Ah, what is that disgusting grey sludge in the cute vintage sugar bowl, you may ask?
I celebrate Hanukkah with my children every year, hoping to keep them somehow connected to traditions that are about history and community, So every year I make latkes, fried potato cakes of shredded potatoes, generally, with onion and egg and S and P and a binder like matzo meal if possible, flour if not. (You could make them fancier of course.) Simple but a bit labour intensive, and yummy with sour cream, sauerkraut, and home-made applesauce.
(To my “blog followers”: this use of apples is another kind of apple-as-savoury on that list I am generating 🙂 )
You can never make enough latkes– people and yourself will always eat more.
There’s something every year I look forward to when I grate the potatoes: letting the shreds sit in a colander, to release the excess fluid, then letting that fluid sit so the starch settles into powdery starchiness. For years I wondered what it was, then I realised in its obviousness: Potato Starch. The liquid on top oxidizes and gets darker, and this year was especially black because the potatoes were so fresh, I didn’t peel them first. You pour it off. The fluid wants to escape to the top, and you keep pouring. Eventually you have powder dry enough to store.
I like this starch. From my latke making it forms maybe two inches in a jam jar and will be used as a sauce thickener in gravies and Chinese stir-fry sauces, in place of cornstarch (or corn flour, as it’s called in the UK). A by-product, therefore a little bit of a don’t-have-to-buy product, which is a good theme for Black Friday/Saturday. And, a minor self-sufficiency, home-steading skill!
If I ever had lots of green potatoes (inedible) I might try this starch making as a salvage- operation. I wonder if any of the alkaloid toxins would remain?
Kitchen Counter Culture 
indeed I was wondering what that disgusting grey sludge was when I came down and saw it this morning- thank you for enlightening me. This blog is always a good place to find answers for my domestic queries
And indeed George I appreciate your interest and tolerance, and do know others might regard my Kitchen Counter Culture as “counter clutter.” xxx
I am surprised you do not add the starch back to the latke mixture instead of flour or matzo! That’s how i learned to make latkes– drain and squeeze the potatoes and then let the liquid sit and pour off till just the starch layer remains and mix it back into the potatoes. Try it, you’ll like it! xoxo Happy Chanukah!
Jess! How wonderful to hear from you!!!!!!! What a fantastic tip. I have NEVER heard or read this, so am thrilled!!!!!!!!!! Love to you xxx