woman eating pancakes

Here Is Why Your Pancakes Taste Bitter (Solved)

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Pancakes are one of the most delicious and easiest desserts of all time. Not only is the cooking process easy but also the ingredients are too common that everyone has in their home. However, unfortunately, you might sometimes notice your pancakes are tasting bitter.

Burning your pancakes is one of the most common reasons behind the bitter taste. But if that’s not the case, the bitter taste might be the result of you adding an excess amount of baking powder to the batter. Besides, adding baking soda but not adding any acidic ingredient for neutralizing might also cause a bitter taste in your pancakes.

It is hard to tell exactly what might be the reason behind your pancakes tasting bitter without knowing how you are making them. However, there are some common reasons behind this mishap. So, in this article, I will go over the reasons why your pancakes taste bitter, along with the ways you can solve the issue. 

Why Do Your Pancakes Taste Bitter?

If you add an excessive amount of baking powder, the batter of the pancakes will be bitter. As a result, the pancakes you make will come out bitter tasting. Besides, substituting baking soda for baking powder or simply burning the outer layer of your cake might also be a reason here.

Generally, the main reason your pancakes taste bitter is that you didn’t use the right amount of ingredients when making the batter. However, the following are some of the reasons why your pancakes taste bitter:

1. Adding Excessive Baking Powder

Baking powder works as a base. And, most bases have bitter flavors. Baking powder is no exception in this regard. 

Well, to aid in the process of baking, most recipes simply ask for a little bit of baking powder. If you notice that your pancakes taste weirdly bitter, there is a strong probability you added way too much baking powder to the mixture.

2. Using Baking Soda Instead of Baking Powder

Well, you can no doubt make pancakes using baking soda too. However, your pancake may not turn out well if you follow a pancake recipe that instructs you to put baking powder but you add baking soda instead.

So, if you want to use baking soda instead of baking powder, you will have to change the recipe a little. You must use acid in the mixture to assist the baking soda to perform its chemical reaction properly. 

Moreover, you can also replace the milk with buttermilk or sour milk if you want to use baking soda in place of baking powder. However, remember half tsp tartar cream, one-fourth tsp baking soda, and one-fourth tsp cornstarch are the easiest substitutions for 1 tsp baking powder.

Baking soda serves as the foundation of pancakes, and it has a bitter flavor just like baking powder. So, bitter pancakes result if you don’t carefully blend it in with one acid, which may neutralize it.

3. You Burned the Pancakes!

The bitter flavor may be due to you burning the pancakes when baking them. Well, the most likely reason for your pancakes burning when cooking is due to temperature differences. You might be baking them at an excessively high temperature.

Besides, using butter might also cause your pancakes to burn and taste bitter as a result. Butter tends to burn in the pans, making it unsuitable for making pancakes. So, try to use canola oil or olive oil rather than using butter for preparing your pancakes.

Remember, if you are cooking on the stove, you must make the cakes on medium heat. Also, making the pan too hot before pouring the batter might burn the outer layer of your pancake immediately. 

How To Fix The Bitter Pancake Batter?

By putting acid into the batter, you can make the bitter pancakes taste better. Most people use tartar cream to fix their batter. However, you also have other options. For example, you may add sour cream, cocoa powder, or lemon juice depending on the recipe you are following.

The good news is you won’t have to throw away your bitter pancake batter. You can do a few tricks to fix it. Here are a few ways you can use to fix the bitter pancake batter for your convenience:

Remove Unstirred Extra Baking Powder Or Baking Soda

As I have already mentioned, using excessive baking powder or baking soda may be the reason behind your pancake tasting bitter. You may immediately scoop out the extra baking powder or soda if you detect your error of measurement before mixing the components. This method wastes a small amount of baking powder or baking. But it saves the remainder of your supplies.

To avoid adding an excess of any ingredients, it would be best if you use measuring spoons and cups while cooking. Besides, remember to follow a proper recipe and add the exact amounts mentioned if you want your pancakes to be perfect.

Add An Acidic Component

Adding an acidic component might come in handy if you are making your pancakes using baking soda. It is made out of sodium bicarbonate, which is naturally alkaline. So, it is crucial to temper baking soda’s excessively harsh flavor so it doesn’t overshadow your food. 

To neutralize the soda, use a little bit of one acidic ingredient like vinegar or lemon juice. Furthermore, you may simply add ½ tsp cocoa powder if you are making chocolate pancakes. Besides, you can add buttermilk to mask the baking soda’s acrid flavor or bitter taste. 

Additionally, you can also add some other acidic ingredients, such as brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt, or molasses. These will neutralize the bitter taste of the batter while also keeping the taste normal.

Increase The Other Ingredients

The most simple way is to increase the quantity of the ingredients except baking powder or soda in your batter. Even though you might wind up with a little more pancake than you planned, it will get the mixture into the proper proportions. And, who doesn’t love to enjoy some extra desserts, right?

However, you may only use this procedure if you know exactly how much excess baking powder or baking soda you added. Otherwise, it would be too hard for you to predict how much extra milk, sugar, or other ingredients you should add to the batter.

Don’t Bake On High-heat

Now, this has nothing to do with fixing your batter. But sometimes no matter how tasty and perfect your batter is, your pancakes may come out bitter if you burn them. So, you must prepare your pancakes on medium heat.

If you put your stove on high heat or pour your batter after the pan got too hot, your pancake would burn immediately. As a result, your hard work will go in vain. And, you won’t be able to enjoy the delicious taste of well-cooked pancakes. Instead, the taste would be way too bitter to eat.

Prepare Something Else With The Batter

We don’t always realize we’ve used too much baking soda until the food is done and served. If you have made pancakes that are too bitter for anyone to eat, prepare something else with them.

You can use a bitter pancake, for instance, as an ingredient for making cream. Moreover, you may also freeze it for making fantastic cake-flavored ice cream! Additionally, you can break the pancakes and use them for some layered desserts bases. For example, you can make delicious cheesecake, as well as Tiramisu by crumbling them up.

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