By using crepe mix, you can take the guesswork out of making crepes and spend less time preparing them. Today, you can choose from a large variety of pre-made mixes, including flavored, unflavored, and organic ones. The type you choose usually depends on your dietary needs, the quantity you want to prepare, and the kind of crepes you want to make, such as sweet or savory.
The crepe mix you select will affect the overall flavor of the dish. If you're planning on making sweet and savory crepes and don't want to purchase more than one mix, an unflavored product is usually the best option. Unflavored crepe mixes contain little to no sweeteners, herbs, or spices. You can adjust the flavor of this crepe mix by adding your own flavorings, allowing you to create any type of crepe from a single mix. You can generally determine what, if any, flavorings a mix contains by reading the product's ingredients.
Flavored crepe mixes can be used for either sweet or savory dishes, and will add flavor to any type of recipe you make. Savory crepe batter might contain herbs, spices, and salt, while mixes for sweet or dessert crepes might contain added sugar, artificial sweeteners, and dessert spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg. If the added flavor is very subtle, a flavored crepe mix might be suitable for both sweet and savory dishes. Additionally, the type of flour used in the mix might also affect flavor. It is common to use heartier flours, such as wheat and buckwheat, for savory crepes.
To prepare a crepe mix, you usually need to add ingredients, such as eggs, water, butter, or oil, to create a batter. If you have special dietary needs due to a health condition, you should pay special attention to the ingredients that must be added and their quantities. Some crepes require a large amount of fat, such as butter or oil, to be added, and these types of crepes might not be suitable for people who have a heart condition or are trying to lose weight. The package's nutrition facts should also provide helpful information, including the amount of saturated and trans fats, the number of calories, and the vitamins and minerals contained in the mix. The nutrition facts, however, typically cover only the dry mix's information, rather than the prepared mix's nutrition facts.
Certain crepe mixes are targeted to people with specific dietary requirements. For example, some stores sell gluten-free crepe batter or sugar-free mixes that are suitable for people with diabetes. If you have other types of health concerns, such as high cholesterol or lactose intolerance, and can't find a suitable crepe mix, you might be able to adjust the recipe according to your needs. Some of the changes you can make include reducing the amount of fat added to the mix and replacing dairy products with alternatives, such as vegan margarine. Any changes you make, however, will affect the taste and texture of the cooked crepes.
Each crepe mix yields varying numbers of crepes. The package the mix comes in usually tells you how many crepes the mix produces, as well as the size of each crepe, in the nutrition facts or cooking instructions. To determine whether a mix can produce enough crepe batter, measure the size of your crepe pan or specialty crepe maker and compare the measurement to the mix's recommended crepe size. You can then calculate the number of crepes the mix yields by scaling the printed number according to the size of the crepes you're making. If you're making crepes that are twice as large as the recommended size, for example, the mix will yield half the listed total.