Automatic Griddle Bakes Three Fluffy Flapjacks a Minute (Oct, 1930)
Automatic Griddle Bakes Three Fluffy Flapjacks a Minute
A FLAPJACK griddle that is entirely automatic in action has recently been placed on the market by a Los Angeles firm. Batter for five hundred cakes may be placed in the tank, after which it is only necessary to turn on the switch and carry away the cakes.
Batter is fed to the grid by an automatic process, making the cakes uniform in size. The aluminum griddle, which requires no grease, revolves just fast enough to bake the cakes on one revolution. Half way around, the flapjacks are automatically flipped over, and when the circle is completed they are lifted off and placed on a plate which is held by a rack on the side.The heat is controlled by a thermostat, thus saving electricity and insuring that the cakes are cooked to the proper turn. The manufacturers even furnish a prepared flour to which it is only necessary to add water to make light, fluffy cakes.
I’ed think getting a decent shot going at speed would be impossible...
Now all we need is Lucy and Ethel instead of those two women, wildly plating flapjacks as they fly from the machine.
Comment by Rick Auricchio — April 22, 2011 @ 2:50 pm
I like pancakes but this seems a little much even for my kitchen!
Comment by Hirudinea — April 22, 2011 @ 4:20 pm
Hmmm…
How would a home version work?
Like a waffle iron? Toaster?
What other machines have liquid go in and sheets of solids come out?
Comment by Jayessell — April 22, 2011 @ 6:15 pm
It failed because it could not also cook bacon.
Comment by Mike — April 22, 2011 @ 7:28 pm
Jayessell: The closest thing I can think of is the automatic flour-tortilla machine at Chevy’s restaurants. It produces dough, rolls a ball, flattens that, and cooks the tortilla. Not exactly the same, but it’s definitely a more complex machine.
Comment by Rick Auricchio — April 23, 2011 @ 9:38 am
Reading it carefully, The secret is It uses a water only pancake mix. So why would you need this thing? How could your cooks labor rate be so hi that this contraption would be cheaper than having some one add water and dump it out on a griddle. Pancakes take little / no skill to cook.
Comment by Mcubstead — April 23, 2011 @ 3:17 pm
I remember going to a Denny’s once and discovered they didn’t actually turn the pancake over on the grill, they let it cook on one side, and flipped it over when they put it on your plate.
Comment by Mike — April 23, 2011 @ 6:42 pm
Looks like a big toilet.
Comment by spacecoyote — April 24, 2011 @ 12:52 pm
Latest feature of the Holiday Inn Express is a self-serve pancake machine. It’s basically a conveyor belt oven with a bag of batter in the top.
Seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmYO7tWi1Vg
Comment by xritl — April 24, 2011 @ 8:32 pm
There’s a homemade version of one of these at the Redun Airport near Dundee, New York. It’s a big hit at fly-in breakfasts there.
The glooper and flipper are air powered, so the sound as it makes pancake after pancake is really neat. The machine was written up in Smithsonian Air & Space magazine some years ago.
Comment by Mike Brown — May 4, 2011 @ 7:00 am
I want one of those automatic pancake makers. Pancakes are super easy to make, but having them made automatically is one less thing to think about if you’re in a rush for breakfast!
Comment by Anne — May 8, 2011 @ 9:01 pm