New Englanders called them flapjacks in honor of the custom of flipping them in the pan with a flick of the wrist.
Pancakes became signature dishes at some casual restaurant chains. In 1889 International House of Pancake was launched in a Los Angeles suburb.
The popularity of pancake restaurants or pancake houses serve packages to suit every taste and time of day, from sweet to savory from breakfast to dinner.
Pancakes became part of fast food breakfast menus in the 1970s, when Jim Delligati, an early MacDonald’s franchisee in Pittsburgh began serving a simple breakfast menu, which included pancakes.
In 1899 Chris L. Rutt and Charles G. Underwood introduced the first ready-mixed commercial food product, which was later renamed Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.
In the late 1930s, Henri Charpentier, a French chef, brought the recipe for his crepe Suzette with him when he immigrated to the United States.
He is credited with popularizing the French pancake in America. At first they were served with butter, sugar and citrus juice or liqueur. But Americans soon were using maple-flavored syrup and filling them with savory fruits or even chocolate chips.
In 2003 MacDonald’s introduced the McGriddle, which is bacon or a pork sausage wrapped in pancake with syrup.
Later Burger King introduced the Ultimate Breakfast Platter, composed of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, a biscuits and three pancakes with syrup.
Business history of pancakes in United States
