I Derived a Pancake
After 25 years of making other people's pancake recipes - always yearning for more tang, more fluff, and more predictability - I decided to derive the pancake recipe from the chemistry. You mark checkboxes for what you have on hand (ricotta, sour cream, kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, lemon, cream of tartar, etc.) and it computes the best recipe based on targets for acid, fat, salt, sugar, and CO2. My particular favorite are the yeast-raised lemon ricotta kefir pancakes - the best I've ever had. The math is done in a small pure-ESM library: ingredient composition to component…
I Derived a Pancake launched on June 5, 2026 with 340 votes, #60 of 22,647 launches that month and more than 99% of that year's launches.
In plain words
I Derived a Pancake is a recipe calculator that generates personalized pancake recipes based on ingredients the user has available. Users select from options like ricotta, kefir, buttermilk, and various acids, then the tool computes proportions to achieve specific targets for acidity, fluffiness, fat, salt, and sugar content. The system uses chemistry and stoichiometry calculations to optimize results. It's designed for home cooks seeking consistent, customized pancakes rather than following standard recipes.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
After 25 years of making other people's pancake recipes - always yearning for more tang, more fluff, and more predictability - I decided to derive the pancake recipe from the chemistry. You mark checkboxes for what you have on hand (ricotta, sour cream, kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, lemon, cream of…
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