When celeb cooks haven't got a clue

[goldenpeach]

I watched Jamie Oliver making pancakes tonight and laughed. He doesn't know the secret for real American pancakes. I even checked his site, but no, he doesn't know how to make authentic American pancakes. If you are curious, feel free to check my post fromrattopositiveparent.blogspot.com/2009/12/eat-your-heart-out-jamie-oliver.html

Sorry, couldn't resist mentioning my blog. Have you ever had a similar experience while watching a TV cook in action?

Your thread title sounds like a tv programme.

Sorry, can't contribute otherwise.

Sorry to piss on your pancakes, but I don't like the taste of baking powder in pancakes as it is, anything stronger would make them inedible.

Joules xx

I don't like the taste of bakin gpowder either.

No baking powder taste with MAGIC... LOL, sorry it's true.

I think some of the stuff on sale tastes a lot of bicarbonate of soda. In Italy they put vanilla flavoring in baking powder, so you could try Pane D'Angeli, it is sold online. Or add vanilla essence to your mixture (or lemon juice). This also kills the eggy taste if you don't like that (I have a friend who dislikes the eggy taste).

His dc didn't seem to mind

His best pancake recipe is in his Happy Days book, where he separates the eggs and whisks the whites and then folds that back into the rest of the mixture - they are the lightest pancakes (without baking powder!).

He never claimed to be making real amercian pancakes. They are american style. I am not bovvered about american baking powder.

No. I think all celeb cooks are utterly fantastic and a constant source of inspiration in my life.

To me authenticity is important. I grew up in a restaurant in Italy and when I moved to London people didn't understand why I didn't want to eat in many Italian restaurants. Of course Italian cuisine is not the only one that is being bastardised.

When I went to America and then Canada I loved their pancakes as they are light, fluffier and tastier than anything else I have ever tried. So I was quite pleased when I managed to replicate them at home.

Authenticity is key for me, poor imitations are pointless. If I'm going to cook something, I want it to be special.

I agree with Stirling - the separated eggs and whisked whites makes v. light and fluffy pancakes.

How do you know it's a 'poor imitation' unless you try it? It might be delicious. I think that refusing to eat in a place because it lacks 'authenticity' is a bit silly. You might be missing out on a darn good meal.

I believe Jamie uses self raising flour in his pancakes. Self raising flour contains baking powder. Pancakes do not require additional baking powder if using self raising flour.

"Authenticity is key for me, poor imitations are pointless. If I'm going to cook something, I want it to be special."

Doesn't that conflate two issues - quality and authenticity? Obviously 'poor' imitations are pointless, by definition, because they're poor.
I think a lot of UK 'Italian' restaurants are simply not very good, so fair enough not to want to eat in them, but I don't see anything wrong with 'bastardising' if the end result is good.
I also suspect there is no such thing as a single correct way to do American pancakes.... my dh cooks pancakes as he learnt to do in the US and it looks a lot like the way Jamie did it on his programme last night. Maybe there's another way you prefer (tried to look at your blog by the way but it made my internet crash twice) but that doesn't mean Jamie is wrong.

I think restaurants have improved so much overall, some do try to be authentic and source good ingredients, but there are still some using shortcuts to save money or hassle.

I don't mind if a cook does a traditional dish with a spin but sometimes the spin goes too far.. For instance I saw some revolting polenta dishes being touted and as a consequence of eating these concoctions in restaurants my DP dislikes polenta, so I have a hard time convincing him that it can be good. Same can be said of liver dishes.

Perhaps I haven't explained about the pancakes. Say, you go on holiday and taste a divine dish, so you are eager to do it at home, except you cannot get the right texture or thickness (for pancakes). I kept making pancakes and they were not far away from scotch ones, which disappointed me. It's not a bit secret, any American or Canadian can tell you about the baking powder, I am quite tempted to use it for cakes as it makes the pancake rise quite a lot, so perhaps I'd get a really tall, fluffy cake.

Are you a baking powder salesman?

the problem with tasting baking powder in your pancakes is that you're tasting the powder that really doesn't work properly.
you won't taste it if it's done it's job correctly.

or maybe just use sodium bicarb?

omg: i didn't mean to put a ' in the second its (what the hell am i thinking????? )

Well, some cakes do use baking powder. You will find that in some cases it makes the cakes lighter, in others it makes them rise too much and then sink again.
OP you seem to be suggesting that Jamie Oliver doesn't know about it, just because he prefers a different recipe to you

Well he used cups as Americans do, then changed the ingredients a bit. So he made a sort of fat scotch pancake really.

I was just trying to have a bit of fun with it as he is the one who preaches authenticity all the time.

Perhaps I should get a job as baking powder saleswoman.

Oh, do you think Jamie does preach authenticity much? I've never thought he does really - he preaches using fresh ingredients and being inspired by other cuisines but of all the tv chefs he is perhaps the one who is most keen on adapting and simplifying - if you look at Jamie's Italy (which you would probably hate ) it is a mixture of 'authentic' dishes and his own version of things. Likewise the America series he's just done involved him doing his own spin on local cuisines.

StirlingindaGrotto those are scottish pancakes, to whisk the whites before folding them in.

As I have pointed out in an earlier post, the self-raising flour used by Jamie includes baking powder. All-purpose flour, used in Canadian & American pancake recipes, does not and it is therefore necessary to add baking powder to the dry ingredients. As for authenticity, I am a Canadian with several North American recipes for pancakes - none of which are identical!

that's right: americans call plain flour all-purpose flour.
presumably because you can use it for all-purposes (provided you add the requisite extras)