Top chef Aldo Zilli tested all pre-made pancake mixes ahead of Shrove Tuesday today & winner flattened all its rivals

PANCAKE day again already? You’d batter believe it.

We each eat an average of two every Shrove Tuesday – but with a quarter of people saying they don’t know how to make it from scratch, pre-made options are popular.

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Here Aldo Zilli, chef at Undercroft Mayfair in London and ex-world record panckae tosser, awards marks out of five on which were flipping great, and which flip-flopped.

Green’s Pancake Mix

155g, Iceland, £1, makes 6

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THIS shaker makes six pancakes so is a good budget option for a family pancake night, with a couple spare for seconds – or for throwing in the bin if you fail to catch them in the frying pan.

This was the only mix where you add warm water, not cold, but I don’t know why as it didn’t seem to make the batter any smoother and there were some lumps.

Quite a strange yellow hue in colour and not easy to cook.

The mix started sticking to the pan and then burned in the middle but remained raw round the edges so the pancakes didn’t cook evenly.

Fairly easy to flip but they did need a bit of welly and wrist action to shift them!

The texture was a bit odd.

The batter seemed gummy and doughy, and tasted greasy, more like a pastry than a pancake.

Not unpleasant though.

I’d eat with jam to cut through the oily fat.

3/5

The Pantry Pancake Shaker

155g, Aldi, 89p, makes 6

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THIS shaker is a bit different as it’s a cardboard carton instead of a plastic bottle, which I found preferable.

This design made the product much easier to use as it’s clearly marked on the side where to add the water to.

They have added glucose syrup to the ingredients which is unusual as you are probably going to add sweet toppings.

Simple to mix, this one is almost foolproof so you could let the kids shake it up and it’ll be fine.

The batter had a nice consistency and the finished pancakes were a nice pale gold colour with a fluffy texture.

Speaking as an expert tosser, they flipped perfectly.

This was the best of the bunch for trying some fancy airborne moves

They tasted like traditional pancakes too.

Lemon and sugar are all you need.

4/5

McEnnedy Pancake Mix It

200g, Lidl, 99p, makes 12-14

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LOTS for your money here as it makes over a dozen pancakes. With most mixes you rehydrate a powder and combine by hand before frying.

I followed the instructions, carefully added cold milk, shook well, turned it upside down and allowed it to stand, then rattled it again, but it still tipped out in a big clump into the frying pan.

That made it harder to get the liquid at the right thickness.

So from the packet to the pan it was not a good result.

When I tipped the fluid into a bowl first and gave it a whisk the results improved.

The mix was thick and foamy and made spongier American-style pancakes.

Sweet and tasty and easy to toss, too.

Ideal for a brekkie pancake with berries and yoghurt or maple syrup on top.

But I’d suggest you blend in a bowl for better batters.

3/5

Tesco Pancake Shaker Mix

155g, £1, makes 6

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THIS was a pretty average pancake mix which comes as a shaker, but it would be perfectly fine if you just need to grab an emergency ready-made option.

The batter looked lumpy even though I thought I’d stirred it up thoroughly in the pack.

And again I’d prefer this made up in a bowl so you can whisk it.

But if you do pour straight from the container you need to be vigorous when shaking to avoid uneven consistency.

These were slower to cook and a bit gluey so they stuck to the pan a touch but give them an extra minute and they are OK to toss and catch.

Eventually I got nice-looking golden pancakes so it was disappointing they tasted quite bland.

They need toppings, so I’d add chocolate sauce, roll them up and dust some icing sugar over them.

3/5

Pancake Shaker by Asda

155g, 92p, makes 9

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YOU get a few more batters from this shaker which makes up to nine pre-mixed pancakes.

 You just add cold water, shake until smooth, fry and flip.

However, the mixture, which is made up of flour, sugar, milk and egg powders, gave me very uneven results.

Sadly these pancakes were soon burning, not frying, and they were a lot of trouble to toss as the liquid was so thick and clumpy, which meant they stuck to the pan.

The pancakes were small and tasted just about OK with lots of sugar but the stack was very charred and claggy too, so not exactly appetising.

Sadly this pancake shaker was not a big Shrove Tuesday success, although it is very affordable.

2/5

M&S Triple Chocolate Pancake Shaker Mix

155g, £1.50, makes 6

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IT says triple chocolate and that’s what you get.

There is no shortage of the ingredient promised.

With six per cent milk and white chocolate, cocoa butter, buttermilk, whole milk and vanilla flavouring this is a decadent pancake mix for those with a sweet tooth.

You do have to prepare and cook it carefully for consistency though.

The packet makes it hard to see if the powder is mixed well or not and you really need to shake it well to ensure the choc chunks distribute evenly.

Or pour it into a bowl and ladel from that.

These cook faster and the texture is good – a dense American style with zero sticking so great flip-ability factor.

Not the cheapest but they’re delicious.

Eat as a dessert with ice cream and lots of extra sauce on top.

4/5

Pancake Mix by Sainsbury’s

155g, 75p, makes 6

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I NOTICED on the packet that this batter mix is made in the Netherlands – that’s the home of the pancake which might be why they tasted so great.

This is another more traditional powder mix that you tip into a bowl and add cold water, then whisk to a batter while you heat up your pan, which I liked.

Remember you always need a very hot base to fry batter perfectly.

This mix looked very thin so I was concerned initially but the liquid came good, cooked evenly and tasted excellent.

The pancakes were a darker shade in the middle but they kept their shape and had a lovely delicate cobwebby shape, rather like a French crepe.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good these were.

Nice and light and they melt in your mouth.

These had the best flavour of all.

Soft, fluffy and delicious.

4/5

Aunt Bessie’s Family Sized Pancake Mix

480g, Morrisons, £1.20, makes 20

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THIS mix is incredible value for money and it is perfect if you’ve got lots of people to feed or you know you’ll need plenty of batter spare for the failed flips that end up on the floor.

There’s a bit more cooking involved as you mix the powder with an egg and water and whisk before decanting into a pouring jug.

But the kids will enjoy beating the mixture in the kitchen and as a chef I like it as you can see the liquid and ensure you’ve smoothed out lumps before putting it in the pan.

Very easy to flick over and resulted in a stack of perfect pancakes.

These were the closest overall in looks and taste to making my own from scratch.

5/5