Thread: Potato Pancakes

Hello,
I've been unsuccessfully trying to make potato pancakes. I followed the directions:

How to Make Potato Pancakes: 8 Steps - wikiHow

but use:

2 potatoes
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of flour (unbleached)
Some sautйed onions
Some fried garlic

Mine don't get brown like in the pictures. I cook for about 7 minutes a side. A freind said she doesn't wring out the liquid from the potatoes but just gets rid of the access which I'll try the next time. What' your potato pancake recipe?

Thank you,

Scott

Well i have absolutely no experience in making potato pancakes, but i hope this website be useful for you, since the writer is Russian/Ukrainian (i'm not sure which one) and she teaches how to cook Russian and Ukrainian foods!
Easy Mashed Potato Pancakes | NatashasKitchen.com

Thank you!

The original recipe calls for 6 potatoes and 1 egg but you are using 2 and 2. Why is that? You might have too much egg. But the lack of browning suggests you are not cooking long enough or the heat is too low. Rereading -- 7 min per side is too long, you must have the flame too low.

I always wring out the potato liquid. I haven't made them for awhile, but I think I just tossed the shredded onion in with the potatoes and stirred, without cooking the onion first. Same with a clove of garlic (crushed).

These are called "latkas" laht-kahs. I think from Russian оладья.

Those are "драники" in Russian.
If you want it to be brown, turn up the heat as much as you can, the pan must be very hot at the begining, then put batter and turn down the heat (don't burn it). All pancakes are not brown and stick to the frying pan when it is not hot enough.

I'll turn up the heat!

Thank you!

Scott

Драники.Мужская Еда.Кухня ТВ - YouTube

Here is a 15-minute video, where the host of "Мужская еда" explains everything in great detail. So you will also practice your Russian listening comprehension

I hope it will help.

PS In north Ukraine where I am from, people cook "дерунЫ" without garlic, and they still taste great!

драники - YouTube

Hre is another video, only one minute long. It looks like this particular recipe asks for three potatoes, one egg, and salt. Fried in hot grease (смАлец). Enjoy!

Yulia65,
Strange that one video the liquid is squeezed from the potatoes and the other not.


Thank you!

Scott

Originally Posted by fortheether

Yulia65,
Strange that one video the liquid is squeezed from the potatoes and the other not.

К тому же, в одном видео картошку натирают очень мелко, а в другом -- довольно крупно.

I have had very mixed success with potato pancakes -- often they turn out gray and rubbery, not crisp and brown. (Unless I use a packaged "latke mix," which always turns out well.)

I will definitely try the "mashed potato" version, which I've never seen before. (Every recipe I've tried tells you to grate the raw potatoes and then squeeze out the liquid.)

P.S. Now, if anyone has suggestions for making сырники with Italian ricotta and/or American cottage cheese, instead of Russian творог, that would be really great!

Throbert,
To prevent raw potatoes from turning gray, you have to add raw onions. So next time try to grate alternatively onions and potatoes, and mix them.

As many cooks, as many variations of cooking the same dish. E.g., there are over 300 variations of cooking Ukrainian borshch!

Speaking about Ricotta cheese, I recently learned how to make Ricotta cheese pancakes with blueberries, they really MELT in your mouth! I'll try to post that recipe tomorrow.

Hi Scott,

I asked my dad and he says that he uses a food processor and almost liquefies the potatoes and then drains the water off using a strainer and keeps the potato starch at the bottom of the bowl but discards the water. He mixes the potato starch back into the liquefied potatoes.
He said that if you want an onion to chop that up separately in the food processor.
Then, he adds one egg to the mix of potato (and onion if desired).
Check consistency, if too moist, add some mashed potato buds until it comes up to the right consistency, not too runny and not too thick.
If it is too thick, you can add a little water but he says it shouldn't be too thick.
He cooks it in vegetable oil on medium heat.

My dad likes very thin latkes not thick and heavy like you see sold in the supermarkets.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Hi Scott,

I asked my dad and he says that he uses a food processor and almost liquefies the potatoes and then drains the water off using a strainer and keeps the potato starch at the bottom of the bowl but discards the water. He mixes the potato starch back into the liquefied potatoes.
He said that if you want an onion to chop that up separately in the food processor.
Then, he adds one egg to the mix of potato (and onion if desired).
Check consistency, if too moist, add some mashed potato buds until it comes up to the right consistency, not too runny and not too thick.
If it is too thick, you can add a little water but he says it shouldn't be too thick.
He cooks it in vegetable oil on medium heat.

My dad likes very thin latkes not thick and heavy like you see sold in the supermarkets.

Mine are always crispy.
The first thing is to know about your potato options.

RUSSET POTATOES (brown) = High starch, high density, high amylose. The amylose bursts in heat releasing a gluey gel. But high amylose lets the potatoe absorb stuff like water, butter, etc, like a sponge. A grainy potato.
---- Used for baked potatoes. Can also be used for mashed potatoes or French fries.
YUKON GOLD POTATOES (yellow) = Medium starch, medium density, medium amylose. A fine textured, creamy potato.
---- Used for Boiled potatoes but are versatile and can be used for other things too - especially mashed potatoes or French fries. As a baked potato, they're kinda thick and heavy, not fluffy.
RED SKINNED POTATOES (red) = Low starch, low density, low amylose. The starch strands don't break down much in heat so they keep their shape.
---- Used for potato salad, soups, stews, and salads. Can also be used for other things too - especially mashed potatoes or French fries.

THE MINOR HEALTH ISSUES FOR POTATOES:
GREEN SPOTS - Greenish spots are due to sun exposure. If eaten in large quantity, illness can result, even if cooked. The toxin is Solanine.
EYE SPROUTS - Sprouts of any size, on the potato, are toxic. But many sprouts would have to be injested to cause sufficient poisoning for concern.

I like to use the Red Skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes for potato pancakes. They can't absorb the cooking oil as easily as Russets.
Another important thing is the right cooking oil. They will fry the best in a High Temperature oil like cotton seed oil. It cooks them more evenly and the pancakes will be harder to burn.
Btw, I never use flour.

Here's my recipee:

4 medium Potatoes -- about 2 pounds
1 medium Onion
1/2 cup chopped Scallions (dinner onions) -- chop up the green parts too
1 large egg -- room temperature and beaten
Salt
Freshly ground Peppercorns -- or just pepper

I saw garlic in your recipe so you could probably add that when you add the scallions.

PREP:
Scrub the potatoes, under cold water, then peel and rinse them. Coarsely grate the potatoes with a hand grater. If you use a food processor, be careful. The "coarse" grating is important for making crispy potato pancakes. I use the hand grater.
Coarsely grate the medium onion and put in a separate bowl.
Put the grated potatoes in a large food strainer over a large bowl. Mash them down firmly with your hands. Now wrap them in cheesecloth or a clean dish towel. Wring them over the bowl as hard as you can and get all the water out. When you think all the water is gone, wring them some more.
Look in the bowl. All the starch is at the bottom of the bowl with a layer of water over that. Very carefully pour off that water and leave only the starch.
Now put the potatoes in the bowl with the starch and add the grated medium onion. Mix that all up. Now add the chopped scallions (and optional chopped garlic) and the beaten egg. Salt and pepper the mixture then mix it all up.
COOKING:
Set the griddle or burner to medium heat. Add a thin film of oil to the griddle or skillet. Now make sure the heat is at the right setting. To test it, put a pinch of the mixture on the griddle or skillet. When the oil is hot enough to make it sizzle, then it's hot enough so leave it at that setting, no higher.
Btw, this recipe is for thin pancakes.
Now put 2 tablespoons of the batter on your hand. Flatten and shape it into a cake and put it on the griddle or skillet. Use a big spatula to keep it flat while it cooks. Fry it for about 3 minutes (till golden) on one side. Then flip it over and do that again, for the other side. Put it on paper towels and serve them hot.

Imo, when you added the sauteed onion and fried garlic, the grated potatoes soaked up so much oil that they couldn't get crisp. Frying a soggy mixture would just transfer the heat through the potatoes evenly. The outside needs to fry faster to make them get crisp.
So while the heat went through the mixture evenly, the outside couldn't get hot enough to fry.

Masterrussian staff - can you please add a choice "Love" next to "Like". )))

UhOhXplode - Thank you!

Scott

Originally Posted by UhOhXplode

Mine are always crispy.
The first thing is to know about your potato options.

RUSSET POTATOES (brown) = High starch, high density, high amylose. The amylose bursts in heat releasing a gluey gel. But high amylose lets the potatoe absorb stuff like water, butter, etc, like a sponge. A grainy potato.
---- Used for baked potatoes. Can also be used for mashed potatoes or French fries.
YUKON GOLD POTATOES (yellow) = Medium starch, medium density, medium amylose. A fine textured, creamy potato.
---- Used for Boiled potatoes but are versatile and can be used for other things too - especially mashed potatoes or French fries. As a baked potato, they're kinda thick and heavy, not fluffy.
RED SKINNED POTATOES (red) = Low starch, low density, low amylose. The starch strands don't break down much in heat so they keep their shape.
---- Used for potato salad, soups, stews, and salads. Can also be used for other things too - especially mashed potatoes or French fries.

THE MINOR HEALTH ISSUES FOR POTATOES:
GREEN SPOTS - Greenish spots are due to sun exposure. If eaten in large quantity, illness can result, even if cooked. The toxin is Solanine.
EYE SPROUTS - Sprouts of any size, on the potato, are toxic. But many sprouts would have to be injested to cause sufficient poisoning for concern.

I like to use the Red Skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes for potato pancakes. They can't absorb the cooking oil as easily as Russets.
Another important thing is the right cooking oil. They will fry the best in a High Temperature oil like cotton seed oil. It cooks them more evenly and the pancakes will be harder to burn.
Btw, I never use flour.

Here's my recipee:

4 medium Potatoes -- about 2 pounds
1 medium Onion
1/2 cup chopped Scallions (dinner onions) -- chop up the green parts too
1 large egg -- room temperature and beaten
Salt
Freshly ground Peppercorns -- or just pepper

I saw garlic in your recipe so you could probably add that when you add the scallions.

PREP:
Scrub the potatoes, under cold water, then peel and rinse them. Coarsely grate the potatoes with a hand grater. If you use a food processor, be careful. The "coarse" grating is important for making crispy potato pancakes. I use the hand grater.
Coarsely grate the medium onion and put in a separate bowl.
Put the grated potatoes in a large food strainer over a large bowl. Mash them down firmly with your hands. Now wrap them in cheesecloth or a clean dish towel. Wring them over the bowl as hard as you can and get all the water out. When you think all the water is gone, wring them some more.
Look in the bowl. All the starch is at the bottom of the bowl with a layer of water over that. Very carefully pour off that water and leave only the starch.
Now put the potatoes in the bowl with the starch and add the grated medium onion. Mix that all up. Now add the chopped scallions (and optional chopped garlic) and the beaten egg. Salt and pepper the mixture then mix it all up.
COOKING:
Set the griddle or burner to medium heat. Add a thin film of oil to the griddle or skillet. Now make sure the heat is at the right setting. To test it, put a pinch of the mixture on the griddle or skillet. When the oil is hot enough to make it sizzle, then it's hot enough so leave it at that setting, no higher.
Btw, this recipe is for thin pancakes.
Now put 2 tablespoons of the batter on your hand. Flatten and shape it into a cake and put it on the griddle or skillet. Use a big spatula to keep it flat while it cooks. Fry it for about 3 minutes (till golden) on one side. Then flip it over and do that again, for the other side. Put it on paper towels and serve them hot.

Imo, when you added the sauteed onion and fried garlic, the grated potatoes soaked up so much oil that they couldn't get crisp. Frying a soggy mixture would just transfer the heat through the potatoes evenly. The outside needs to fry faster to make them get crisp.
So while the heat went through the mixture evenly, the outside couldn't get hot enough to fry.

Originally Posted by fortheether

Masterrussian staff - can you please add a choice "Love" next to "Like". )))

UhOhXplode - Thank you!

Scott

Wow just wow! Fandom! Now maybe I can start my own cooking show.