Maker of pancakes in a can wants to set a world record

> 10,000 cans of CO2-powered pancake batter, ready to blast.

> 20,000 hungry people.

Actually Batter Blaster, makers of perhaps the only pancakes that come in a pressurized can (Are there other pancakes that come in a can?) are hoping for the hungry customers. They plan to dish out 70,000 free pancakes. Somebody needs to eat them.

This would earn Batter Blaster not only a place in the Guinness World Records but immortality in the world of jet-propelled breakfast food.

"Since we were the kind of company that was nuts enough to make batter in a can, we thought we could break the Guinness record, and, looking at state of the economy, feed the city a free breakfast," said Sean O'Connor, founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based company.

Which brings up the question: Why would you put pancakes in a can? O'Connor, a one-time restaurateur, says the idea grew during downtime at his eatery, which opened, unfortunately, just as the dot.com boom ended. Founded in 2007, the company sold 3 million cans in its first year, he said, which is still tiny, compared with frozen waffle sales, a market he'd like to cut in on.

Folks on treehugger.com don't like the idea of Batter Blaster's wasteful packaging, but Elisabeth Omilami, of Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, is a convert. Batter Blaster will be collecting for Omilami's nonprofit organization on Saturday, and she knows plenty of hungry people who will be happy to have a meal. "Our folks can eat a lot of pancakes," she said.

To beat the unofficial current record, held by a Lion's Club in Lubbock, Texas, Batter Blaster (which comes in recyclable cans) must serve more than 66,549 5-inch pancakes within eight hours, O'Connor said. He said his folks are prepared to serve 90,000, if they have enough hungry customers.

But Omilami isn't cooking. "I burn pancakes."

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