Summary

The website content provides a personal narrative and recipe for making traditional potato latkes for Hanukkah, emphasizing the superiority of homemade latkes over store-bought ones.

Abstract

The article "How To Make Delicious Potato Latkes For Hanukkah" is a first-person account of the author's journey to revive the tradition of making homemade potato latkes after relying on their mother-in-law's cooking and then resorting to store-bought options. The author acknowledges the labor-intensive process of grating potatoes and onions by hand but advocates for the use of a food processor to save time and effort. The recipe shared is a family heirloom passed down from the author's mother-in-law's grandmother, with approximate measurements for ingredients such as potatoes, onions, eggs, flour, salt, vegetable oil, and baking powder. The instructions detail the process of grating, mixing, and frying the latkes to achieve a golden-brown, crispy exterior. The author suggests serving the latkes with traditional toppings like applesauce or sour cream, with a note on dietary restrictions for those who keep kosher. The article concludes with an invitation to all readers, regardless of cultural background, to try making latkes during Hanukkah or at any time.

Opinions

The author believes that the effort of making latkes from scratch is worth it for the superior taste and texture compared to store-bought options.
Using a food processor is recommended to make the process more manageable and safer.
The author fondly recalls their mother-in-law's latkes as the gold standard for taste and texture.
There is a preference for serving latkes with both applesauce and sour cream, although this is contingent on dietary laws for those who keep kosher.
The author expresses a willingness to endure the lingering smell of fried onions as a minor inconvenience compared to the joy of fresh, homemade latkes.
There is an appreciation for the cultural significance of sharing and discovering traditional foods like latkes.

How To Make Delicious Potato Latkes For Hanukkah

Sure you could buy them at the store, but making them from scratch is so much better!

Yes, it takes a lot of effort to make potato latkes. Mostly because of the time it takes to peel and grate the potatoes and onions. For this reason, I have not made potato latkes for Hanukkah in years.

Ok, I’ll be honest. I have only made them once or twice in my life. When my kids were little my mother-in-law lived nearby and she would make them. So, as a busy working mom, I relied on her every year. And, she never did disappoint! They were thin, crispy, salty patties from heaven. If I had my choice, I would eat them every night of Hanukkah instead of a meal.

But, my mother-in-law moved away five years ago and now, if I want those delicious potato pancakes, I have to make them myself. For the last couple of Hanukkahs I have been too crazy with work and life during December. I barely had enough time to get gifts, let alone make latkes! So, I bought them at a local deli and they were very good, but absolutely cannot compare to the taste and texture of a potato pancake that comes straight out of the pan.

Now that my kids are older and with more time on my hands since Covid, I vowed I was going to make them this year. Yesterday, I pulled out the recipe and bought all the ingredients. I am now prepared and this weekend my family will once again have fresh, homemade latkes for Hanukkah.

Instead of grating everything by hand, I am going to use a food processor to do the work. This will cut down on the time significantly and maybe save my fingertips from being accidentally sliced off! Aside from the peeling, grating and frying which is all time very consuming, it is pretty darn easy.

Photo by Marco Antonio Victorino/Pexels.com

Here is the mother-in-law’s recipe — one that was passed onto her from her grandmother — so please forgive if some parts are not “exact.”

Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

5 lbs Idaho potato, peeled and cut into chunks

4 “nice” onions — (this means large in the Jewish culture) — peeled and cut into chunks

5 eggs

1/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon salt, or to taste

Vegetable oil (recipe doesn’t say how much, but keep it nearby and eyeball it)

1 teaspoon baking powder

Toppings: Sour cream/applesauce — see step #10 below

Instructions:

1. Grate potatoes and onions (in the food processor- you may have to do it in batches).

2. Take a clean dish towel and put potato/onion mixture into it and wrap towel up. Squeeze all of the water out of it over a large bowl or into the sink. Make sure to get out as much liquid as possible. You may have to do this in several batches.

3. After draining mixture, put it in a large bowl and add eggs, flour and the rest of the ingredients. Mix very well. — you can use a spoon, but your hands are better!

4. Heat about 1 cup of oil in large pan (I like to use a cast iron) until very hot. To test if pan is ready, throw a drop of water into it. If it sizzles, it is ready.

5. Carefully drop about 1/4 cup of mixture into pan and flatten into a four-inch patty with a spatula. Repeat until pan is full (with enough space between each patty to flip them when ready).

6. Fry each patty until golden brown on one side and then flip it over and fry until the other side is golden brown. As they are done, one by one remove them to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain oil.

7. Repeat the process with the second batch of mixture. At this point, check to make sure you have enough oil in the pan — you may need to add more, as the latkes soak up a lot of oil.

8. Depending on how big you have made your patties and how large your pan is, you may have to do this process several times.

9. If you want to keep the latkes hot while you are frying the other batches, put them on a tin foil-lined cookie sheet in the warming drawer. (Only after they have sat on paper towel a good 5–10 minutes).

10. Once they are all done and drained you are ready to serve. Some people serve latkes with applesauce and some like them with sour cream. If you are kosher and are having the latkes with meat, you cannot mix meat and dairy and therefore sour cream is not an option. My family does not keep kosher so I serve it with both. YUM!

Once you eat these homemade, out-of-the-pan latkes you will see why putting in the effort makes all the difference in the world. I apologize in advance if your house and hands smell like fried onions for days. That is the one sacrifice you will have to make!

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate — I hope you carve out the time to make these over the next eight nights.

And, to those of you that don’t celebrate, I hope you give this recipe a try at some point. I love discovering food from other cultures and sharing the foods of my own. In my opinion, a crispy fried potato tastes great no matter what your background or where you come from!