On the surface , latkeslook like everyday murphy pancakes , but these traditional holiday treat are so much more than a starchy comfort food . latke have been aHanukkahstaple for millennia , and have roots date back to the fourteenth century , perhaps earlier .
To by rights value this tasty holiday tradition , we talked to expert and longtime potato pancake partizan Amy Kritzer in 2019 . Kritzer is acookbook authorand blogger behindWhat Jew Wanna Eat . Like many in the Jewish residential district , she ’s been eating latkes as long as she can remember .
" We always eat them for Hanukkah , even though they ’re delectable all twelvemonth , " Kritzer says . " It ’s emphatically something we look forward to making . I usually make them with mybubbe — my grandma — and my mammy . It ’s our kinsperson tradition . "
Latkes Are a Hanukkah Staple
Today , latkes are synonymous with Hanukkah , but it was n’t always that way . The tradition traces back to 14th - 100 Italy . According to " The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food , " Italian Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus introduced Italian potato pancakes into Judaic tradition by include them in a poem about Hanukkah in the early 1300s .
A C later , when the Spanish expelled Jews from Sicily in the late 1400s , those in exile took southern Rome ’s sweet ricotta high mallow pancakes — known as traditionalcassolain Rome — to the Jewish community in northern Italy . These flannel-cake unite two traditional Jewish food type : fried ( for the Jewish tradition of oil ) and dairy farm . And thus , the Hanukkah staple was carry . Over sentence , the latke transitioned from cheese to white potato vine , and asPBSreports , the potato latke gained steam in 1800s Eastern Europe because potatoes were both chinchy and copious .
What Is a Traditional Latke?
Traditional latkescall for grated potatoes , onions , egg , matzo repast or breadcrumbs as a binder , saltand oil color . size of it - wise , each latke want about a after part - loving cup ( 60 mL ) scoop of latke batsman , Kritzer enjoin . Then you simply pan off - fry them until the edges are favorable brown . The resolution is a just about 4 - in ( 10 - centimetre ) tater patty . " It ’s just a few collation , and you eat them with your hands , " Kritzer tell .
Applesauce andsour creamare the two traditional latke toppings ; Kritzer ’s reviewer have serious opinions about which overstep reign supreme . " It ’s an super polarizing question , " Kritzer says . " Some people say applesauce only , others say sour cream only , and some commingle the two together , others keep them separate . multitude have their own opinions . I ’m a dark cream person , but I would n’t say no to applesauce . "
Is there a difference between latke and , say , traditional German potato pancakes ? Probably not . " When I lived in Texas , they had a large German population , and we ’d go to this beer festival every year and they had potato flannel cake , " Kritzer says . " I ’d savor them and say , ' These are latke ! ' They just call them potato pancakes . "
What Do Latkes Taste Like?
According to Kritzer , it ’s a perfect mix of crispy and fluffy . " It ’s chopped potatoes and the best latkes are super crispy on the outside , so you bite in and get this crunchy grain , but then in the middle it ’s soft and fluffy , " she says . " The nip is potato , really just salty in a right elbow room , maybe a picayune hint of onion . It ’s really just a dainty fried , crispy soft potato with a little salinity . "
This , of course , is the bare and traditional latke . As a cookery book author and food blogger , Kritzer gets creative with her potato pancake , too . " One of my favored topping is just a small turn of cream high mallow and lox , and then some other bagel toppings like an everything - beigel spicery or some cerise onion , " she pronounce . " I ’ve also done alatkes eggs Benedictfor breakfast , and then recently I just didfried - kettle of fish latkes , and I was really into that . "
The potato pancake recipe may be straightforward , but that does n’t mean all latkes are the same . Kritzer say her nan ’s go - to recipe calls for russet potatoes . " They ’re the starchiest . They ’re tawdry , and I think they make the best latke , " she says . " She would also use some grated with onion , and would grate it with the Solanum tuberosum , which helps keep them from browning . "
Kritzer also adapted the family recipe with her own experimentation . One trick — repurposing amylum — is now her go - to for ultimate crispiness .
" One matter I do now that I did n’t do grow up is I save the starch from the potatoes while tear up them , " she says . " I ’ll put them in a bowl of ice water and I gouge all the liquid , then countenance the water sit for about 10 second . Then when you enfeeble off the water on the bottom , there ’s this clean starch , which is actually potato starch . I add that back to my latkes , which helps them remain crispy . "
