Aussie word for...
 

Pancake?

I bought what I thought was pancake mix, but it was called pillet, or piklett or somehing like that...saw some ready made pillets or pikletts in the IGA today and now I'm going nuts because I can't remember what they were called. A little help?

Pikelets - a pikelet is basically a tiny pancake, maybe 6 - 7cm in diameter. You eat it with butter. It is a little old-fashioned but they are often eaten for morning / afternoon tea. Different to pancake mix because it is probably a little thicker than I would make my pancakes (a very personal issue, I know). Say it 'pike-let'.

Lavandula

Depending on how you like your pancakes, quite a bit thicker.
Some pancakes are only a couple to few mm [1/8"] thick, usually a lighter mix able to be spread and rolled up.

Alternately, you can have them a little thicker for pancake stacks as in those pancake restaurants - one in Rocks Sydney [forget the name] and was [maybe still] another in Melbourne.

As lava says, pikelets are thicker [~6-10 mm, 1/4"-3/8"] and mix is a bit more doughy and basically for butter but also no reason not to have them with jam or cream as an alternative to a scone or you could even have them warm and with honey or maple syrup drizzled over.

Thank you both! It was driving me crazy. I tried the pikelet mix last weekend and found it awful - too dense and heavy - so ended up making pancakes from scratch, which is just as easy really, no need for a mix. I generally make pikelet sized pancakes, or as we Yanks call them, dollar sized, but pikelets definitely aren't a substitute for good old pancakes.

About those ready made pikelets - are they served warm?

Have you tried White Wings pancake mix, Melnq? Don't know what the supermarket version is like these days but I buy mine in 5kg bags from caterer, think they also supply them in 2kg - keep it in fridge. I've been using it for pancakes and crepes for years and American visitors especially love it, so you might too. One cup of mix to one and a half of milk with one egg, beat it up and let it stand for a bit. www.bidvest.com.au, they have an outlet in Perth.

Thanks Pat I'll take a look.

About the only time I ever bought the supermarket version pikelet Mel, I did eat them cold and yes they were heavy and rubbery.
Didn't bother to look at the packaging but would not be surprised if it does mention something on cooking a bit more.

I'd also see nothing wrong in warming them up in the MW or under griller, even in a pan, and might be a bit more palatable.

But why bother Bushy, when pancakes are so much better?

Suppose some people might think it's healthier to fill on the dough than the topping Mel, especially if you wanted to experiment and make up a wholemeal/multigrain mix.

Then again, if having cold, why not just have a slice of multigrain bread.

Variety, the spice of life!

Touché...

And for the record, I don't even like pancakes all that much (the spouse does though). They sit in my stomach like bricks. I'd much rather have a waffle!

I much prefer pikelets to pancakes, you don't need a mix though you make them from scratch. They are delicious hot or cold especially with raspberry jam and whipped cream.

Hi Mel,
As others have said, they're quite different items.

In our family, pancakes are like crepes - very thin, almost translucent. My personal favourite is sprinkle the cooked pancake/crepe with sugar & lemon, roll it up and ..... mmmmmm

Pikelets are smaller, thicker and served either warm with jam & cream, or cold with butter & jam.

Don't know about the mixes - I just make them from scratch.

One of the direst eating experiences I've had was when, in a fit of desperation, I bought something called "hot cakes and syrup" from McDonalds. The "hot cakes" turned out to be a near-inedible variation on pancakes, impossible to describe adequately but having a most strange consistency remiiscent of something made form reconstituted paper waste, while the syrup had all the appeal of sweetened sump oil.

I should have known, I suppose. I also bought one of their pathetic burgers. To someone used to metric measures a "quarter-pounder" actually sounds somewhat impressive until you work out that it's a mere 112 grams or so. And their insistence on including pickles (not to mention their refusal to call "fries" chips) is nothing less than outright cultural imperialism. It's time the masses revolted.

Pancakes being so easy to whip up, though, I've never seen the point of buying the mix, except perhaps in Pat's situation where there are hungry mouths to feed and time is at a premium. (I'm curious, though, Pat - given that you have to add milk and egg, what's in the mix apart from flour?)

I'm with Bokhara2 - I used to love sugar and lemon on Mum's pancakes. As I remember, we had pancakes at home, always hot, and pikelets were made for school fetes, and served buttered.

Hi Neil, just looked at the White Wings packet:

Wheat flour, milk solids, raising agent, sugar, egg powder, soy flour, emulsifier, vegetable shortening. You're quite right you don't have to subsitute water for milk or add the egg, but it gives it a bit more oomph and makes me feel better! Sad, isn't it! As I said, it's incredibly popular with Americans, so I thought Melnq may enjoy it. In fact someone told me that American Bisquick mix is but a poor imitation of our good old White Wings which does lend itself to a light and fluffy pancake and will also make a very thin crepe. When mixed it doesn't form lumps and needs very little standing time, so its a timesaver as well.

Otherwise, have always made them from scratch also, and yes, the only way to eat pancakes or crepes as far as I'm concerned is a sprinkling of sugar and a good squeeze of lemon juice. No Nutella, please!

I'm not so much curious but intrigued that Snoz thinks anybody would be considering anything of Maccas with the real deal.

What, no 100% maple syrup?

For what it's worth, pancakes where I come from are also called hotcakes and flapjacks. They contain baking powder, which makes them fluffy, and most likely the ingredient that was missing in the pikelets I tried.

Buckwheat flour and buttermilk are often used instead of white flour and milk. There are dozens of variations. I put cinnamon, brown sugar and/or applesauce and pecans in mine. And let's not forget the butter and maple syrup.

Ever hear of IHOP? That would be the US based International House of Pancakes. They've managed to build a huge business around the lowly pancake. Just reading their menu makes my teeth hurt:

http://www.ihop.com/

As for Bisquick - it's often used to make pancakes, waffles, biscuits and muffins. It's how we cheat.

Pancake mix is also a big seller in the US, although it's certainly easy enough to make the things from scratch.

I'll take a German potato pancake over the standard North American pancake anyday.

"I'm not so much curious but intrigued..."

Bushwanker, it's time for another English lesson: these words are usually interchangeable, but in any event you can't be "intrigued" without being "curious".

There's certainly plenty of variations about Mel, some rather scrumptuous, breakfasts in some places in Thailand I can recall having tropical fruits embedded into the mix.

And then in a Vietnames Market well of the beaten track I had sat down to have some rice wafers they may have been called, ultra thin pancakes by another name and they just ate them plain! - one reason why most Vietnamese like Asians generally are of smaller/slimmer builds in their own countries or where before Snozza's intriguing Maccas arrived.