Chanukah In The Modern World – The Great Latke Dispute

Jeff Green | Dec 18, 2013

This year Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, took place earlier than normal, overlapping with Diwali rather than Christmas for a change. Hanukkah fits into the pantheon of winter onset festivals because it is all about lighting candles and placing them by the window to light up the dark evening sky at the time of year when the sun seems to have abandoned us.

It is also based on the story of Judah and the Maccabees and the re-taking of the temple in Jerusalem after a holy war, another bit of history that still resonates to this day, unfortunately. When the temple was re-taken there was only enough oil available to bring light to the dark interior of the temple for one day, not enough time to fix it up as a place of worship. The miracle of Chanukah came about when that small amount of oil lasted eight days and nights. To commemorate that. Chanukah candles are lit for eight nights. On the first night, the shammas (helper candle) is lit and the shammas is used to light one other candle. On the second night the shammas lights two candles, and so on until all candles and the shammas are lit on the 8th night.

Inevitably, all holidays end up revolving around food, and for Chanukah that means cooking with oil as a nod to the oil in the lamp of the temple.

Middle Eastern Jews deep-fry sweet dough to make sufganiot, a kind of fritter or donut. For Jews of Eastern European descent, potato latkes, fried in a sea of sizzling oil and served with home-made apple sauce and/or sour cream, are what Chanukah is really all about.

This brings us to a dispute that has raged (well maybe only sizzled) in my family for a number of years.

My mother uses a food processor to prepare potatoes and onions for latkes. I use a grater, as have Jews for hundreds of years. I don't know what they used before they had graters, probably just a knife.

My contention is that latkes made with a food processor lack body and grace; they stray too much into the realm of hash browns.

My mother says the food processor is easier to use and the latkes are just as good, maybe better, plus you don't skin your knuckles.

We made a video all about it. See The Great Latke Dispute on YouTube

Below are directions for making latkes, either hand grated or with a food processor. There are many other areas of disagreement among latke makers. Should the potatoes be peeled at all? Should sweet potatoes be substituted? Should there be any egg in them? What kind of flour, if any should be used? But we will leave that to other families to sort out.

The important thing to do, if following this recipe, is not to skimp on the oil and to make sure the oil is hot enough to cook the latkes instead of starting to seep in, without the oil being too hot and smoky.

(P.S. I use the apple sauce recipe that my mother uses, which she learned from her mother. It is indeed the best, and simplest, apple sauce recipe there is.)

Recipe for Latkes

(note – all of the quantities are approximate, and can be adjusted substantially to taste)

6 large or 10 medium potatoes

2 - 3 eggs

2 small or 1 large onion

1 tbsp flour (optional)

salt and pepper to taste.

Hand grate the potatoes using medium grater – or pulse in a food processor, being careful not to process them for too long. Either way, place grated potatoes in a colander under cold running water to prevent browning due to oxidation.

Hand grate or process onions in food processor. Beat eggs in a large bowl, add flour, onions and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a light oil (grape seed, corn, canola) in a heavy pan until hot but not smoking. Place a heaping tablespoon of batter in pan and tamp down lightly. Fry until brown on one side and flip.

Remove from heat when both sides are brown. Latkes should be crispy but not burnt, and cooked through. Place latkes on a cookie sheet, alternating with paper towels to soak up some of the oil.

Oil must be refreshed in the pan as necessary.

Using two pans and burners keeps the process moving and saves the latke cooking from turning into a tedious chore.

Warning – if you have a range fan, set it to the highest setting – if you have a window, open it at least a crack)

Recipe for Apple Sauce

– can be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen

5 lb. of apples

½ lemon

scant tsp. cinnamon

3/4 or more cups sugar and/or maple syrup

Cut apples in wedges off the core. Place apples in a heavy pot with a 1/4 to ½ cup water on the bottom to prevent burning the bottom of the pot.

Remove seeds from the ½ lemon and cut in two. Squeeze lightly to release some juice in to the apple pot then toss the lemons, skin and all, into the pot.

Bring to a simmer and then cook on medium low heat to keep on the simmer for at least 15 minutes, until the apple wedges are falling apart. Stir occasionally to prevent burning and break up larger apple pieces while doing so.

Add sugar or maple syrup to taste. I prefer a tart apple sauce and use mostly maple syrup as a sweetener but using only maple syrup can overwhelm the sauce so a mixture of syrup and sugar is probably best.)

Add cinnamon and mix in. Cook another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce has a golden colour and the apples are disintegrated but not mushy and the sauce is sweet but not too sweet.

You can remove the lemon rinds at this point, but in my family we leave them in. Sauce can be eaten warm or cooled. Cool sauce goes well with hot latkes and so does cold sour cream and/or yogourt and any kind of fresh salad to cut through the greasiness of the latkes.