Latke tips

This is from the Arizona Republic, good info, it's how I make them (except I shape by hand)

Avoid discoloration
This is one dish where doing the prep work the night before can ruin the meal. When peeled potatoes are exposed to air, "oxidation turns the potatoes gray," says Don Odiorne, vice president of food service at the Idaho Potato Commission.So get everything else ready (line up your equipment and prep your other ingredients) before you start peeling, slicing and shredding the potatoes.Onions can help block oxidation by coating some of the potato cells, Odiorne said. That's why some cooks alternate adding potatoes and onion to the mixture rather than doing all the potatoes first.

Get the water out
"Potatoes are typically 80 percent water and 20 percent solids or starch," according to Odiorne.To avoid soggy latkes, take the potato-onion mixture a handful at a time and literally squeeze the water out, the way you would wring out a wet washcloth. Sure, you could get fancy with a strainer and a cheesecloth. But squeezing them in your fist works just fine.Then add the eggs, flour and salt.

Shape your patties right
To shape the latkes and keep them from falling apart, use a large, long-handled oval metal spoon to shape your patties, cupping each patty with the top of your hand. They will have a slightly rounded dome.Then gently slide the patty off the spoon into the pan of sizzling oil, and gently pat down with the back of the spoon to flatten the oval pancakes into circles. Each latke will be about the size of your palm.Don't crowd them. This cools the oil (resulting in oily latkes) and makes it hard to get the spatula in the pan.

Go golden, not greasy
There's nothing more disgusting than a grease sponge pretending to be a latke. But if you cook them right, latkes come out golden-brown without being oily.Before you put the patties in the pan, the oil should be hot enough so that a drop of water bounces or a shred of potato sizzles. If the oil is smoking, it's too hot.Cooks differ on how much oil to use. Some say a few tablespoons; others say the oil should be 3/4-inch deep in the pan. If you use too little oil, the latkes will stick. Use too much and the latkes will soak up the oil.Bottom line: There should be enough oil to reach the halfway point up the side of each latke - between 1/4-inch and 1/3-inch deep in the pan.Opinions also vary on the type of oil. Odiorne says canola is a popular choice because of its heart-healthy properties. It also is less expensive than peanut or olive oil, and it can handle higher temperatures than olive.

Knowing when to flip
Latkes need about four minutes per side (sometimes less on the second side). You'll see them browning at the edges, and when the bottom crust is formed, the spatula should slide under them easily. If you peek and they're not golden, leave them another minute or two before flipping.But keeping latkes crispy also depends on what happens after they leave the pan.Of course, you'll set them on paper towels to drain the oil. But if you put a layer of newspaper underneath the paper towels, the oil has somewhere to go when it seeps through the paper towel.And if you're expecting a crowd for your Hanukkah party, you may not want to serve the latkes until you have a dozen or two ready, or until most of the guests arrive. But how do you make sure the early batches don't get cold and soggy?Easy. After blotting the latkes on paper towels for a minute or two, transfer them to baking sheets in a 300-degree oven. The oven time will crisp the edges even more while keeping the insides soft and hot. And that's the ultimate in latke perfection.