Popovers, A Side-by-side Analysis

I've given you the background on my popover obsession, now I give you my first hand account of the best popovers in all the land from Jordan Pond House. First let me set the scene. This is where the popovers are eaten in open air:

They wouldn't even have to taste good, since you're captive at the only eatery in a national park, but they do.


In fact, they are gigantic, cloud-like, delicate, and hot. I heard a woman a few tables away ask the waitress for popovers to go. The waitress politely explained that it is just not done, since there is only a 15 minute window in which they will allow popovers to be served and eaten, once out of the oven. 

In contrast, check out the popovers I made earlier in the week with the Jordan Pond mix. More like Smurf hats than clouds, wouldn't you agree?

The real magic of the Jordan Pond House popovers are on the inside. They are uniformly airy, while mine were uniformly denser.

I'm not quite sure what's making the difference, besides decades of practice on behalf of the restaurant cooks. I followed their directions to leave the batter in the fridge overnight, taking it out before baking to bring to room temperature. I didn't separate the eggs this time, though I did when I made them for scratch for my mom's birthday, with no visible difference. I think maybe my more cylindrical, non-stick popover pans have something to do with the difference of size and shape. 


It demands more research, and more trips to Jordan Pond House, for the best popovers, strawberry jam, and unsweetened raspberry lemonade in the world.