is there some trick to making blueberry pancakes?

[ratcreature]

When I make thicker, fluffy pancakes, instead of the thin crepe-style ones, I rather like adding stuff to the batter. Some chopped nuts work well, as does mashed banana, but I always fail when I try adding blueberries. Either the blueberries burst open and the surrounding area gets soggy, or the pancakes brown unevenly due to either blueberry juice getting out and caramelizing faster than the rest of the batter or intact blueberries sticking out making for an uneven surface, but I never get nice texture with blueberries in a fluffy pancake that is evenly browned. The online recipes I've found seem to imply that adding blueberries to pancake batter ought to work like regular pancakes in a straightforward way, yet it doesn't for me.

This morning I considered trying for blueberry pancakes again, but ultimately shied away from it, because my previous attempts never worked, and I'm not sure what I can do differently to make them not fail. I mean, the banana-pecan pancakes I made this morning were tasty too, but it would be nice to be able to make blueberry ones, so I wondered whether anyone has mastered this and could give advice?

Comments

[brownbetty]

They turn everything green if you unwisely include shredded carrots for some fibre.

Excerpts from ratcreature - DW Comment's message of 2016-06-19 16:44:57 +0000:

[ratcreature]

Carrots in pancakes are just wrong. They are not shredded vegetable patties. :P

I mean, I do sometimes make my pancakes "healthier" but with still pancake compatible choices, like using whole wheat flour, or buckwheat flour or oatmeal, even part chickpea flour can work (for extra protein) though with the latter the taste is a bit unusual.

According to my googling you ought to be able to prevent the green blueberry effect by pushing the pH more towards the acidic. Did you use only baking soda as rising agent? Then switching to baking powder or using buttermilk (which I usually take instead of plain milk for pancakes) should do the trick.

ETA: for extra fiber flaxseed should also work for pancakes. I've made vegan pancakes with that flaxseed-for-egg substitution and they were still pancake-like and quite tasty.

[brownbetty]

In my defense, they were muffins

[ratcreature]

Carrot muffins are not quite as bad, but I don't get vegetables in cake either. (Like why do people put zucchini in cake?) I rather stick with apples. Shredded apple in muffins works well.

I have very definite opinions on not mixing vegetables into sweets and desserts. At least on top of my head I can't think of any vegetables I like in sweets, except for pumpkin as pumpkin pie.

[krait]

Heh. Whereas I have definite opinions on zucchini, and they are, Zucchini is delicious and belongs in everything. :D Except maybe ice cream? I admit I've having a hard time picturing that.

(But pumpkin pie is a horrible joke of a dessert. I think pilgrims invented it as either a sheer desperation measure, while starving to death on Plymouth Rock, or else as some kind of religiously-mandated form of self-flagellation. Like the original Graham crackers.)

Now I'm thinking about the saying about knowledge, wisdom, and tomatoes...

[ratcreature]

I really like pumpkin. For a long time I didn't because my mother never made it and the most common way to eat it here seems to be pickled, which is just WTF? (Same as with beets, I thought they were such a gross vegetable because I never had them cooked or raw as kid, only pickled.)

I don't have pumpkin pie often because it takes so much effort. You can't buy canned pumpkin puree (only fresh or pickled pumpkin), and pre--made pie crust isn't a common item either, so I have to cook, drain and puree pumpkin and make a pie crust from scratch to get to pumpkin pie. And most people I usually share my baking with are less fond of pumpkin pies than I am, so it is hard to share.

[lilacsigil]

Zucchini in cake is delicious! Not as "sneaky hidden vegetables for the kids" but as a way of keeping the cake moist and firm. Apple does the same thing but is sweeter.

[ratcreature]

I admit that I have never eaten any cake with zucchini in it, just the idea of it seems gross somehow. Like little green bits in cake. With apple I just use a bit less sugar.

[lilacsigil]

That's why chocolate zucchini cake, so you can't see anything either!