Subject: Potato pancakes
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: Ken Knecht (kenkknot at deruknot.com)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:25:29 GMT
--------
I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor? Wonder how they'd taste with instant mashed potoes instead of grated - anyone ever try this? Probably not very good.
TIA
Untie the two knots to email me
"I think I can say, and say with pride, that we have legislatures that bring higher prices than any in the world." Mark Twain
From: Wayne Boatwright (wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 17:30:08 +0200
--------
Oh pshaw, on Thu 10 Aug 2006 08:25:29a, Ken Knecht meant to say...
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
I have used the find shredding disk on my food processor with success. I think using instant mashed potatoes would taste horrible, but then I don't like any form of instant mashed potatoes.
From: Jill (jmcquown at bellsouth.net)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:29:16 -0500
--------
Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> I think using instant mashed potatoes would taste horrible,
> but then I don't like any form of instant mashed potatoes.
I wouldn't use instant mashed potatoes but I posted about Mom making potato pancakes using leftover mashed taters a few days ago. As for grated potato pancakes, I would definitely use the shredding disk on the food processor if I wanted the grated ones.
From: Nancy Young (qwerty at monmouth.com)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:40:50 -0400
--------
Ken Knecht wrote
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
> Wonder how they'd taste with instant mashed potoes instead of grated -
> anyone ever try this? Probably not very good.
Did I read here that they sell shredded potatoes in the supermarket now? Otherwise, you don't have to grate potatoes to make your own mashed potatoes, then turn that into potato pancakes. Or, you can buy mashed potatoes already made, I would definitely take a pass on instant, forget it. Yuck.
From: Jimmy (WilliansWalker at hotmail.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 10:05:14 -0700
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
Grating potatoes is difficult and the labor is not worthy of a run of the mill cook. I suggest you spend your time trying to bio engineer potatoes so that they come out of the ground already grated. Also may I recommend frozen hot dogs already in the bun for your royal highness.
Perhaps it may help if you had a professional pedicure service polish your cuticles prior to you 'god forbid' pick up a grating tool. I hope like fuck you aren't forced to grate cabbage for cole slaw. You poor thing. If you can't use a french knife: learn. Otherwise get back on the pipe.
From: hob (dehoberg at comcast.net)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 12:24:47 -0500
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
> Wonder how they'd taste with instant mashed potoes instead of grated -
> anyone ever try this? Probably not very good.
1 - potato pancake mix
2 - frozen grated potato, if you can find it
3 - frozen shredded potatoes put in a blender, a handful at a time, for a couple quick bursts ("grate")
4 - bite the bullet, pull out the square grater, and slide the tater on the grater.
From: Ken Knecht (kenkknot at deruknot.com)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:33:56 GMT
--------
hob wrote:
> 1 - potato pancake mix
I never noticed the potato pancake mix. Any good?
From: maxine in ri (weedfam at gmail.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 11:18:50 -0700
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I never noticed the potato pancake mix. Any good?
It's ok. Better if you add a shredded potato or two to the mix.
One suggestion I've heard is to grate the potatoes in the food processor, then pulse about half of them until they are more finely chopped, but not pureed.
Gives that "grated" texture.
From: address.in.sig at nyc.rr.com (Curly Sue)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 01:49:27 GMT
--------
maxine in ri wrote:
>One suggestion I've heard is to grate the potatoes in the food
>processor, then pulse about half of them until they are more finely
>chopped, but not pureed.
>
>Gives that "grated" texture.
Ha! I "discovered" that by myself a few months ago after I tried an "official" potato grater and realized I would never use it again. How funny. :) I also cut the potates into pieces before grating with the FP so I don't get long strings.
From: Sheldon (PENMART01 at aol.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 11:38:34 -0700
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
Best and simplest/fastest method is to put spuds through a meat grinder.
Sheldon Latke
From: Andy (q)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:45:56 -0500
--------
Sheldon taking an infinite amount of time finally, on 10 Aug 2006, typed
out:
> Best and simplest/fastest method is to put spuds through a meat
> grinder.
Hand-cranked or even mixer attached meat grinders would be WAY too slow! What color is the sky in your world???
From: Wayne Boatwright (wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 22:04:45 +0200
--------
Oh pshaw, on Thu 10 Aug 2006 12:45:56p, Andy meant to say...
> Sheldon taking an infinite amount of time finally, on 10 Aug 2006, typed out:
>
>> Best and simplest/fastest method is to put spuds through a meat
>> grinder.
>
> Hand-cranked or even mixer attached meat grinders would be WAY too slow!
> What color is the sky in your world???
And the wrong texture. Who wants *ground* potaotes in their potato pancakes.? Ugh!
From: Sheldon (PENMART01 at aol.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 15:25:07 -0700
--------
Duh'Wayne blurted:
> And the wrong texture. Who wants *ground* potaotes in their potato
> pancakes.? Ugh!
Dumb schmuck Duh'Wayne doesn't own a kitchen, in fact the lying LAZY douchebag welfare fraud owns nothing.
From: Sheldon (PENMART01 at aol.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 15:20:02 -0700
--------
Andy wrote:
> Sheldon writes:
>
> > Best and simplest/fastest method is to put spuds through a meat
> > grinder.
>
> Hand-cranked or even mixer attached meat grinders would be WAY too slow!
Whaddaya, some limp wristed fruitcake?
Even hand cranked grinders are faster than hand grating or food processors.
My little home-style electric grinder can grind spuds faster than I can feed them... can grind 5 pounds in about 3 minutes... takes far longer to peel and quarter them. The texture produced is perfect, I use a 1/4" hole plate but someone else may prefer coarser or finer.
Food processors can't produce a proper texture, they either produce shreds or mush... with grinders food passes through but one time making for a homogeneous product, texture is infinitely controllable by plate configuration.
There are plenty of recipes that say to grind spuds for latkes rather than grate... hand grating takes so long the spuds turn black... only thing I do differently from the following recipe is to remove the excess liquid from the ground potato before grinding in the onion, otherwise too much onion flavor is lost... but that's a personal preference, no rule says there even has to be onion... no-taste is probably what limp wristed Andy likes/has.
http://www.wgnradio.com/Dean/Manny's.htm [archive.org]
From: Nancy2 (nancy-dooley at uiowa.edu)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 11:42:25 -0700
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
> Wonder how they'd taste with instant mashed potoes instead of grated -
> anyone ever try this? Probably not very good.
I've always made them with mashed potatoes - instant might not be very good but if you doctor them up enough (beaten egg, chives, chopped scallions, garlic), I doubt you can tell the difference. I have a great potato dish recipe that calls for instant (boxed) and it is wonderful - to one box, made according to directions, add one small container of whipped cream cheese with chives, and one beaten egg. Put in a buttered casserole - dot the top with butter pats and sprinkle with paprika and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it is puffy and browned slightly on top. I swear I can't tell the potatoes are instant.
You certainly could use some of those frozen Ore-Ida mashed potatoes, which are real mashed potatoes - you'd have to make them like the directions say, but after a meal of having them as just mashed potatoes, you certainly could use the leftovers in potato pancakes.
I've never made potato pancakes with shredded raw potatoes.
From: Peter A (paitken at CRAPnc.rr.com)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:44:27 GMT
--------
nancy-dooley says...
> I've never made potato pancakes with shredded raw potatoes.
Try it - but be forewarned, you may never go back to making them with mashed potatoes (which strikes me as strange, to be honest). Traditional potato pancakes, or latkes, are always made with fresh grated. There's a tried and true recipe on my recipe page:
http://www.pgacon.com/Recipies-vegetables.htm#Latkes%20(potato%20pancakes)
From: azazello at koroviev.de (Victor Sack)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:43:19 +0200
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes.
Make Pillekuchen. Here is a recipe adapted from _Kulinarische Streifzüge durch das Rheinland_ by Hannes Schmitz.
Bergischer Pillekuchen
1 kg (2 pounds) potatoes
about 125 g (4.4 ounces) streaky bacon (in a piece, not in thin rashers)
2 onions
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sour cream
Peel and rinse the potatoes and cut them in thin sticks, (as for matchstick or shoestring potatoes). Cube the streaky bacon and fry it in a large pan until it gives off some fat. Mince the onions, add them to the bacon and fry until soft. Add the potatoes and continue to fry, turning them over often, until golden brown. Add the seasoning. Mix the eggs, flour and sour cream, with a bit of salt and pepper, pour the mixture over the potatoes and let it thicken. Serve with green salad.
From: The Bubbo (oyobo at v3lf3t-sea.com)
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 22:47:13 GMT
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> I'm hungry for potato pancakes. Haven't made any for years. But I have an
> irrational dislike of grating potatoes. Maybe use a food processor?
> Wonder how they'd taste with instant mashed potoes instead of grated -
> anyone ever try this? Probably not very good.
In my experience, the food processor is way fast and easy to use, but I find I have to be a bit more vigilant about squeezing out the water. Something about hand grating leaves me with more liquid in the bowl and easier to squeeze spuds. I don't know but I like the texture better when I can rinse and squeeze out a lot of potato liquid.
As for grinding the potatoes, it seems like the wrong texture to me but I've never tried it. My food processor is always set up and ready to go because I use it a lot, my meat grinder would need to be set up and personally, my food processor is faster than my meat grinder (KA food processor vs Meat grinder attachment for my KA stand mixer).
.:Heather:.
From: Ken (threeriversguy_2000 at yahoo.com)
Date: 10 Aug 2006 17:19:16 -0700
--------
Ken Knecht wrote:
> --
> Untie the two knots to email me
>
> "I think I can say, and say with pride, that we have
> legislatures that bring higher prices than any in
> the world."
> Mark Twain
Mark,
I always love your quotes. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks, Ken
Ken,
I have friends who make a huge batch of potato pancakes once per year, and I'm usually drafted to help. For years they grated the potatoes by hand. Hours and hours of work. Then they discovered you can buy bags of frozen, grated potatoes. I believe they get them at Smart and Final. Nobody's any the wiser.
I haven't read this whole thread, so please excuse if this is a repeat.
Hope this helps,
Ken