I'm trying to cook potato pancakes from boxed mix; what am I doing wrong?

This is standard store-bought potato pancake mix, from the Jewish aisle. The instructions are simple enough:

beat one egg in medium bowl
add 1 cup cold water
stir in the mix and let stand 5-10 minutes
heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan, stir the mix once more, then fry tablespoon-sized dollops of batter until both sides are golden brown

I followed the instructions pretty closely... I did let the batter sit for more like 10-15 minutes, and it was noticeably thicker, but that doesn't seem to reflect the problem I had while attempting to cook them. My pancakes wouldn't solidify, their centers remained mush, and I was making something that began to look like hash browns as I tried to flip them... but also, a very thin layer of the pancakes managed to peel off from the rest of the mush and stick to the pan, where it rather quickly became brown/blackish crust.

What am I doing wrong? Did I let the mix sit too long? Is there a quality problem with the brand I bought? Did I use the wrong kind of oil (I used canola)?

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Why are my potato pancakes falling apart?

If they're falling apart while you're shaping them, they either need a little more flour to hold them together (QueenSashy recommends saving the potato starch that gathers at the bottom of the liquid you squeeze out of the grated potatoes and mixing that back into the potato mix) or they're too wet and need to be wrung ...

How do you make potato pancakes in a frying pan?

Directions

Finely grate potatoes; drain any liquid. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add egg, onion, flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder; mix well.

In a large skillet, heat 1/8 in. of oil over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls; press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately.

Why do my potato pancakes stick to the pan?

If your oil isn't hot enough, your first batch of latkes will stick or flip poorly, and you'll have a mess on your hands. Before you start frying, check the temperature of the oil\u2014about 365 to 375 F/185 to 190 C is ideal.

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Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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