by Catherine Misener
Adding soy to your pancakes and waffles is an easy way to reach the FDA’s recommended 25 grams of soy per day. But what about taste? Premier Harvest uses non-GMO Nexsoy ingredients, which do not have the usual “soy” flavor found in many soyfoods. Read more about our review of their Pancake and Waffle Mix.
This week we review Premier Harvest Pancake and Waffle Mix. It contains wheat and soy flours, evaporated cane juice, non-fat dry milk, baking powder, and salt. Two pancakes provide 6.25 grams of soya very good start to meeting the FDA’s recommended 25 grams of soy each day!
Like all of the Premier Harvest baking product line, the mix contains Nexsoy non-GMO soy flour. The Nexsoy® chemical-free process eliminates the characteristic soy flavor that some people detect in soy foods produced from other methods.
THE TEST:
We made both pancakes and waffles using this mix – with one batch of pancakes we also used the Premier Harvest Soybean Oil.
THE RESULTS:
Making both waffles and pancakes was very quick & easy. The recipe calls for mix, water, oil and an egg (you could use egg substitute). The first batch of waffles actually stuck to the waffle iron, which had never happened before with other waffle batters. We started over and lowered the heat on the iron about 2 levels. The second time the waffles came out perfectly. It might be that the soy flour and/or wheat flour does not do well with higher heat. When baking with soy, oftentimes oven temperatures need to be lowered. The waffles were slightly less “puffy” than other waffles I have made, but the taste was very, very good. I could not detect the usual hint of soy that is often found in foods made with soy ingredients (especially soy flour). While we have become somewhat accustomed to the taste found in many soy foods, strangers to soy are usually turned off by the flavor. The Premier Harvest mix would be a great one to try for anyone, especially those new to soy.
We also made two batches of pancakes (of course, not all on the same day!) We made one batch with the Premier Harvest Soybean Oil and one with Crisco Vegetable Oil. As the soybean oil was unrefined and had a very strong orange color, we were not sure how the pancakes would look. Using the soybean oil did produce a slightly darker pancake – not orange, but a bit more yellow than others. They certainly looked fine and did taste great, as well. The pancakes made with the vegetable oil were lighter and tasted just as good. We could not tell any difference in taste between the two batches. We did notice that the pancakes cooked much faster than pancakes that do not contain soy flour. Again, cooking and baking with soy do require adjustments in cooking temperatures and times. There were not the usual telltale signs of bubbling in the pancake batter than signal “time to flip”, so keep a close eye when making the pancakes. I just lifted the pancake after 45 seconds and flipped when the bottom was lightly browned – both waffles and pancakes cooked faster than other batters.
We were very pleased with both the waffles and pancakes. As stated, they were a bit less fluffy than others, but certainly much lighter and airy – we did not feel as if there was a heavyweight in our stomach after eating (which can happen with some heavy batters!) Both waffles and pancakes tasted great – there was not a hint of soy flavor, which really surprised all of us.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Premier Harvest Pancake and Waffle Mix is a great one to try. The box states you can make about 24 pancakes per box. There is not a note about how many waffles you can get out of one box, but I would estimate about 10, depending on the type of waffle (Belgium waffles use more batter). You can find the Premier Harvest product line, which includes baking products, meatless meal kits, and granola and soy cereal, at health food stores. The company has not yet reached national distribution, but you can find their products at http://www.efoodpantry.com The prices at this online store tend to be higher than at health food stores, depending on where you live. To learn more about the Premier Harvest product line, which only uses nonGMO soy ingredients.