Bisquick

Bisquick is a pre-mixed baking product sold by General Mills under their Betty Crocker brand, consisting of flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder (a leavening agent).

History

According to General Mills, Bisquick was invented in 1930 after one of their top sales executives met an innovative train dining car chef on a business trip. After the sales executive complimented the chef on his deliciously fresh biscuits, the dining car chef shared that he used a pre-mixed biscuit batter he created consisting of lard, flour, baking powder and salt. The chef then stored his pre-mixed biscuit batter on ice in his kitchen ahead of time, enabling him to be able to bake fresh biscuits quickly on the train every day. As soon as the sales executive returned from that business trip, the idea of creating Bisquick was born.

The recipe was adapted, using hydrogenated oil, thus eliminating the need for refrigeration. (Sesame oil was originally used as a preservative, identified on the box as "Ingredient S" over the years). Bisquick was officially introduced on grocers' shelves in 1931.

Although first promoted for making just biscuits ("90 seconds from package to oven," the slogan read), Bisquick was soon used to prepare a wide variety of baked goods from pizza dough to pancakes to dumplings to snickerdoodle cookies.

Substitution

One cup of Bisquick can be substituted by a mix of one cup of flour, 1½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter.

Health

Bisquick Original contains 4.5 grams of trans fat per cup, and no cholesterol. Bisquick HeartSmart contains 0 grams of trans fat per cup (and no cholesterol).

Bisquick also comes in a gluten-free variety which uses rice flour instead of regular flour.

References

• Advertising Cookbooks: Bisquick History and Information

External links

• Official Website of Bisquick
• Official Website Bisquick Recipes
• Astray Bisquick Recipes
• History of Bisquick
• Bisquick at Foodista