Bonnie: Looking back on weekend breakfasts, I recall the smiles on my boys’ faces when they saw the hot pancakes that disappeared faster than I could get them off the griddle. Fresh butter, pure maple syrup or fresh fruit—the only toppings served.

Some mornings, when in a whimsical mood, I’d pour three circles of batter—one large, the other two smaller ones touching the large—to make Mickey Mouse; or I’d create three concentric ones, adding raisins to the top circle to make a snowman. Both always produced smiles.

For the lightest, fluffiest, most delicious pancakes I start with Saco Buttermilk Blend. I’ve been using it to make pancakes as long as I’ve had kids.

Saco Dried Buttermilk is my family’s Bisquik—our starting point—although you add much more than eggs and milk. Pancakes from the simple recipe on the package are unmatchable. You just stir together the dry ingredients (1 cup flour, 1/4 cup Saco dried buttermilk, 1 T. sugar, 1 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. baking soda, and 1/4 t. salt), combine with the liquid (a beaten egg, 2 T butter or oil, and 1 cup water), stir just until smooth and pour a small amount onto a hot griddle. This makes about eight to 10 pancakes.

I usually put the 2 tablespoons of butter onto the griddle first to melt it, and once it melts, pour it into the dry ingredients so I’ve both melted the butter and greased the griddle. Convenient, huh?

For those who use a mix and add milk, try replacing 1 cup milk with 1 cup water and mix ¼ cup Saco Buttermilk Blend into your dry ingredients.

I don’t recall when, but it was somewhere at the beginning of my food-writing career that I connected with Saco’s Ray Sanna (son of the man who started their family business). I don’t remember our phone meeting, but I do recall what a gentleman he was, and continues to be when we speak. (A lost art!)

Over the decades we’ve never met. Not at a food show, not at a foodie convention, not anywhere. But Ray always greets me on the phone like an old friend who’s glad to hear from you. And since I discovered his family’s products, my pantry is never without two of them—Saco’s Cultured Buttermilk Blend and their Real Chocolate Chunks. (The latter produces the yummiest brownies. I included their recipe in my 365 Great Cookies & Brownies cookbook.)

Today, I only make those pancakes when either of the boys is home. Each batch brings back a flood of memories from that weekend tradition.

Bryan: Bonnie does only make the pancakes when we’re around now, but long ago it was a weekend tradition. Saco is the most important ingredient you need for simply the best pancakes around. The sight of this beige/red little container still brings me right back to Saturday mornings, waking up for a pile of pancakes. I remember sleeping over my friend Paul’s home and waking to his mother’s pancakes from a mix (a sad moment). Paul’s awakening came later, while sleeping at my home. He experienced the enjoyment of waking to my mother’s buttermilk Saco pancakes… simply the best! Sleepovers inevitably ended up at my house from then on.

Eric: Every person has fond memories of their childhood; a distinct smell, flavor or sight that stands out among the rest. For me, believe it or not, it is Saco Dried Buttermilk. As most children remember Aunt Jemima, or Ronald McDonald, I was a fan of “The unknown chef in the white hat” (Saco’s trademark). I remember running down to the kitchen for the traditional weekend breakfast to stuff as many pancakes as possible into my mouth before my brother would stumble out of bed. This essential ingredient will be in my kitchen cupboard for years to come, and is currently adorning my shelf in The Netherlands, after I requested it in food packages from my mother.

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