The edible varieties of pancakes are readily distinguished from the poisonous growths. The harmless ones are healthful and nutritious and grow in private kitchens. The dark, soggy, leaden varieties are usually to be found in restaurants, but have been known to flourish in private kitchens also.

Batter for pancakes should be thoroughly beaten. A soapstone griddle is best, but an iron one will do, and many a savory pancake has come from a humble frying-pan. A pancake turner is essential, and no pancake should be turned more than once, as twice turning makes a soggy pancake from the most promising batter. In the following recipes, where exact proportions are given, they are not arbitrary as regards flour. The thickening properties of various brands of flour vary so much that no exact rule can be given. A perfect pancake batter will be smooth, light in texture, seem somewhat elastic to the touch of the mixing spoon, and will keep its shape on a griddle. Batter enough for one pancake should be dipped from the bowl with a cup or large spoon, as adding uncooked batter to that on the griddle even an instant after it has begun to cook will work disaster to the pancake—and the hapless mortal who eats it.

Maple syrup is the syrup par excellence for pancakes and waffles, but alas, it is difficult to procure. Much of it is made from corn cobs and molasses, sealed in tin cans bearing gaudy labels, and, sailing under false colors, is sold to the trusting consumer at a high price.

Even the bricks of maple sugar are not wholly trustworthy, though, as a rule, a better quality of syrup can be obtained by making it at home from the bricks. The ordinary adulterants cannot so readily be added to a crystallized as to a liquid product, though promising maple bricks are often made of brown sugar flavored with a little maple syrup.

Other syrups can be made easily and may possibly give welcome variety even to those fortunates who can secure the real maple syrup. Maraschino, noyeau, kirsch, and other cordials, orange-flower water, grated orange- and lemon-peel, and the fruit juices left from canned and preserved fruits, can all be used to advantage in flavoring a simple syrup made of sugar and water boiled till it hairs from the spoon. Always add flavoring to syrup just before taking it from the fire, and do not allow it to boil.

SOUTHERN BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Four cupfuls of buckwheat flour, sifted, one half cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a little lukewarm water, one teaspoonful of salt, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Mix with enough warm water to make a thin batter and set to rise over night. If the batter is sour in the morning add a bit of baking soda.

QUICK BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Three cupfuls of buckwheat flour and one cupful of white flour, one cupful each of milk and water, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of salt, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Sift the dry ingredients together, mix, and fry as usual.

KENTUCKY BUCKWHEAT CAKES

One cupful of flour, two cupfuls of buckwheat flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one cake of compressed yeast dissolved in lukewarm water, and one tablespoonful of molasses. Beat well together and let stand over night. Fry on a soapstone griddle greased with suet, salt pork, or bacon. A bit of suet or salt pork tied in a bit of cloth was the old-fashioned method of greasing a griddle for buckwheat cakes.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES WITH SOUR MILK

Take two cupfuls of thick sour milk, add a teaspoonful of salt, and enough buckwheat flour to make a thin batter. Let stand over night. In the morning add a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water and beat thoroughly. Fry at once.

CRUMB BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Two cupfuls of buckwheat flour, two and one half cupfuls of warm water, one cupful of dried bread crumbs, one cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of salt and half a cake of compressed yeast. Dissolve the yeast in the water and mix with the buckwheat flour. Add the salt, beat until well mixed, then cover and let stand over night in a warm place. Put the dried crumbs into the milk and let soak over night in a cool place. In the morning, mash the soaked crumbs and toss with a fork until light and dry, then mix with the risen buckwheat batter and fry as usual.

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Stir one cupful of blueberries into the batter for strawberry pancakes and fry as other pancakes.

CORN-MEAL PANCAKES

One cupful of corn-meal, one cupful of flour, four cupfuls of milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and three eggs. Add the melted butter to the corn-meal, boil the milk and pour it, scalding hot, over the corn-meal. Sift the dry ingredients together, and after the meal and milk have cooled stir the dry mixture into it. Add the well-beaten eggs last, beat hard, and bake like other griddle cakes.

CORN-MEAL PANCAKES—II

Two cupfuls of corn-meal, one cupful of flour, one tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, one tablespoonful of melted butter, three eggs, and sour milk to thin the batter. Scald the meal with enough boiling water to mix it, then add the sugar and melted butter. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the meal. Add the eggs, beaten separately, the whites to a stiff froth, and the soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of warm water. Thin the batter with enough sour milk to make it of the right consistency and bake like other pancakes.

CORN-MEAL FLAPJACKS

Two cupfuls of corn-meal, one cupful of buttermilk, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, half a cupful of boiling water, and one egg, well beaten. Mix the salt with the meal, pour over the boiling water, mix thoroughly and let cool. Add the buttermilk, in which the soda is dissolved, and the eggs, well beaten. If too thin add a very little sifted flour. Fry in butter or in equal parts of butter and lard.

CRUMB PANCAKES

Two cupfuls of bread crumbs soaked in milk until very soft. Add a pinch of salt, one cupful each of sweet milk and buttermilk, one teaspoonful of soda and one egg beaten separately, the white to a stiff froth. Beat hard and add enough sifted flour to make a good batter—probably about a heaping tablespoonful. Fry in butter on a griddle.

GREEN CORN GRIDDLE CAKES

One cupful of milk, one cupful of grated green corn, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, one egg, beaten separately, and enough sifted flour to make a thin batter. Butter the cakes while hot and serve at once.

DANISH PANCAKES

One cupful of flour, three eggs beaten separately, one pinch each of salt and soda dissolved in a teaspoonful of vinegar, and enough milk to make a thin batter.

FLANNEL CAKES

Beat two eggs thoroughly. Add one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, three cupfuls of milk, and enough flour, sifted in with one teaspoonful of cream tartar and half a teaspoonful of soda, to make a thin batter. Bake on a greased griddle, butter, and serve very hot.

FRENCH PANCAKES

One and one half cupfuls of flour, one and one half cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful each of salt and melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of brandy, and four eggs. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and creamy, add the other ingredients gradually and fold in the stiffly beaten whites last. Fry in a very hot frying-pan, using equal parts of lard and butter to fry in. Bake in small cakes, and after taking up spread very thinly with marmalade, honey, or jam, and roll up like a jelly roll. Sift powdered sugar over the rolls and serve at once, without butter or syrup.

FEATHER PANCAKES

Scald two cupfuls of milk, dissolve in it one half cake of compressed yeast, and add a teaspoonful of salt. Sift in enough flour to make a thin, smooth batter, and set to rise over night. In the morning add to it one cupful of thick sour milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, two eggs, beaten separately, one teaspoonful of soda sifted in with enough flour to make a smooth, thin batter. Let stand twenty or thirty minutes, then bake as usual.

FRUIT PANCAKES

Add apple sauce, berries, chopped dates, figs or prunes, orange marmalade, chopped preserved quinces, or any desired fresh fruit or preserves to any good pancake batter, in the proportion of one heaping tablespoonful of fruit to each cupful of batter. The grated pineapple which comes in cans is particularly satisfactory and needs no further preparation. The fruit juice, sweetened, should be used instead of syrup wherever possible.

GRAHAM GRIDDLE CAKES

One cupful of wheat flour and one cupful of Graham flour, sifted with one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of sugar. Beat two eggs separately, the whites to a stiff froth. Add two cupfuls of thick sour milk in which a teaspoonful of soda has been dissolved, mix with the eggs, and stir the flour into the liquid. When the batter is well mixed, add a heaping tablespoonful of butter, melted, beat hard, and fry like other griddle cakes.

HOMINY GRIDDLE CAKES

Soak two cupfuls of fine hominy all night and cook it in a double boiler all day or until soft. When wanted for griddle cakes add two cupfuls of white corn-meal, sifted, three tablespoonfuls of butter, melted, a pinch of salt, three eggs, well beaten, and four cupfuls of milk, or less if necessary, to make a thin batter.

MARYLAND GRIDDLE CAKES

Three cupfuls of flour, three cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and three eggs. Beat the eggs thoroughly, stir into the milk, sift the dry materials together, beat hard, and fry at once.

POTATO PANCAKES

Peel eight or ten good-sized potatoes and drop into cold water to prevent discoloration. Grate rapidly on a coarse grater. To the pulp add four eggs, well beaten, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a cupful of flour sifted with half a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix lightly but thoroughly, and bake on a hot griddle. Serve with butter, but without syrup. Germans add a little grated onion to potato pancakes.

RAISED PANCAKES

Four cupfuls of milk, one half cake of compressed yeast, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of soda, two eggs, and enough flour for a batter. Scald the milk and cool it, then dissolve the yeast in it and add the salt and sugar. Add enough sifted flour to make a smooth, thin batter, cover, and let stand over night in a warm place. In the morning add the melted butter, the soda dissolved in a little warm water, and the eggs, beaten separately. Cover and let stand half an hour in a warm place. Bake like other griddle cakes and serve immediately.

RAISED PANCAKES—II

Mix one cupful of scalded and cooled milk, in which one quarter of a yeast cake has been dissolved, with one heaping tablespoonful of butter, melted, one teaspoonful of sugar, one pinch of salt, and one cupful of sifted flour. Let rise over night. In the morning add one egg beaten separately, the white to a stiff froth. Beat to a smooth, thin batter and fry as usual.

SOUTHERN RICE PANCAKES

Boil one cupful of well-washed rice as directed in the chapter on Cereals. Add to it one half cupful of cream, two tablespoonfuls of flour sifted with one tablespoonful of baking powder, and two eggs, beaten separately, the whites to a stiff froth. Use only enough butter to keep the cakes from sticking to the griddle and serve as soon as done.

RICE PANCAKES—II

Mix two cupfuls of boiled rice with two cupfuls of milk and let stand over night in a cool place. In the morning, add three cupfuls of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of melted butter and one tablespoonful of sugar. Beat until thoroughly mixed, with two cupfuls of milk and a tablespoonful of baking powder, then add three eggs, beaten separately, folding in the stiffly beaten whites last. A cupful of cream may be used instead of the butter.

RICE PANCAKES—III

Dissolve a teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of cold water, and stir it into two cupfuls of thick sour milk. Add two cupfuls of sifted flour, a pinch of salt, two eggs, beaten separately, and one cupful of cold boiled rice. Fry brown on a well-greased griddle.

STRAWBERRY PANCAKES

Six eggs, beaten separately, two cupfuls of milk, two cupfuls of sifted flour, and one teaspoonful of salt. Mix the flour and salt, then add the milk and stir in the well-beaten yolks. Beat hard until the mixture is very light. Then fold in the whites, beaten to a stiff froth. Bake on a well-greased griddle and serve two to each person, with butter and crushed and sweetened strawberries between. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Half this recipe is sufficient for a small family.

SOUR MILK PANCAKES

Two cupfuls of sour milk, two and one half cupfuls of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one tablespoonful of warm water, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and two eggs. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and creamy, add the sour milk, salt, and sugar, and beat till thoroughly mixed. Add the flour gradually, beating constantly, then the soda dissolved in warm water, then the melted butter, then the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Fold together carefully and bake at once.

SOUR MILK PANCAKES—II

To four cupfuls of sour milk add enough flour to make a batter that will pour, sifted in gradually and thoroughly mixed. Add two eggs, well beaten, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water. Bake on a very hot griddle, well greased.

WHEAT PANCAKES

Three cupfuls of flour, two cupfuls of milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one tablespoonful of melted butter, three eggs, and one teaspoonful of salt. Sift the dry ingredients together. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and creamy and stir into the milk. Mix with the flour, then add the melted butter and beat to a smooth batter. Add a little more milk if the batter seems too thick. Add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, fold in carefully, and bake as usual.

WHEAT PANCAKES—II

Three cupfuls of milk, two cupfuls of sifted flour, three eggs, one pinch of salt, and two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Beat the yolks of the eggs till light-colored and creamy, and mix thoroughly with the milk. Put the flour in a bowl and pour on a part of the milk, making a thick batter. Beat this thick batter hard until very smooth, dissolve the baking powder in the rest of the milk and add it, beating thoroughly, and add the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs last. This batter may be used for waffles. The thinner it is the more delicate the cakes will be.