Forum: lifehacks.stackexchange.com
Tags: <food><kitchen>
Title: How to make neat, round pancakes
Question: Whenever I make pancakes, I can never make them very circular. My pancakes always end up looking deformed and barely like a circle.   I've tried just pouring the batter (which didn't work) and using a funnel, which worked better but still didn't give me the result I wanted.   Is there any way to make perfectly (or near perfectly) circular pancakes?

Answers:
sents: text: By putting the pancake batter into a squeeze bottle, you can create any shape you like.
text: There are products made for this purpose but you can also use any old empty squeeze bottle you have lying around, like so: This method lets you draw cool stuff .
text: Though I imagine line-art pancakes like those would be pretty hard to flip.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/64/hairboat
score: 22
sents: text: I have a lot of old 60ml syringes lying around.
text: These make great water guns, but you can also use them to make pancakes.
text: Just be sure you either get all the lumps out of the batter, or cut part of the end off so it can handle some lumps.
text: Simply stick the end into the batter, pull the desired amount into the syringe, and push it into the pan.
text: This is great because: You can make them any shape you want
text: You have measurements on the sides, you can make them all the same size if you want
text: It's not messy at all, hardly any cleanup needed, and it doesn't drip
text: You don't end up with a lot of batter stuck to the edges, like you do with a squeeze bottle And others.
text: The picture below shows a smaller syringe than I usually use.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/25/J. Musser
score: 15
sents: text: Lisa Douglas (played by Eva Gabor) on Green Acres made perfectly round "hotcakes" by pouring all of the batter into a griddle and then using the coffee pot (I think) as a mold to cut out circles.
text: The remaining batter was used as a head gasket for the tractor.
text: See
text: http://www.tvacres.com/food_menus_lisa.htm .
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/1517/Bruce James
score: 5
sents: text: The most inexpensive way to make round pancakes is to pour the batter from a height of at least 12" from the pan.
text: Perfect, round, pancakes every time.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/15893/dsmikasa
score: 4
sents: text: These things that work for me: Heating up the pan.
text: If the pan is heated up appropriately the pancakes will cook before they can spill out of order.
text: Use biscuit tins or a cup or bowl .
text: This solution keeps them circular and in sizes.
text: Using a cup, cut the top off and lay the cup or biscuit tin in the pan and pour the batter in.
text: This keeps the pancakes circular.
text: Additional Info sheknows.com
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/188/Pobrecita
score: 2
sents: text: I make my perfectly round pancakes by simply using a smaller pan, so the edge of the pan creates the shape of the pancake = round.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17858/KMGehweiler
score: 2
sents: text: Pour the batter into metal cookie cutters on the pan.
text: You can pull them off after it's cooked one side and ready to flip, will give you a much cleaner outline and clearer shape of whatever you're aiming for (provided you buy a cookie cutter in that shape), just be careful that they're metal
text: and you don't burn yourself with them.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/14/Jimmy Hoffa
score: 1
sents: text: My wife loves pancakes.
text: I had to learn how to make them like her grandmother.
text: Sounds like your skillet isn't level.
text: Find a level place and pour in the middle.
text: Also if you like rings around the edge melt some butter on medium high temp.
text: Pour into the butter.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/17814/Planterguy
score: 1
sents: text: In addition to the other answers: make sure the pan is not warped.
text: If the pan doesn't have a flat bottom, the batter will always flow to the lowest part of the pan instead of filling the pan evenly.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/5307/Hobbes
score: 0
sents: text: If you have a really big pan, and you don't want to make a messy pancake, use the pan's lid to stop the pancake from going all over the place.
text: It also might cook both sides.
answer_details: author: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/users/20154/Bilal
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
There are many different methods that can be used to create perfectly round pancakes. One is to use a squeeze bottle and squeeze from a sufficient height, making sure that there are no lumps in the batter and that the pan is hot. Other methods include using cookie cutters or a biscuit tin as a mould, or using a small enough pan so that the pan creates the shape of the pancake. As a side note, it is a good idea to make sure that your pan is not warped.
The options include squirting the batter in with a squeeze bottle or a syringe, cutting out round shapes after the batter has cooked, pouring the batter from a height of at least 12 inches, ensuring the pan is hot enough, using a biscuit tin with the base removed as a mould inside the pan, using a smaller pan, using cookie cutters to fry the pancake in and making sure your pan is level and not warped.