Uncle Bill's Famous Corn Fritters - A Delicious Family Tradition!

"Fritter" is a name applied to a wide variety of fried foods, usually consisting of a portion of batter or breading which has been filled with bits of vegetable, meat, seafood, fruit, or other ingredients.  The word "fritter" derives originally from the Latin "frictura" meaning "something fried".

Corn fritters are a savory snack or side dish from the American south. They are traditionally a mixture of corn kernels, egg, flour, milk, and melted butter.  They can be deep fried, shallow fried, baked, or even cooked on a griddle, and can be eaten plain or served with jam, fruit, honey, maple syrup or cream.  Corn Fritters may have a similar appearance to, and may be mistaken for Johnnycakes which are a simpler fried corn mush.  New England clam cakes and Maryland crab cakes are essentially varieties of a fritter.

Many people enjoy corn fritters like they would pancakes or crepes--topped with maple syrup or powdered sugar--but others eat them as a savory side dish and to change things up on a others add different vegetables such as onions, celery, cayenne, paprika, and/or green/red peppers to a batch. There really is no limit to your enjoying the corn fritter, just use your imagination!

The most common way to make corn fritters is with whole kernel or creamed corn, but my first exposure to them came from one of my Uncle Bill's favorite recipe in which the corn and other ingredients are blended together into a smooth batter (which would make sense because he says he got this recipe with a blender they purchased many years ago).  This results in a delicious smooth creamy center surrounded by a crunchy exterior is a whole new experience--like a cross between the best pancake and the best deep-fried scone you ever tasted!  They are so delicious I've made them twice in the last few days and gotten rave reviews from my family.  When I emailed my cousins that I'd made and LOVED their dad's fritters Mike replied, "Joe, you made my heart smile by making (and loving) these!  Dad's fritters are one of those 'constants' in our family traditions that bring much joy and rejoicing!", and Steve added "Like Aunt Gerda's (my mom's) tacos!!  I miss her and them!".  Believe me there is a reason that this recipe is a favorite comfort food for generations...you've got to try them!

Here's how to Uncle Bill's Famous Corn Fritters:

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Paprika
• 2 Eggs, separated
• 2 Cups whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/4 Cup corn liquid
• Oil for frying

Original instructions from Uncle Bill -

Mix well flour, baking powder, salt, & paprika.  Divide into 2 parts.  With a blender, puree egg yolks, the corn liquid, and half the corn.  Add to half the dry ingredients and blend well.  Add remaining corn and dry ingredients and blend well.  Beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold batter into egg whites.  Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil.  Fry until golden brown (365 degrees fahrenheit).  Drain on absorbent paper, serve with butter and syrup.

My variations -

I found that if you have a more powerful blender like a Blendtec or a Vitamix you can just dump all the ingredients except the egg whites into the blender and pulse until you have a thick batter, beat the egg whites stiff, and then fold the batter into them.  Fry as instructed above or you can even bake them on a griddle like pancakes (see below).  Either way they are AMAZING!