A Geechee Pancake Story

My grandmother was known as the cook for the buckra’s (look the word up) and they used to fight over her. One of the many things they loved was my grandma’s blueberry pancake. Now there are many variations of this online, and while I don’t have my grandma’s exact recipe, I wanted to share how I make mine because a Geechee morning isn’t complete without good food on a cast iron skillet. Here is a geechee pancake story along with a recipe for you.

Let’s start with the roots of wild blueberries. Berries of all kinds were found along the southeast coast and gullah people survived off of foraging. My ancestors used what the land provided to make some good food. We don’t always have the exact measurements of things ( a good cook will tell you baby I don’t have the exact measurements) but I am trying my best to write things down as I try them out. I am a cook it’s in my blood so here is my blueberry pancake recipe.

Make sure you have a good cast iron skillet. I know many people use an electric skillet but I use this to cook my pancakes on.

Also make sure that cast iron is hot before you put that batter on there. Use fresh blueberries if you can but frozen is fine.

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/4 cup of sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt (kosher)

2 eggs

2 cups of buttermilk

1/4 cup melted unsalted butter

1 cup of blueberries

In my geechee voice…..

mix em up good. Use some of that butter on your cast iron and cook em up. you can fit 3 pancakes on the griddle use a measuring cup to scoop ya batta up and pour it on there.

In Gullah Geechee culture, food is never just fuel, it’s fellowship, memory, and resistance. A simple stack of blueberry pancakes can hold all of that.

How do you make your pancakes?