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You're absolutely right with the taffy, it is still a thing in most places here in Canada (Quebec). My uncle's best friend had a maple grove (i think is the term... érablière in english) and he was making maple syrup, and when people were wanting to "harvest" their own and help in the process, he was offering a bit of taffy for free. Most "érablière" does taffy or in house maple syrup pies (amongside many other items)
I never understood the purpose of whole wheat pancakes. It's like, they're fucking pancakes, why is there this half assed attempt to make them somewhat healthy. They're fucking pancakes. You're not eating them to be healthy. You're eating them because you have a craving for trash. And if you get whole wheat pancakes and you're not satisfied, you'll go and eat more trash to compensate for that craving.
Additionally, why aren't they using a mix? Pancake mix, like cake mix is formulated for a decent pancake. Measuring out and making these from scratch is just to throw your nose up in the air and proclaim "mmmm, yes, I make all my pancakes from scratch, not like the plebs."
Fun fact: in a later interview Steven boldly proclaimed that the only thing he would change about the recipe is to add the other half of the cheesecake.
Beth's Pancakes were photo worthy. The kind of visually perfect pancakes you see on a package rather than actual homemade ones. Absolutely amazing job.
@@ChefJamesMakinson Pancakes, crepes, all those wonderful variations: the best part is their simplicity (which doesn't mean "easy"). The minute you start fiddling around, like the professional chef did, to me, anyway, you've changed the basic nature of the bread.
@@ChefJamesMakinsonI’d try stevens pancake he definitely needs to work on it tho mabie lessen the amount of cheesecake Or have it in small chunks kinda like how you have fruit in pancakes the idea is good in my opinion but could use more work I mean cream cheese is good on pancakes And cheese cake is in like icecream ect so why wouldent cheese cake be good XD what you think
I knew Beth would win when she said she made this for her kids - thats the ultimate highest bar for pancakes. Im speaking from experience as some of mine have been sent back immediately by a 3 year old :)
what I HATE about these epicurious videos is that they NEVER taste each other's food -- I would love to hear the chef's opinions of the other two dishes -- I would love to hear the amateur's opinion of the chef's dish
At the very least I would love to see Rose tasted them as she is the food scientist. They only tasted each other when it they swap ingredients. But that hardly fun because home cook tried their best to cook the recipes with the pro chef technique (I doubt they went totally blind) while the chef don't even have to use the ingredients in the way that the home cook intended.
"With that much alcohol you can get drunk eating pancakes.... unless that is what she wants...." As a fan of this series I can absolutely guarantee that is exactly what she wants. Everything she makes is designed to get you wasted
I have an inkling that most of the time, the chef personal method recipe were actually the same as level two ones, but epicurious wanted them to add more frivolous stuffs to differentiate from the other two. Sometimes it worked but sometimes it make the level 3 pro chef actually inferior to level 2 ones.
Over 5 shots of bourbon was poured in. I actually made scrambled eggs once and thought "hey, let's try a splash of whiskey! It probably won't be bad" until I ate the eggs, the taste was very strong, and I got tipsy. "Oh yeah, that might have been 1/4 cup and whiskey is consumed in shots..."
She should have used fireball so the syrup can retain it's viscosity. Overall penny's pancakes looks like they were made by an eight year old that never made pancakes before. She should have made apple jelly instead give some shine to those dark sad looking pancakes.
You're right, Beth did the best! Pancakes are simple, and as my late grandfather would say "they're intake devices for butter and syrup". Simple recipe and quality syrup is all you need.
I wanted to say "I'm suprised that Penny didn't use any alcohol this time" but then the bourbon made its appearance. XD She's known for liking her booz in her recipes. I'll give Steven one thing - he's inventive, even if those inventions don't end up with a good result. And Beth is a treasure, she's nice. And tends to do the best jobs on these level-3 videos (although the pizza one was a bit weird). As always, thanks for the video. :)
On the pizza one she says her husband likes a bland pizza so that is what she made. If he instead liked a heavily loaded pizza I feel safe in saying that she could pull it off.
Beth is one of our favorites in the epicurious bunch. She's such a sweet woman and she takes the approach of making something the right way, not changing it to be something different. She creates tasty and consistent outcomes and you're not left scared of eating a pancake because of all the alterations. Since she's been baking for so long, I'm also inclined to think that she has a pretty good idea of what alterations would truly be improvements and what would be a waste of time because it doesn't improve the taste/texture enough to make up for the extra time and cost. Beth is one of the best, including all the professional chefs!
It's amazing how a Chef Instructor tried to make things extra to a level that it made basic home cooks look professional. I've realized that if the name of the Level 3 isn't Saul, Frank, Yuji, or Esther, they're usually out of their depth on Epicurious.
there are no levels [cringe] there is only good dish or bad dish for every single serving of food you put out. anyone from home with an instruction video can make the most amazing dishes
That maple taffy thing is still a thing! During my time at college (University of Vermont), they had a whole event! After the first real snow of the season, they would literally just pour maple syrup on a clean section of the snow and make that for students to enjoy! It's called "sugar on snow" and is often served with a pickle! It's so delicious
I'm not american and I've never had american pancakes, but whenever i think of american pancakes, i'd see something like beth's. Hers look straight out of a cooking book. Stellar performance and I'd love to try them like that. I have a feeling having a single pancake of the pro chef would knock me right out because that's so much liquor to be having in the morning.
As absurd as it is that this man put half a cheesecake in his pancakes, even ignoring he just had cheesecake ready, he has done this often enough to think that this is a reasonable process. Like, "oh yeah the cheesecake for the pancakes, we all know that". The people in charge and like the crew just sat there and let him do it. I like his energy, I like his enthusiasm, don't take this the wrong way. Of all the people this had to go through before publishing the video, not one stopped to think that maybe this might not be a good idea. They saw this man walk up on set with a cheesecake ready and literally let him cook. I feel like he could've gotten a similar result with sugar and cream cheese or something like that, there's definitely potential there.
The thing is, there are ways to get the flavor profile Stephen was going for, but not by sacrificing half a cheesecake to do it. A strawberry cream cheese sauce on plain pancakes with a bit of crumbled graham cracker sprinkled on top gets you the flavor and the consistency he was after.
Cheesecake pancakes are def a thing. Just gotta be careful, as you said. too much cream and sugar can cause issues. usually when doing cheesecake in pancakes, you semi-freeze it then chop it in small tiny dice/cubes and sprinkle it in the batter on the griddle, like you would with fruit like the blueberries.
The irony of Steven not knowing what je ne sais quoi means reminds me of a joke that my French teacher used to do. He would ask pupils what je ne sais pas means and when someone would give the answer of “I don’t know” he’d say “Why did you put your hand up then?!”
As a Canadian, yes we do make the maple toffee at the Cabane à Sucre (sugar shack) in March/April which is the harvest season for maple water which is later reduced into maple syrup, maple butter, maple fudge, sortilège which is a maple whiskey. Also, in Canada, maple syrup is highly regulated and graded based on quality/colour/intensity and you absolutely cannot market anything as maple syrup unless it actually is 100% maple syrup.
2:05 - I try to always measure by weight, whenever possible (excluding liquids, herbs, spices, etc), especially when prepping a recipe for the first time.
The chef's pancakes look hard and dry. Maybe that is why she has runny sauce? Beth looked like a winner as soon as she mentioned how often she cookwd this with her family. The test pancake just confirmed she knew what she was doing.
At 11:40 yes they still make that. It's a classic so I doubt they'll ever stop. Being Canadian, I don't see maple syrup as a big deal but when I went to Italy, I noticed that restaurants emphasize "Canadian maple syrup" when they have it. Also, people that I visit really appreciate when I bring them some.
I love the color and fluffiness of Beth's pancakes. Mine are always thin and flat. I wish I could have a good recipe that would have a fluffy and thick / well risen pancake.
I was involved in making syrup during one maple season and it was loads of fun. The blisteringly hot sugar shack and the frigid cold of the winter, mixed with gathering the sap from all the tapped trees, then eventually eating the product…. So so good
Canadian here, from Quebec. Yes, we still do maple taffee!!! It’s the greatest thing about sugar season (when we can actually harvest the maple water and turn it into syrup). Fun fact, there are different “grade” of maple syrup, ranging from amber (light color and taste) to dark (darker color, stronger taste). To any who have never experienced real maple syrup in a sugar shack, you’re missing something truly amazing. Great vid!
I was always taught that the best way to make pancake batter was to leave it lumpy, doesnt get overworked and makes a nice pancake. Personally, my favorite is blueberry pancakes, and i undercook the center so its still runny. Kind of like blueberries and vlcream. Way my dad made them when i was a kid. Annoyed him that the entire family preferred undercooked pancakes.
Beth's pancakes are by far the best! The color is on point, great thickness and will have classic flavors. Steven seems like the kind of guy who is not afraid of experimentation and to be adventurous with food in general
Beth kept it simple and easy to control. I think people usually make pancakes with their mom or dad when they're children and so when they come up on camera to make an "elementary level" dish, they go way too over the top. Cheesecake batter strawberry sauce is an epic ambition. Bacon, bourbon maple, apple butter, wheat batter, etc too much
I enjoy watching this format from Epicurious. Typically I'll laugh at the level 1 chef, cook following the Level 2 chef, and then pick a couple of points to adopt from the level 3
Even though it's probably a disaster, I appreciate the attempted creativity of the Level 1 chef. It seemed like the sort of bizarre thing a Level 3 would come up with. Often the level 1 just uses a lot of pre-made stuff from a box and puts it together.
@@clawedsimian The level 1 chef actually made a dish called khichdi by accident. Even though that is not a biryani, I do appreciate his efforts and I believe that might taste like a decent khichdi. That is why I said nothing about his 'biryani' (considering I would be close to a Level 1 chef myself and I have made biryani myself a few times). The level 3 chef though.............that was painful for me (as an Indian) to watch. Freekeh grain for basmati rice???????????? Why?????? Uncle Roger is right to say that White Rice Matter.
@@ssjgoku276 They're responding to the original post, not to your reply about the biryani episode. If someone responds to your reply, you'll be tagged in it.
Hello chef. I'm from Indonesia. I love chef videos. I really like to learn how to cook. Chef James taught me how important the technique is and if the technique is good then your food will be good too. I love to see chef videos reacting to people cooking and chefs provide solutions by providing techniques and basic knowledge of food ingredients. Thank you Chef James for your knowledge. 🙏
in defense of cheesecake: one of my favorite breakfast hacks (and super popular with the grandkids) is to add a small scoop of cheesecake to the top of the stack before serving. It elevates simple pancakes to the next level. Ice cream works too.
In my house, we called the first pancake, the sacrifice to Oolateque. This is a reference to the heavy metal movie. The sacrifice is eaten by the first person to make it to the breakfast table. it must be eaten or all the other pancakes or doomed to deformity. Yes we’re being silly but you know it’s breakfast.
I think adding cheesecake is actually a fun idea. In Russia, quark pancakes (syrniki) are popular; this would basically be a fatter, creamier version of that
From Canada: The frozen maple candy is something you might get at a winter festival or something, so we do it, but at home, we often use the fake corn syrup stuff on pancakes like everyone else, it's just a lot cheaper.
I'm actually shocked. Specially one from boot camp can't even make a thickened sauce?! That's worrisome. Kudos to level 2. She knocked it out of the park with the blueberry theme. Really shined through!
I'm frankly amazed that a professional cook of 15 years can mess up something as simple yet delicious as pancakes. Those blueberry ones on the other hand look heavenly.
Yeah, Beth is pretty consistently excellent. Those pancakes look amazing. I wouldn't pay money for either of the other pancakes. I personally prefer them to be a little thinner and wider, more like a crepe, so you can roll them up a little. As an Australian, one of my favourite pancake toppings is a little butter and vegemite. I also like using leatherwood honey instead of syrup, it's got a great complex slightly smoky flavour.
Loved Penny’s plan. I make a similar pancake for hubby. Steve’s was ambitious but I would have used a sliver of the cheesecake puréed with the strawberries as a topper. Beth did do the best .
I like the level 2. I use coconut oil to grease my pan and prefer a crisp outside to my pancake. If I add fruit to the batter, I prefer to puree the fruit first. I had a maple syrup caramel from a friend whose family is part French Canadian.
Canada here... Yes maple toffee is children's favourite with snow from the forest. And Rye when you boil the maple water, and pancake on top of the wood stove (start with softwood to heat the stove then a nice piece of hard wood and wait 10-15 minute then add your pan on top of the stove).
I do like the cheesecake idea but could you freeze/chill little chunks and drop them onto the batter in the pan? (like Beth's blueberries - yes she wins!)
No question Beth. Easily the most knowledgeable. You gave some good tips. I always just bought store was in the freezer dept since I moved away from my Ma's. Problem with them are they are too small.
From the people featured in this video, the cheesecake from Steven became a staple joke in the sorted community and Penny has joke that she adds alcohol into everything.
Real maple syrup is the best pancake sauce ever and yes Canadians do pour it on snow to make taffy but we cook off more of the water first so that it’s thicker
I knew Beth would do the ebst as soon as they had introduced who they cook for (and since pancakes are such a staple and simple dish, there's less forgiveness for "improving" it): Stephen never mentions anyone eating his, so I didn't think it'd turn out OK. Penny said she did hers for her husband, but adults are too polite. Beth? Beth makes her for her husband and grandkids. Kids are honest about what they eat and if they didn't like her pancakes, she would have known.
So I'm not the biggest fan of american style pancakes, but out of all these, Beth made something I would be elated to try, because they also look amazing! The Cheesecake batter looked like a halloween prop and Penny just made a few choices I would probably not like very much, especially with the bourbon sauce.
Beth She is a grandma She know a lot from experience, she made something simple What she always makes didn’t complicate it Also grandmas cooking never fails
I have a suggestion of a channel I enjoy and maybe you'd like to check out! It's Anti-chef, it's basically the journey of a man learning to cook (and nowadays is pretty good at it). He usually follows Julia Child's recipes, but there's a bit of everything. He's a bit chaotic 🤣 but he's a homecook after all, and a incredibly determined one at that. It can be interesting to see how a person interprets written recipes and see if you have any different takes! If not, at least check his videos, I quite enjoy his channel and I like recommending it :)
Beth is just a treat every time in this series. She always makes the best food, and I wish I had her for a grandmother. This episode was so infamous for Stephen. Spawned the best comment ever. "Everyone gangsta until Stephen added the cheesecake."
IHOP puts actual cheesecake in their cheesecake pancakes, but they'd probably put less than a slice into that much batter. And if they were mixing by hand, they'd probably cut it up first (they use an industrial mixer, so less necessary). Good job, Beth! Our boy didn't do the best job, though his unburnt pancakes are probably at least edible. And, yeah, probably burned from too much sugar. Should've gone with fresh strawberries either without syrup or maybe macerated, though. Chef went a little too fancy; I think in these videos, the chefs are trying to show off with ingredients and technique, and when the techniques are simpler, they tend to do too much with ingredients. Beth did best with just a few simple ingredients and pretty much the same techniques, because pancakes are pretty much a solved problem for the experienced home cook. Personally, I'd've done apple butter _or_ syrup instead of and, and real maple syrup definitely doesn't need all that bourbon. Also, hooray for living in the northeastern US, where maple syrup is readily available! Unfortunately, my aunt is retired from the Vermont Board of Commerce, so I don't get loads of free syrup anymore.
for me at home, pancakes here are crepes. they're pretty good eaten sweet or savory! Also, just from seeing this, Beth has made quite a lot of pancakes in her life and so her's were the best of all.
Beth did the best job by far. Saw her in the pizza video where she did outstanding. She seems a solid cook, knows the right steps, and can confidently create great food. Beth, well, perhaps a 15 year title allows her to flex her bourbon. Stephen, he's trying, just needs to reign in that horse a tad. Great video!
Pancakes are like, my favourite food ^^ Couldn't imagine them with bacon tho, I thought that was a little random to add xD I've also never seen anybody put a whole cheesecake UGH what even is that xD I think Steven just wanted to make cheesecake, so he used it for the recipe ;) Can't wait for another review ^^
Definitely Beth has the nicest looking pancakes...but still, don't understand how this can ever be described as breakfast. So much sugar goes in these, even without all the syrup. (Buckwheat) crêpes with some bacon on the other hand I do allow myself as a breakfast treat on special occasions.
What I learnt about pancake is that if you greased the pan too much, the pancakes won’t have that smooth evenly brown surface texture. It will become uneven browning with little/large circles spots where moisture trapped and lift that small area off the pan, causing those circles of uneven browning from oil pooling underneath blocking the moisture from escaping. To make a smooth surface pancake all you need is just a very very thin coat of oil , apply it using a paper towel just like the 2nd chef instructed and clean up those visible pooling of oil. That will makes your pancakes looks beautiful and smooth.
Uncle Roger just released a new fried rice video. The most amazing recipe. The skill of the chef is incredible. Would love to see you do a reaction video to that.
Hearing you mention pouring the heated syrup onto snow like that brought back memories. It wasn't something my family did but we lived rather close to a Sugar Shack that was open to the public and would give little tours on how the process of collecting the sap and making it into the syrup worked. They also offered pancake breakfasts as well as many other treats made from maple syrup.
Stephen looked like he was trying to do a home cooked version of something IHOP would do. If you want cheesecake in the pancakes, I would imagine you would cut the cheesecake into small pieces and add them while the pancake is cooking (like how you add blueberries; they're put in the pancakes just how Beth did, so they aren't part of the actual batter). That's pretty much how you add most things to pancakes. But, I don't like cheesecake, so maybe I'm wrong.
1:20 Ain't that the truth. Back before I got him fully trained, my partner used to think that the only part of the dishes that really needed to be cleaned was the food contact surface. He'd just leave the bottoms of plates and pans, the outsides of pots and bowls, and the handles of utensils as they were. That resulted in a pretty heated conversation when I noticed it.
Great content James! We’ve been bingeing this past week and we love how you incorporate respectful feedback while not coming off as stale. Great mix of reaction with laughter and knowledge. We’re loving revisiting our favorite videos from other TH-camrs you’re reacting to. Keep up the great work 🎉
I agree about the syrup. The genuine maple syrup has the different consistency whereas the syrups that calls itself that isn't real syrup, it's just mixture of additives & preservatives with a different consistency & taste.
11:35 - Correct - tasty weird popsicles are made by Canadians, my parent did that. The reduced moisture content from boiling it and cold "mould" casting makes it taffy like. (You can also add things like cinnamon or vanilla to it to make it taste different)
Reminds me of that father daughter bonding scene from Mad Men "What's on these?" >Mrs. Butterworth's *Picks up bottle* "That's rum. Read labels." >Is it bad? "no, not really"
Steven's recipe is clearly an adaptation of something he made while he was hung over Beth has clearly been making pancakes every week for her entire life The professional chef doesn't do 'em often enough and tried to make 'em too fancy
There are still a few places that make maple taffy here in Canada. It has decreased though throughtout the years because the winter seasons has been mild. And I agree with you Chef, real maple syrup is amazing.
I always enjoy Beth in these videos, she usually makes something close to what I'd eat/could see myself making so maybe I'm a bit biased. As for Steven I enjoy his ambition, but his would be too sweet for me lol. Thanks for the video!
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You're absolutely right with the taffy, it is still a thing in most places here in Canada (Quebec). My uncle's best friend had a maple grove (i think is the term... érablière in english) and he was making maple syrup, and when people were wanting to "harvest" their own and help in the process, he was offering a bit of taffy for free. Most "érablière" does taffy or in house maple syrup pies (amongside many other items)
Ontario & Quebec is the major producers of maple syrup from the maple trees.
Hey, could you please make the next reaction video with actual great food¿?
This was more or less a bit torturous to watch.
I never understood the purpose of whole wheat pancakes. It's like, they're fucking pancakes, why is there this half assed attempt to make them somewhat healthy.
They're fucking pancakes. You're not eating them to be healthy. You're eating them because you have a craving for trash. And if you get whole wheat pancakes and you're not satisfied, you'll go and eat more trash to compensate for that craving.
Additionally, why aren't they using a mix? Pancake mix, like cake mix is formulated for a decent pancake. Measuring out and making these from scratch is just to throw your nose up in the air and proclaim "mmmm, yes, I make all my pancakes from scratch, not like the plebs."
Fun fact: in a later interview Steven boldly proclaimed that the only thing he would change about the recipe is to add the other half of the cheesecake.
MADMAN!!
That's just cheese cake at that point lol
What a legend.
That's just pan cheese cake at that point.
@@tylerowsley we need a kulfi of this 😆
Beth's Pancakes were photo worthy. The kind of visually perfect pancakes you see on a package rather than actual homemade ones. Absolutely amazing job.
The experienced home cook won again! She knew what she was doing and didn't try to overdo it ( like the other two) to make a nice breakfast.
yep! :)
@@ChefJamesMakinson Pancakes, crepes, all those wonderful variations: the best part is their simplicity (which doesn't mean "easy"). The minute you start fiddling around, like the professional chef did, to me, anyway, you've changed the basic nature of the bread.
@@ChefJamesMakinsonI’d try stevens pancake he definitely needs to work on it tho mabie lessen the amount of cheesecake
Or have it in small chunks kinda like how you have fruit in pancakes the idea is good in my opinion but could use more work
I mean cream cheese is good on pancakes
And cheese cake is in like icecream ect
so why wouldent cheese cake be good XD
what you think
I agree, level 2 pancakes rule
@@BlizzetaNet😉😉
I knew Beth would win when she said she made this for her kids - thats the ultimate highest bar for pancakes. Im speaking from experience as some of mine have been sent back immediately by a 3 year old :)
what I HATE about these epicurious videos is that they NEVER taste each other's food -- I would love to hear the chef's opinions of the other two dishes -- I would love to hear the amateur's opinion of the chef's dish
That's true, they never seem to taste each other's food. I've only seen it a few times
They're all probably filmed seperately at different times.
At the very least I would love to see Rose tasted them as she is the food scientist.
They only tasted each other when it they swap ingredients. But that hardly fun because home cook tried their best to cook the recipes with the pro chef technique (I doubt they went totally blind) while the chef don't even have to use the ingredients in the way that the home cook intended.
@@ChefJamesMakinsonThey do in the home cook and Pro Chef swap ingredients series.
Yeah it defeats the whole purpose if no one is eating these. =(
"With that much alcohol you can get drunk eating pancakes.... unless that is what she wants...."
As a fan of this series I can absolutely guarantee that is exactly what she wants. Everything she makes is designed to get you wasted
I have an inkling that most of the time, the chef personal method recipe were actually the same as level two ones, but epicurious wanted them to add more frivolous stuffs to differentiate from the other two. Sometimes it worked but sometimes it make the level 3 pro chef actually inferior to level 2 ones.
Lmao, that ain't no syrup at this point. That's alcohol soaked pancakes.
Over 5 shots of bourbon was poured in. I actually made scrambled eggs once and thought "hey, let's try a splash of whiskey! It probably won't be bad" until I ate the eggs, the taste was very strong, and I got tipsy. "Oh yeah, that might have been 1/4 cup and whiskey is consumed in shots..."
😂
She should have used fireball so the syrup can retain it's viscosity.
Overall penny's pancakes looks like they were made by an eight year old that never made pancakes before. She should have made apple jelly instead give some shine to those dark sad looking pancakes.
You're right, Beth did the best! Pancakes are simple, and as my late grandfather would say "they're intake devices for butter and syrup". Simple recipe and quality syrup is all you need.
indeed! :)
I have a soft spot for Stephen lol. But Beth is the grandma we all want. Her pancakes look exactly like what you'd imagine American pancakes to be.
Beth did such a wonderful job imo, the best of all three
Agreed!
Yep¡!
Beth would get the D cookin like that around me! It's the least I could do 😂
I wanted to say "I'm suprised that Penny didn't use any alcohol this time" but then the bourbon made its appearance. XD She's known for liking her booz in her recipes.
I'll give Steven one thing - he's inventive, even if those inventions don't end up with a good result.
And Beth is a treasure, she's nice. And tends to do the best jobs on these level-3 videos (although the pizza one was a bit weird).
As always, thanks for the video. :)
Your are welcome!
On the pizza one she says her husband likes a bland pizza so that is what she made.
If he instead liked a heavily loaded pizza I feel safe in saying that she could pull it off.
@@Hybris51129yep, fair
Beth is one of our favorites in the epicurious bunch. She's such a sweet woman and she takes the approach of making something the right way, not changing it to be something different. She creates tasty and consistent outcomes and you're not left scared of eating a pancake because of all the alterations. Since she's been baking for so long, I'm also inclined to think that she has a pretty good idea of what alterations would truly be improvements and what would be a waste of time because it doesn't improve the taste/texture enough to make up for the extra time and cost. Beth is one of the best, including all the professional chefs!
That's called a lifetime of experience: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems like her motto
It's amazing how a Chef Instructor tried to make things extra to a level that it made basic home cooks look professional. I've realized that if the name of the Level 3 isn't Saul, Frank, Yuji, or Esther, they're usually out of their depth on Epicurious.
Chef Lish is pretty solid too. But she's not on here too often. I'm pretty sure she's been in some of the 3 level vids though
I mean.. she was fumbling hard.
there are no levels [cringe] there is only good dish or bad dish for every single serving of food you put out. anyone from home with an instruction video can make the most amazing dishes
Beth is the epitome of "practice makes perfect." She obviously makes these fairly often from a tried-and-true recipe.
Visually Beth's one simply outclasses the others. It's not too fancy, probably not very expensive or hard to make. Looks perfect.
That maple taffy thing is still a thing! During my time at college (University of Vermont), they had a whole event! After the first real snow of the season, they would literally just pour maple syrup on a clean section of the snow and make that for students to enjoy! It's called "sugar on snow" and is often served with a pickle! It's so delicious
good to know! I miss having snow!
My town has a festival every February where they make maple taffy and give it to the kids for free.
Don't eat the yellow snow!
@@quikee9195 Bah... Nonsense! the yellow snow has that "Je ne sais quoi" that makes it even more delicious... ;-)
The pickle seems incongruous.
I'm not american and I've never had american pancakes, but whenever i think of american pancakes, i'd see something like beth's. Hers look straight out of a cooking book. Stellar performance and I'd love to try them like that. I have a feeling having a single pancake of the pro chef would knock me right out because that's so much liquor to be having in the morning.
As soon as Stephen said “I wanted to break the monotony of pancakes” I was like what is this guy doing? Good pancakes are never monotonous
🤣 maybe he doesn't like to make them?
@@ChefJamesMakinson😅😅😅😂😂😂
i think he said at something like he doesnt really like pancakes but he likes cheesecake so thats why he did that lol
The syrup can be cloying, especially if it is a corn syrup base. I have to wash my mouth out frequently.
Sorry, all pancakes are monotonous. Waffles are always more luxurious.
As absurd as it is that this man put half a cheesecake in his pancakes, even ignoring he just had cheesecake ready, he has done this often enough to think that this is a reasonable process. Like, "oh yeah the cheesecake for the pancakes, we all know that". The people in charge and like the crew just sat there and let him do it. I like his energy, I like his enthusiasm, don't take this the wrong way. Of all the people this had to go through before publishing the video, not one stopped to think that maybe this might not be a good idea. They saw this man walk up on set with a cheesecake ready and literally let him cook. I feel like he could've gotten a similar result with sugar and cream cheese or something like that, there's definitely potential there.
The thing is, there are ways to get the flavor profile Stephen was going for, but not by sacrificing half a cheesecake to do it. A strawberry cream cheese sauce on plain pancakes with a bit of crumbled graham cracker sprinkled on top gets you the flavor and the consistency he was after.
cracker barrel does it just fine. its my current favorite
Cheesecake pancakes are def a thing. Just gotta be careful, as you said. too much cream and sugar can cause issues. usually when doing cheesecake in pancakes, you semi-freeze it then chop it in small tiny dice/cubes and sprinkle it in the batter on the griddle, like you would with fruit like the blueberries.
I figured it couldn't be that outrageous since bread pancakes are an old classic.
The irony of Steven not knowing what je ne sais quoi means reminds me of a joke that my French teacher used to do. He would ask pupils what je ne sais pas means and when someone would give the answer of “I don’t know” he’d say “Why did you put your hand up then?!”
🤣 hahaha that's a good one!
10:01 "🤨 Right...all that advice she just gave? Forget about it" 😂😂😂
😂
Beth definitely made the best pancakes. I guessed she would make the best considering she said she always made them for her family.
agreed!
I always love Beth's recipes. And penny is just doing nonsense all the time
Penny's recipes are always an excuse to add a shitton of alcohol 😂
And she does nonsense, because she is most likely teaching people that do not know better and are wowed by bullsh*t.
Not to be rude at all, but she looks a bit like an alcoholic to me. @juliacoffournic
@@juliacoffournic "They're buying; might as well get paid to get tipsy!"
The professional chef is trying to get customer drunk. 😂😂😂
Haha 🤣
Probably to help em cope with the fact they just waste their money on an """"pro"""".
😅😂I just about died reading this. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Surprised she didn't crush a little E in there for good measure 🤣
@@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE with the amount of sugars, butters & alcohol. You would end up in the hospital if you dont stop at 1 pancake.
As a Canadian, yes we do make the maple toffee at the Cabane à Sucre (sugar shack) in March/April which is the harvest season for maple water which is later reduced into maple syrup, maple butter, maple fudge, sortilège which is a maple whiskey. Also, in Canada, maple syrup is highly regulated and graded based on quality/colour/intensity and you absolutely cannot market anything as maple syrup unless it actually is 100% maple syrup.
Pancakes are supposed to be simple, no need to over complicate it, but I agree, Beth had the best pancakes.....Good video James 👍🏽
Thank you!
2:05 - I try to always measure by weight, whenever possible (excluding liquids, herbs, spices, etc), especially when prepping a recipe for the first time.
The chef's pancakes look hard and dry. Maybe that is why she has runny sauce?
Beth looked like a winner as soon as she mentioned how often she cookwd this with her family. The test pancake just confirmed she knew what she was doing.
You're right, they did the batter looked a bit thick as well.
needs to be dry to soak up the alcohol. otherwise you get a dui after breakfast
At 11:40 yes they still make that. It's a classic so I doubt they'll ever stop. Being Canadian, I don't see maple syrup as a big deal but when I went to Italy, I noticed that restaurants emphasize "Canadian maple syrup" when they have it. Also, people that I visit really appreciate when I bring them some.
I love the color and fluffiness of Beth's pancakes. Mine are always thin and flat. I wish I could have a good recipe that would have a fluffy and thick / well risen pancake.
try her recipe!
Trick yourself that you are making crepes (I think that's what they were called)
Thin and flat pancakes are better.
Sounds like you may be over mixing the batter. It comes out fluffier if you only mix to get rid of the large lumps and use a whisk.
I was involved in making syrup during one maple season and it was loads of fun. The blisteringly hot sugar shack and the frigid cold of the winter, mixed with gathering the sap from all the tapped trees, then eventually eating the product…. So so good
Canadian here, from Quebec.
Yes, we still do maple taffee!!! It’s the greatest thing about sugar season (when we can actually harvest the maple water and turn it into syrup).
Fun fact, there are different “grade” of maple syrup, ranging from amber (light color and taste) to dark (darker color, stronger taste).
To any who have never experienced real maple syrup in a sugar shack, you’re missing something truly amazing.
Great vid!
Watching the different pro chefs from Epicurious makes me feel a little better about my own cooking.
🤣
Every time.
Beth always makes the comfiest versions of dishes!! Truly the show's grandma!! :)
After seeing Stephen put a cheesecake in his pancakes, I don’t blame Penny for going heavy on the bourbon.
🤣 hahaha
Every spring my relatives in Maine make a couple of gallons of maple syrup, and it is a good spring when we get some shipped to us.
very nice!!
I was always taught that the best way to make pancake batter was to leave it lumpy, doesnt get overworked and makes a nice pancake. Personally, my favorite is blueberry pancakes, and i undercook the center so its still runny. Kind of like blueberries and vlcream. Way my dad made them when i was a kid. Annoyed him that the entire family preferred undercooked pancakes.
Beth's pancakes are by far the best! The color is on point, great thickness and will have classic flavors. Steven seems like the kind of guy who is not afraid of experimentation and to be adventurous with food in general
Beth kept it simple and easy to control. I think people usually make pancakes with their mom or dad when they're children and so when they come up on camera to make an "elementary level" dish, they go way too over the top. Cheesecake batter strawberry sauce is an epic ambition. Bacon, bourbon maple, apple butter, wheat batter, etc too much
12:27 bold of you to assume I don't wanna get drunk eating the pancakes
🤣
I enjoy watching this format from Epicurious. Typically I'll laugh at the level 1 chef, cook following the Level 2 chef, and then pick a couple of points to adopt from the level 3
It is fun to watch!
Good idea. Just please don't do this for their Biryani episode. The biryani from the level 3 chef is blasphemous.
Even though it's probably a disaster, I appreciate the attempted creativity of the Level 1 chef. It seemed like the sort of bizarre thing a Level 3 would come up with. Often the level 1 just uses a lot of pre-made stuff from a box and puts it together.
@@clawedsimian The level 1 chef actually made a dish called khichdi by accident. Even though that is not a biryani, I do appreciate his efforts and I believe that might taste like a decent khichdi. That is why I said nothing about his 'biryani' (considering I would be close to a Level 1 chef myself and I have made biryani myself a few times).
The level 3 chef though.............that was painful for me (as an Indian) to watch. Freekeh grain for basmati rice???????????? Why?????? Uncle Roger is right to say that White Rice Matter.
@@ssjgoku276 They're responding to the original post, not to your reply about the biryani episode. If someone responds to your reply, you'll be tagged in it.
Hello chef. I'm from Indonesia. I love chef videos. I really like to learn how to cook. Chef James taught me how important the technique is and if the technique is good then your food will be good too. I love to see chef videos reacting to people cooking and chefs provide solutions by providing techniques and basic knowledge of food ingredients. Thank you Chef James for your knowledge. 🙏
So nice of you! Thank you! :)
in defense of cheesecake: one of my favorite breakfast hacks (and super popular with the grandkids) is to add a small scoop of cheesecake to the top of the stack before serving. It elevates simple pancakes to the next level. Ice cream works too.
I'm not from Canada, but in KC my family loves snow and syrup.. but real syrup is really expensive here so we didn't do it often
Surprised none of them made souffled pancakes. That is one of my personal fav little breakfasts to make for people. They are so light and fluffy.
they are very fluffy!
In my house, we called the first pancake, the sacrifice to Oolateque. This is a reference to the heavy metal movie. The sacrifice is eaten by the first person to make it to the breakfast table. it must be eaten or all the other pancakes or doomed to deformity. Yes we’re being silly but you know it’s breakfast.
I think adding cheesecake is actually a fun idea. In Russia, quark pancakes (syrniki) are popular; this would basically be a fatter, creamier version of that
From Canada: The frozen maple candy is something you might get at a winter festival or something, so we do it, but at home, we often use the fake corn syrup stuff on pancakes like everyone else, it's just a lot cheaper.
I'm actually shocked. Specially one from boot camp can't even make a thickened sauce?! That's worrisome. Kudos to level 2. She knocked it out of the park with the blueberry theme. Really shined through!
I'm frankly amazed that a professional cook of 15 years can mess up something as simple yet delicious as pancakes.
Those blueberry ones on the other hand look heavenly.
Yeah, Beth is pretty consistently excellent. Those pancakes look amazing. I wouldn't pay money for either of the other pancakes. I personally prefer them to be a little thinner and wider, more like a crepe, so you can roll them up a little. As an Australian, one of my favourite pancake toppings is a little butter and vegemite. I also like using leatherwood honey instead of syrup, it's got a great complex slightly smoky flavour.
8:50 I feel like I know exactly what you were gonna say LMAO
🤣
Beth always Wins, she is the granny that learned by experience and not fancy mixtures
In Italia she would be a perfect nonna.
@@klausschneider1045I agree. Nonna are the best at cooking. Love my Nonna’s cooking.
Loved Penny’s plan. I make a similar pancake for hubby. Steve’s was ambitious but I would have used a sliver of the cheesecake puréed with the strawberries as a topper. Beth did do the best .
I like the level 2. I use coconut oil to grease my pan and prefer a crisp outside to my pancake. If I add fruit to the batter, I prefer to puree the fruit first. I had a maple syrup caramel from a friend whose family is part French Canadian.
Canada here... Yes maple toffee is children's favourite with snow from the forest. And Rye when you boil the maple water, and pancake on top of the wood stove (start with softwood to heat the stove then a nice piece of hard wood and wait 10-15 minute then add your pan on top of the stove).
I do like the cheesecake idea but could you freeze/chill little chunks and drop them onto the batter in the pan? (like Beth's blueberries - yes she wins!)
No question Beth. Easily the most knowledgeable. You gave some good tips. I always just bought store was in the freezer dept since I moved away from my Ma's. Problem with them are they are too small.
From the people featured in this video, the cheesecake from Steven became a staple joke in the sorted community and Penny has joke that she adds alcohol into everything.
Ahh really?? I didn't know that!
Real maple syrup is the best pancake sauce ever and yes Canadians do pour it on snow to make taffy but we cook off more of the water first so that it’s thicker
😉
I knew Beth would do the ebst as soon as they had introduced who they cook for (and since pancakes are such a staple and simple dish, there's less forgiveness for "improving" it): Stephen never mentions anyone eating his, so I didn't think it'd turn out OK. Penny said she did hers for her husband, but adults are too polite. Beth? Beth makes her for her husband and grandkids. Kids are honest about what they eat and if they didn't like her pancakes, she would have known.
11:40 As a Canadian I must say that the toffee in question is the best part of "Sugar Shacks" or "Cabane a sucre" in Quebec.
So I'm not the biggest fan of american style pancakes, but out of all these, Beth made something I would be elated to try, because they also look amazing! The Cheesecake batter looked like a halloween prop and Penny just made a few choices I would probably not like very much, especially with the bourbon sauce.
Beth
She is a grandma
She know a lot from experience, she made something simple
What she always makes didn’t complicate it
Also grandmas cooking never fails
I have a suggestion of a channel I enjoy and maybe you'd like to check out! It's Anti-chef, it's basically the journey of a man learning to cook (and nowadays is pretty good at it). He usually follows Julia Child's recipes, but there's a bit of everything. He's a bit chaotic 🤣 but he's a homecook after all, and a incredibly determined one at that. It can be interesting to see how a person interprets written recipes and see if you have any different takes! If not, at least check his videos, I quite enjoy his channel and I like recommending it :)
I need to see him! :)
Oh yes, I love anti chef … please check him out. ( go with the oldest videos.,he came so so far!)
Beth is just a treat every time in this series. She always makes the best food, and I wish I had her for a grandmother. This episode was so infamous for Stephen. Spawned the best comment ever. "Everyone gangsta until Stephen added the cheesecake."
IHOP puts actual cheesecake in their cheesecake pancakes, but they'd probably put less than a slice into that much batter. And if they were mixing by hand, they'd probably cut it up first (they use an industrial mixer, so less necessary).
Good job, Beth! Our boy didn't do the best job, though his unburnt pancakes are probably at least edible. And, yeah, probably burned from too much sugar. Should've gone with fresh strawberries either without syrup or maybe macerated, though. Chef went a little too fancy; I think in these videos, the chefs are trying to show off with ingredients and technique, and when the techniques are simpler, they tend to do too much with ingredients. Beth did best with just a few simple ingredients and pretty much the same techniques, because pancakes are pretty much a solved problem for the experienced home cook. Personally, I'd've done apple butter _or_ syrup instead of and, and real maple syrup definitely doesn't need all that bourbon.
Also, hooray for living in the northeastern US, where maple syrup is readily available! Unfortunately, my aunt is retired from the Vermont Board of Commerce, so I don't get loads of free syrup anymore.
Beth's pancakes remind me of a curious george book I read as a child. Nice video chef ❤
😊 thank you
for me at home, pancakes here are crepes. they're pretty good eaten sweet or savory! Also, just from seeing this, Beth has made quite a lot of pancakes in her life and so her's were the best of all.
Savory crepes can also be made with buckwheat (sarrasin) so delicious with cider
That's how Polish pancakes - "naleśniki" - are, although we also have a different type called "racuchy" that is more similar to American ones.
"i was guna say something smart" hahahahahaaha killed me with that one.
🤣 haha
Beth did the best job by far. Saw her in the pizza video where she did outstanding. She seems a solid cook, knows the right steps, and can confidently create great food. Beth, well, perhaps a 15 year title allows her to flex her bourbon. Stephen, he's trying, just needs to reign in that horse a tad. Great video!
Thank you!
Pancakes are like, my favourite food ^^ Couldn't imagine them with bacon tho, I thought that was a little random to add xD I've also never seen anybody put a whole cheesecake UGH what even is that xD I think Steven just wanted to make cheesecake, so he used it for the recipe ;) Can't wait for another review ^^
Definitely Beth has the nicest looking pancakes...but still, don't understand how this can ever be described as breakfast. So much sugar goes in these, even without all the syrup. (Buckwheat) crêpes with some bacon on the other hand I do allow myself as a breakfast treat on special occasions.
Perfectly stated @1:17. It is nice when there's help, but pointless if for naught. I was always taught, "Don't half ass it twice. Whole ass it once."
Beth's were the best by far. It doesn't have to be fancy, just done well which is rather what we expect from her.
What I learnt about pancake is that if you greased the pan too much, the pancakes won’t have that smooth evenly brown surface texture. It will become uneven browning with little/large circles spots where moisture trapped and lift that small area off the pan, causing those circles of uneven browning from oil pooling underneath blocking the moisture from escaping.
To make a smooth surface pancake all you need is just a very very thin coat of oil , apply it using a paper towel just like the 2nd chef instructed and clean up those visible pooling of oil. That will makes your pancakes looks beautiful and smooth.
Beth's is the only dish that I'm actually craving ❤
😂
Cheesecake in pancakes? What next?! Chilli jam in Egg Fried Ri….oh, hang on…
😂
Uncle Roger just released a new fried rice video. The most amazing recipe. The skill of the chef is incredible. Would love to see you do a reaction video to that.
me too
I will check it out!! :)
Hearing you mention pouring the heated syrup onto snow like that brought back memories. It wasn't something my family did but we lived rather close to a Sugar Shack that was open to the public and would give little tours on how the process of collecting the sap and making it into the syrup worked. They also offered pancake breakfasts as well as many other treats made from maple syrup.
Stephen looked like he was trying to do a home cooked version of something IHOP would do. If you want cheesecake in the pancakes, I would imagine you would cut the cheesecake into small pieces and add them while the pancake is cooking (like how you add blueberries; they're put in the pancakes just how Beth did, so they aren't part of the actual batter). That's pretty much how you add most things to pancakes. But, I don't like cheesecake, so maybe I'm wrong.
no you're absolutely right they're a mix-in like anything else lmaooo
1:20 Ain't that the truth. Back before I got him fully trained, my partner used to think that the only part of the dishes that really needed to be cleaned was the food contact surface. He'd just leave the bottoms of plates and pans, the outsides of pots and bowls, and the handles of utensils as they were. That resulted in a pretty heated conversation when I noticed it.
Beth, by far. Also her presentation is really yummy. The Chef's pancakes look absolutely awful, and I think I would not even dare to try them.
This is why Penny was known as the Booze Chef there. It's a running joke because she almost always incorporate booze in her recipes.
Okay, thanks to Beth, I'm now craving pancakes for dinner!
My son loves them too and we did his weekly homemade pizza last night... my turn lol
Love that Beth keeps it cute and simple! Those pancakes look so good
Great content James! We’ve been bingeing this past week and we love how you incorporate respectful feedback while not coming off as stale. Great mix of reaction with laughter and knowledge. We’re loving revisiting our favorite videos from other TH-camrs you’re reacting to. Keep up the great work 🎉
Awesome! Thank you! I try but sometimes it is impossible to please everyone haha
Watching Beth cook was like being in the kitchen with my grandma again, very warm and inviting.
I agree about the syrup. The genuine maple syrup has the different consistency whereas the syrups that calls itself that isn't real syrup, it's just mixture of additives & preservatives with a different consistency & taste.
11:35 - Correct - tasty weird popsicles are made by Canadians, my parent did that.
The reduced moisture content from boiling it and cold "mould" casting makes it taffy like. (You can also add things like cinnamon or vanilla to it to make it taste different)
My man really said "nobody likes maple syrup"
Reminds me of that father daughter bonding scene from Mad Men
"What's on these?"
>Mrs. Butterworth's
*Picks up bottle* "That's rum. Read labels."
>Is it bad?
"no, not really"
Steven's recipe is clearly an adaptation of something he made while he was hung over
Beth has clearly been making pancakes every week for her entire life
The professional chef doesn't do 'em often enough and tried to make 'em too fancy
There are still a few places that make maple taffy here in Canada. It has decreased though throughtout the years because the winter seasons has been mild. And I agree with you Chef, real maple syrup is amazing.
I always enjoy Beth in these videos, she usually makes something close to what I'd eat/could see myself making so maybe I'm a bit biased. As for Steven I enjoy his ambition, but his would be too sweet for me lol. Thanks for the video!
Thank you!
I like to add ground hazelnut into my pancakes, and I offset it with the whites of one egg.
He could have just eaten the cheesecake 😭😂
I live for Chef James' horrified reaction 😂
Yep that syrop on the snow we call it de la "tire" in Québec and when you have it, usually they make the syrop at the same place.
I literally love how chef James gives out beneficial tips on how to cook while entertaining us woth his hilarious takes...I am just grateful😊
Glad you like them!