You’re flipping the family’s favorite flapjacks when suddenly your crew whines, “Hey, these pancakes don’t taste like they usually do.”
This groan has been heard in a few households loyal to Bisquick since General Mills reformulated the buttermilk baking mix with little fanfare. There was no “new, improved” banner on the box or press releases sent to food writers.
But the discerning palates of those accustomed to Bisquick recipe pancakes have noticed a difference when they whipped up pancake batter using the classic recipe calling for 2 cups mix, 1 cup milk and 2 eggs. It never occured to these long-time users to look at the box before mixing for a recipe many memorized.
Some barely waited for the butter to melt and the syrup to soak those flapjacks before they were calling General Mills to voice an opinion.
“We found out just how passionate people are about their Bisquick,” says Pam Becker, a company spokeswoman.
The pancakes didn’t have an off flavor, nor did they fall flat. They were just, well, different.
“The texture was slightly different, [although] there wasn’t that much difference in the flavor,” says Rita Herman of Colchester, a mother and grandmother who says she has been a Bisquick buyer “for a long time.”
Cooks, like Herman, who have memorized the simple recipe after years of use, didn’t realize that the pancake ingredients on the reformulated mix box had changed.
The new recipe calls for 2 cups Bisquick, 1 1/3 cups milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
“I didn’t even look at the box,” says Donna Elkinson of Woodbury when told that the recipe had been changed. “The last time I made [pancakes], I noticed that they were a little flat-tasting. Next time I’ll read the box.”
Last fall, when the reformulated Bisquick began appearing on supermarket shelves, the consumer-services staff at General Mills began to log calls from customers who wondered what had happened to the original pancake recipe.
Bisquick was introduced in 1931, after a General Mills executive directed company food scientists to develop a baking mix that didn’t require refrigeration. The original recipes developed for the mix were for biscuits, muffins and shortcakes. A waffle recipe followed in 1932, and the pancake recipe was added in 1933.
The company overhauled the Bisquick formula in 1965 to make better biscuits, but spokeswoman Becker says the company is constantly testing and changing its products.
The pancake recipe was changed, she said, “because consumers told us they wanted a lighter, fluffier pancake.” The waffle recipe also is new.
The new pancake recipe incorporates sugar and vanilla, which, Becker says, some participants on consumer panels were already adding to the basic recipe. The new recipe also required some minor changes to the original Bisquick formula, although the company will not discuss specific changes. A comparison of ingredient lists shows two differences: Dextrose has replaced lactose as the sweetener, and folic acid, a B-vitamin known to reduce the risk of birth defects, enriches the flour.
Not all feedback on the “new” Bisquick and pancake recipe has been negative. “Our research shows that consumers do like the changes we had made,” Becker says.
At least one Connecticut household agrees. “I noticed that they had changed the recipe,” says Theresa Dee of Deep River, who always thinned the pancake batter with more milk than specified in the recipe. “I did try the [new] recipe, and the kids liked the vanilla flavor.”
