# Never Tastes the Same **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617 "2018-12-05T16:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617/21 "2018-12-06T19:00:59Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > My mother was never a great cook (not HER fault, my dad was one of those ‘50s guys who thought the supreme cuisine was a grilled steak). But I remember her taking leftover mashed potatoes, beating in an egg, and forming them into cakes that she fried in a pan. Better breakfast potatoes than any hash brown or home fries I’ve eaten. > > Every time I try it, they fall apart in the skillet and never brown well. > > (Maybe I should also beat in some flour, to toughen the little suckers up?) Ooh. Fried potato patties. Love them. Do you use the white potatoes or the red potatos for your mash? The mashed potatoes can’t be too watery. Mashed red potatoes(cold) 1 or 2 egss. Tiny bit of flour. Diced onions salt and pepper. Mix all together. It should thicker than pancake batter (if it’s too thick add a little milk) Fry in a smidge of oil in a nonstick skillet. Low flame, cook slowly, turning as needed. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617/22 "2018-12-06T20:51:52Z")
My mother’s caramels. I’m great with candy making, but I can’t get the caramels just right like she does. Not too hard, not too chewy, not too crumbly. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617/23 "2018-12-06T21:37:07Z")
One of my fondest memories of childhood is watching my _bubbe_ make gefilte fish. She would even let me taste a little raw. This gefilte fish bears absolutely no resemblance to the dreck that’s sold in jars. She chopped the ingredients in a large wooden bowl; I even have her bowl and chopper. I have to use ingredients from memory, because she was illiterate, so never wrote anything down. I don’t think she even measured anything, just used a handful of “this” and a pinch of “that.” ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617/24 "2018-12-06T22:04:07Z")
I can make pumpkin pie that tastes exactly like mom’s. I cannot make lemon meringue pie that’s even close to hers. Maybe it’s because I don’t have that aluminum double boiler with the dented bottom that she used. I’ve never even tried to make her divinity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-tastes-the-same/825617.md?page=1)