Potato Pancakes

Hello all,
I am reaching the point of desperation in my quest to recreate "potatocakes" that my great grandmother used to make when I was a kid. She was old world Croatian with crude English writing skills. The following list is the best I can come up with, but something is missing: make patties (about an inch thick) out of mashed potatoes, an egg, flour, salt, and pepper. Fry each side in a little oil until lightly crispy.

There must be some seasoning I am missing. I can get the consistency, but there is some seasoning missing that I cant seem to put my foot on. I want to say it was similar to season salt, but not that strong. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

My guess is Hungarian Paprika.

My grandmother, who was very German, added some grated onion to her potato pancakes. I have such fond memories of them but have never successfully recreated them!!!

I was taught to include chopped onion & chopped celery by my Scotch/Irish/German grandmothers. No particular seasonings except salt & pepper.

My mother made these on a regular basis. Good (and cheap) eats! She just used leftover mashed potatoes, a beaten egg, flour, salt and pepper.

May I ask what oil you're using for frying? Have you tried butter? That would add a different flavor than vegetable oil.

Also, as for onion, I think I would go with GRATED onion as it would offer a better texture to compliment the creaminess of the mashed potatoes.

My friend Zina at Gavi's restaurant downtown serves Latkes during the Jewish holidays. I know she uses GRATED potatoes, not mashed ones. I fully realized Latkes and the potatoes cakes my momma used to make aren't the same thing, but I was surprised how similar they are. Though Momma would have NEVER have thought about serving them with applesauce or sour cream!

One of the few things my mother made well, bless her heart, was potato cakes. Pretty much the same receipe as everyone else (not latkes-although those are delicious), sometimes grated onion, sometimes not, but always with a light coating of seasoned flour to give a bit of a crust. I sure wish I had a couple right now.