19 Crispy, Scraggly Fritters (or Are They Pancakes?) to Make Now

We talk a lot about the dizzying swirl of terms that names baked fruit desserts (buckle! cobbler! crips! grunt! schlumpf! pandowdy!). But what about the line—a thin one, I think—between pancakes and fritters?

Somewhere between griddled and fried, or battered, dough-wrapped, and sugared, or formed from grated ribbons or last night's leftovers (a wonderful kind of fritter indeed), lies a crisp, not-too-over-the-top, often-scraggly.... thing.

And we want to eat them at every occasion. Here are 18 to start with:

Corn

Zucchini

Potatoes and Roots

Mixed Bag!

Sweet Fritters

Share your tips for the perfect fritter—or just tell us about your favorite fried bite—in the comments below.