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SUGAR NOTCH — The recipe starts with about 1,000 pounds of potatoes, fresh from their sacks.
It includes some fresh onions, some eggs and …
“No, no, no!” a long-time church volunteer named Jean cried out on Saturday afternoon, waving her arms to shoo a reporter away from what appeared to be bowls of spices ready to be added to the raw potato pancake batter in the kitchen at Holy Family Church.
Jean did not want any secret ingredients to be revealed, lest some other cook whip up a batch of pancakes identical to the mouth-watering and amazingly not-greasy treats served at Holy Family’s annual Summer Festival last week.
But she probably has nothing to worry about.
Even if people knew how much flour or salt (if any) to use, they’d still need a small army of dedicated volunteers who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and make potato pancakes from scratch.
They’d need people like Bob Egan, of Hanover Township, who loaded the spuds into a peeling machine that used water, tumbling action and a coarse inner surface to clean the potatoes and remove their skins.
“This is more than 100 years old,” he said, as the tumbling potatoes beat a rat-a-tat sound inside the mechanical peeler.
A few steps away Dave Aftewicz, of Hanover Township, placed potatoes, one at a time, into a heavy metal potato cutter. His arm muscles flexed as he pushed a handle that cut the ‘taters into wedges, suitable for french fries.
“They have to be cut so they’ll fit into the grinder,” said Dave’s brother Hank Aftewicz, also of Hanover Township.
Hank Aftewicz manned the grinder, and added onions to the freshly ground potatoes. “I’m a mixologist,” he said.
Many pounds of onions, by the way, were being peeled and sliced by George and Carol Platko, of Sugar Notch, and Lenny Scupski, of Hanover Township.
With all this onion slicing going on, how did they keep their eyes from tearing up?
“After the first five minutes, you get used to it,” George Platko said. “Then it’s OK.”
If you’ve ever handled raw, grated potatoes, you know they can be very moist.
To get rid of excess water, Anthony Kolativa, of Warrior Run, used a wine press, turning the handle by hand.
“It’s not difficult,” he said.
As a group of women stood ready to add those secret ingredients to the batter, word started to trickle in from outside. The bazaar was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., but people had been getting into the potato-pancake line well before that.
Then, once the 4 p.m. Mass was over, the crowd swelled with hungry customers. “The line is all the way out to the street!” one volunteer reported.
“We have to keep up with the fryers,” Cathy Palicki, of Mountain Top, said.
“No, they have to keep up with us,” said Sarah Popek, of Upper Askam.
As the volunteers redoubled their efforts, bazaar goers described the potato pancakes not merely as “tasty” or “delicious” but as “fantastic” and “unreal.” Some said they wished the festival lasted more than one day.
While the 2017 Holy Family Summer Festival is over, fans can expect it to return next summer.
“Think of us next year,” said Carol Platko, the onion slicer.
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