"Mike" > wrote in message
...
> Can anyone discuss 'binding' as in adding flour to a potato mixture or
> a meatloaf?
> What's actually happening? how do you know you've added enough flour
> or matzo meal? - Mike

I don't think the bread crumbs bind meatloaf. They absorb the juice and
make the meatloaf more tender; it is the egg that binds it. Without the
crumbs, the meatloaf becomes a hard piece of ground beef. With bread crumbs
and no egg, it will be soft and falling apart. Too much bread crumbs make
it mushy.

Unlike latkes, potato pancakes are awful heavy, pasty things I can't stand
to put in my mouth. I'm not sure what the matzo does for the latkes. It
might make them a bit lighter. Latkes also have egg, which could be the
binder.

Mitch