperature. Whisk in the egg, butter, and vanilla.

Make the batter

  1. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed.

  2. Return the batter to the measuring cup, stirring in a teaspoon or two of water if necessary, to make a thick but pourable batter.

Cook the pancakes

  1. Increase heat to medium and generously brush the skillet or griddle with oil.

  2. When oil starts to spider, but before it starts to smoke, pour in dollops of batter, about ¼ cup at a time. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding.

  3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon crystallized ginger over the uncooked side of each pancake as it cooks.

  4. When pancake bottoms are golden brown and tops start to bubble (2–3 minutes), flip the pancakes. Cook until the pancakes are golden brown on the remaining side.

  5. Repeat cooking with the remaining batter, brushing the skillet or griddle with oil between batches. Serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

966Calories
27 gProtein
40 gFat
121 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose bleached flour
Provides the main structure that sets as the pancakes cook.
Buttermilk
Adds moisture and tang, and reacts with the leavening to help the pancakes rise.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that lifts the batter.
Baking powder
Adds additional lift so the pancakes rise and stay light.
Egg
Binds the batter and adds structure and richness.
Crystallized ginger
Adds chewy pieces and concentrated sweet ginger flavor to each pancake.

The step that matters

Adjusting the batter consistency. The batter should be thick but pourable. Too thin and the pancakes spread and cook flat; too thick and they stay dense and may not cook through. Stirring in water a little at a time lets you correct it without overthinning.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, buttermilk, milk, egg, butter, vanilla):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Allspicefits about as well
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, buttermilk, milk, egg, butter, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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