On Dec 6, 1:09 pm, "Mitch Scherer" > wrote:
> "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


I love potato pancakes - but I never saw a recipe, I just mix left-
over mashed potatoes with an egg (I never have more than a cup to 2
cups of potatoes), diced onion, parsley, garlic, seasoned salt &
pepper - drop into patties into hot oil and fry on one side, then the
other, until brown. Yum. Nothing horribly heavy about them, nor
pasty, either. I generally don't add any flour, or if I do, it's a T.
or so. I don't mind that they are crispy on the outside and kinda
soft in the inside. Perfect. ;-)

N.