Is the black mostly on top or all the way through?
I'd try frying one and see how it looks...

If Nancy's suggestion doesn't work, I'd turn to frozen shredded potatoes (hash browns) to save your day. That's how our cantor makes his.

Next time I'd peel the potatoes and keep them covered in water until the last minute to minimize the oxidation.

Sorry to be the one giving you the bad news Gellchom, but you really do need to throw out and start over.

Once potatoes are peeled they turn black, unless covered in water. If they are sliced or grated they turn black that much quicker. If you hadn`t already mixed in the eggs and flour I would have suggested soaking the potatoes in changes of cold water to see if you could remove the black, but since you mixed them with eggs and flour etc.. there really is no way to save this.

Ann

If you soak the potatoes in cold water and rinse well and drain.....they won't turn black. It's the starch that causes that, rinse it off the cut surface and you will be fine.
But once it's happened....as far as I know you can't reverse it.
Get a cuisinart...makes latkes a piece of cake!
Linda C

Sigh ... that's what I was afraid you'd say.

Oh, well.

I'm hoping that it will just be the top bit, and I can salvage the rest. I mean -- that is a LOT of potatoes to dump and replace (not to mention a lot of time!)

I can always follow the old policy of "You are always right in your own kitchen. Buy yourself a trophy and put it over your stove. If you make a mistake, just change the name of the dish. Tell everyone it's your favorite recipe and you're very excited, because it came out particularly well tonight." I've done that several times, and it is completely amazing how well it works, even with real disasters -- like Hickory Flavored (i.e., burned) Chocolate Chip Cookies. (I think I've already told you the story of Authentic Australian Outback Cake, haven't I?) So I may just go ahead and serve Lithuanian Jewish Gourmet Purple Potato Latkes. Hungry young actors don't seem to care much about how food looks, anyway.

I usually do use the FP for latkes, Lindac. Our family likes the potatoes grated, not shredded, and the FP does a fine job either way. But I decided to try the grinder this time, because I was making such a big batch, rather than keep emptying the FP. I figured I could put a big bowl lined with a tea towel under the grinder, then stop every 2-3 potatoes' worth, squeeze out the water, and dump them into the bowl of batter. That's why it's already mixed; I wanted the potatoes to get with the baking powder as soon as possible -- joke's on me.

And it did work very well, actually. I think the texture is perfect -- definitely grated, not shredded (I used the disk with the small holes; I suppose you could use the other one if you want them shreddier), but not too pureed or smooth, either, and perfectly uniform. That's harder to do with the FP.

So even if I have to start over -- or just have purple latkes -- at least I've learned something.

But I'll keep checking to see if anyone knows a magic trick. Please no suggestions involving Liquid Paper.

Thanks, all! You're the best.

Happy Chanuka!

I agree that the potatoes are now a lost cause. HOWEVER, I vote for going through with your plan to serve them. I've been served darkened potatoes at a Hanukkah party before. They weren't pretty but they tasted fine. The hostess made no apologies and no one seemed to care. If they are hungry, they'll eat them. And next time you'll know to store them in water.

It's not a food safety issue. Your heart's in the right place. Fry a test latke. Close your eyes and sample. If it tastes right, then serve with pride and say you used Peruvian purple potatoes.

Who knows? You may establish a tradition and for years after find yourself deliberately blackening your potatoes.

(Thanks for the tip on the shredder. That's great to know.)

Carol

I can give you a hint about keeping the potatoes white until you mix and cook them. We make a Swedish Potato dumpling for Christmas, and I use the grinder and the potatoes like to turn dark before mixing and cooking. I make a bag out of fine tulle or netting and grind the potatoes into that, I make it and attach it to the grinder with a rubber band. Soak the potato filled bags in a bowl of water. When you are ready to use them squeeze the excess water from the potatoes and use. Hope this hint helps someone:)

Stacie

"But I'll keep checking to see if anyone knows a magic trick. Please no suggestions involving Liquid Paper."

How about some Clorox?

(gro-o-o-o-o-oan)

Sorry, the devil made me do it.

But now I do have a serious hankering for some potato pancakes.

Rusty

Stacie, what a great tip. I will do that next time. A big improvement on my tea towel-lined bowl idea (which was pretty good).

Okay so here is the upshot:

By the time I got around to frying the latkes this afternoon, the bowl looked BLACK. Looked like squid ink latke batter.

But guess what!

That was just the top thin layer. I was able to scrape almost all of it off, probably losing only about 3 latkes' worth, and stir the last little bit down into the big bowlful without a problem. I still had over 60. So the latkes look okay after all, and they taste fantastic (Jack snuck one and swooned, and although he likes everything, it's hard to get a major reaction out of him.). I'm sure glad I didn't dump them and start over (I doubt I would have anyway). I wonder if I wouldn't even have lost that little bit if I'd put the plastic wrap right down on the batter instead of across the top of the not-quite-full bowl, as it is the exposure to air that is the culprit.

If you like ground potatoes instead of shredded for latkes, I can definitely recommend using the grinder over the FP -- just a perfectly even texture, not too fine, not too coarse. I can't believe we ever bothered to make them when we had to use hand graters, both because of the elbow grease and time required and the inevitable knuckle scrapings.

Okay, to thank you all for coming to my rescue yet again, here is the method (I just learned it a few years ago; wish I'd always known it) for making latkes ahead and reviving them, for anyone who doesn't already know:

Place cooked latkes in a single layer on a double sheet of foil, folded so that you can open the top. Close tightly and freeze flat. When you want to eat them, place foil pack(s) on baking sheet(s) and heat at 425 F for 7 minutes. They crisp right back up. Serve hot with sour cream and applesauce. Mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!

Glad to haar it all turned out well!! I use the KA shredder attachment and let the shredded potatoes fall into the KA bowl which contains ice water. Once they are all shredded, I dump them into the collander, salt them, and let them sit for a few minutes. Then I S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E. I do like Stacie's tip though and I just might try that!

Stacie, do you reuse the bags? Just throw them in the laundry? Or do you need a new bag every time?

I just use the cheap tulle from the fabric department, it is only a dollar or so a yard. I make a tube of it over lapping the long side, tying off the one end with a rubber band and using a rubber band to attach it to the grinder. I don't reuse them just because it is so cheap to make them. It is amazing when you soak in water and squeeze them out how much dark water comes out of them. My grandma had been making them for 50 years until another Swedish relative gave her the hint. It is really great so you don't have to rush in the mixing and making. We call them Krubs, I think that the swedish word is Krapkakors or something like that. You mix the ground potatoes, evaporated milk and flour to make a dough. You chop up onions, ham, and bacon and season with plenty of salt and pepper. You take a handfull of the potato mixture, make a ball and a well in the middle and fill it with the meat and onion mixture. Then you carefully roll them and cover the well with the dough making a kind of filled dumpling. Then you drop them in boiling water until they firm up and rise to the top. I then let them cool on waxed paper, and then freeze. To serve, slice the dumplings in 1 inch slices and fry in butter in a hot skillet. The dumplings should be a little bigger than fist sized. One way to eat them is just plain after frying, or my families favorite is to fry them and then add milk and mush up the krubs a little bit.

Glad to share a great family tradition:)

Stacie

gellchom I agree about the 'ground' texture vs. all-shred - we use the Cook's Illustrated of shredding all at first, then putting a portion back into the food processor with the chopping blade and pulsing until it is 'ground'. We mix it back in the 'shredded' bowl and feel it's a good compromise.

It's years later, but if anyone has found this because they are searching for tips to keep the batter from turning dark, check this out: https://www.thespruce.com/keep-peeled-potatoes-from-turning-gray-1137427