Can You Eat Undercooked Pancakes?
To eat or not to eat undercooked pancakes. That is the question. Although many things are better when eaten undercooked, pancakes are not one of them. They’ll be gooey and sobby, and they will taste funny. Undercooked pancakes are not how you should be eating pancakes. So can you eat undercooked pancakes?
Undercooked pancakes are not something you should eat. By doing so, you are risking getting sick. That happens because eating two of its main ingredients raw is not advisable. These ingredients are flour and eggs.
That said, if you are cooking your pancakes without any eggs or flour, or even if you are cooking your flour, it can be safe to eat undercooked pancakes. You should, however, research the ingredients you are using on your pancakes’ batter to see if it is safe to eat them raw or undercooked.
Are Undercooked Pancakes Safe to Eat?
It depends. I know we never like this answer, but, in this specific case, that is the correct one. Why is that? Because it will depend on the ingredients used to make the batter.
If you are using eggs and flour to make your pancakes, then it is not safe to eat the undercooked batter. However, if your batter doesn’t have eggs in it or you cooked the flour before adding it to the pancake batter, it is less risky to eat undercooked pancakes.
Eggs
If your batter has eggs, you should never eat your pancakes undercooked. The risk of getting sick is too high and not worth it. Outbreaks of Salmonella were associated with raw eggs, which is why you shouldn’t eat undercooked pancakes. [1] When eaten raw, eggs can get you sick with symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
Alternatively, you can use water, milk, or even bananas on your batter, and in those cases, it will be safer (still not 100%) to eat undercooked pancakes).
Flour
Flour is another ingredient you should never eat raw. Raw flour will get you sick with roughly the same symptoms as eggs. Associated with E.coli, you must always cook your flour if you intend to eat it raw or undercooked. [2]
How Do You Cook Flour? To make sure you kill the germs from your flour, and you can use it for raw and undercooked products, you must cook it in the oven. It is easily done. Line a baking sheet on your oven tray and evenly spread the flour you need for your pancakes (or any other) recipe. Bake at 350ºF/175ºC for 5 minutes, or use a thermometer to ensure your flour reaches 160 degrees.
How Do You Know If a Pancake Is Undercooked?
The easiest and most foolproof method is to use a wooden toothpick. Stick it in the center of your pancake; if it comes out clean, it means the pancakes are cooked and ready to eat. On the other hand, if the toothpick has some batter stick to it when you remove it from your pancake, then you should keep your small cakes a little bit longer on the pan. This method can also be used for other baked goods, like cakes.
Another thing you can do is test your pancake’s temperature with a thermometer. Because all bacteria die at 165ºF/74ºC, that is the perfect temperature your pancakes should reach to ensure they are perfectly cooked.
Why Do My Pancakes Look Cooked, but They Are Not?
Probably, the reason is your pan is too hot or the heat is too high. Your pancakes will rapidly become brown, but they are still not done in the middle.
To avoid any risk of getting sick and also to not burn your pancakes while cooking them, I advise you to always cook them over low heat. If you feel your pan is getting too hot and quickly burning your pancakes, you can stop the cooking for a few seconds, or you can change pans.
There is another important piece of advice I can give. Let your batter rest. For many recipes, this is an essential step to ensure that your pancake will be set and you’ll be able to form even small cakes when you drop your batter on the pan to start cooking. If you skip this step, what can happen is that your pancakes will cook on the edges (which will be slimmer) and will be raw in the (thicker) center.
How to Save Undercooked Pancakes?
There are two alternative ways, and you should choose the one that feels best to you (or the situation):
Keep cooking them for longer on your pan – independently of the method you used to know if your pancakes are undercooked, you can keep cooking them on the pan. Remember, maintain a low heat so you won’t end up with burned, uneatable pancakes. No one wants that!
Put your pancakes in the oven – this will slowly cook them without making them dry. This method is ideal if you only realize your pancakes are undercooked after cooling down.
