Griddle/Pan Fried: Three inch Hose Clamp as Latke Mold

Subject: Three inch Hose Clamp as Latke Mold
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: mhorowit at erols.com (Michael Horowitz)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 10:27:54 GMT
--------
If the bake vs fry zealots were up in arms about my post about baking latkes, the'll have a great time with this one! <G>

Lay the hose clamp flat on the pancake turner; place batter in ring, press gently to mold, slip ring off, slip perfectly molded latke into the hot oil.

I'll try it tonight and report back.

(there really is a rational reason for what I'm doing; I allways make the latkes too thick and they come out raw in the middle; the width/height of the hose clamp gives me a gauge)

- Mike
From: Thierry Gerbault (newsbusterNOSPAM at worldnet.att.net)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 13:14:26 GMT
--------
OY!!! Now they'll be perfectly shaped, just like hockey pucks.
From: Brian Huntley (brian_huntley at my-deja.com)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 15:00:24 GMT
--------
Er, they make things known as egg rings that do this nicely, without any industrial rust inhibitors/lubricants. They also have smooth sides instead of worm-gear tracks, and a nice little handle with a silicon rubber grip so you don't burn your fingers. I think I paid $2.44 a pair.
From: mhorowit at erols.com (Michael Horowitz)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 23:45:13 GMT
--------
>Er, they make things known as egg rings that do this nicely, without any

Yeah Brian, but I _had_ a hose clamp handy! <G> - Mike
From: Charlie (saiga at concentric.net)
Date: 20 Dec 2000 09:29:46 GMT
--------
Michael Horowitz wrote:
> Yeah Brian, but I _had_ a hose clamp handy! <G> - Mike

I know what you mean Mike. I have used hose clamps for making crumpets! I just happend to have some the right size in diameter and they were wider than the usual clamps. Worked fine!
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: shedevil at stop.mail-abuse.org (Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.)
Date: 20 Dec 2000 09:31:20 GMT
--------
saiga at concentric.net wrote:
>I know what you mean Mike. I have used hose clamps for making
>crumpets! I just happend to have some the right size in
>diameter and they were wider than the usual clamps. Worked
>fine!

For some reason I am reminded of that one episode of "Green Acres" (wow, am I dating myself or what? [Hey, somebody has to! <grin>]), where Lisa makes those horrible pancakes, which turn out to make dandy gaskets. Anybody else (old enough to) remember that?
From: catmandy99 at aol.comcrap (Sheryl Rosen)
Date: 20 Dec 2000 00:55:11 GMT
--------
>> (there really is a rational reason for what I'm doing; I allways make
>> the latkes too thick and they come out raw in the middle; the
>> width/height of the hose clamp gives me a gauge)
>> - Mike

This reminds me of a sketch from Saturday Night Live...circa...1989 or so. The late great Phil Hartman, portraying "The Anal Retentive Chef". He would wrap the trash in aluminum foil, neatly, and then put the foil wrapped trash in a brown paper bag, which he would fold neatly and tape shut...so on and so on. Very funny sketch.

I use one big oval spoon....I drop a level spoonful of potato stuff into the hot oil....voila--uniform latkes. I never heard of molding them.

But know what? If it makes the latkes the way you like them...more power to ya!!!!
From: moosmeat at mindspring.com (moosemeat)
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 23:18:02 GMT
--------
Michael Horowitz wrote:
>Lay the hose clamp flat on the pancake turner; place batter in
>ring, press gently to mold, slip ring off, slip perfectly molded latke
>into the hot oil.

This is fraught with possible problems. As is known, a hose clamp has a series of slots on the perimeter for adjustment and for tightening. The batter would squeeze into these slots making a clean release impossible or at the very best you would have a pretty shaggy edge. Better get back to the drawing board on this one.
From: mhorowit at erols.com (Michael Horowitz)
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 10:38:16 GMT
--------
moosemeat wrote:
>The batter would squeeze into these slots making a clean release
>impossible or at the very best you would have a pretty shaggy edge.

Mose - well, it didn't! (I used very little force to put them in the mold - I was concerned that packing them in would make them more dense and therefore less likely to be cooked thru. I could have used a 'form' with just a little less depth; they were just right on the outside and a bit undercooked in the inside; however they looked grand. Froze a bunch. - Mike