What are latkes?

Latkes are a potato pancake food that are made using

• Potato
• Onions
• Eggs
• Spices (usually salt and pepper)
• Flour

They are usually eaten during the Jewish holiday Hannukah, or Chanuka, or Channukah, which is the celebration of light. They are usually accompanied by sour cream or applesauce

How are latkes made?

Latkes are usually made by

• Putting the potatoes and onions into a food processor
• Straining the shredded vegetables
• Mixing them with the spices, flour and egg
• Frying the Latke batter in olive or vegetable oil

Of course, there are many different recipes and variations for latkes; this is just a basic recipe.

Folklore and Latkes

The connection between latkes and Jewish storytelling is provided by the story of Judith, who was a Jewish widow who seduced an enemy general named Holofernes and tricked him into eating salty cheese so he would get drunk and pass out. She then decapitated him and put his head on a staff and showed it to the enemy army, who hastily retreated in fear. Nobody really knows how this got connected to Hannukah, which is about a oil lamp that burned for 8 nights instead of the expected 1 night of oil in which it was provided. However, it is assumed that the reason for their relation was because of parmesan latkes.

The History of latkes

Latkes originated in Italy in Jewish communities in the 14th century. They were first made with parmesan and animal fats for frying, usually goose fat because of the large amounts of excess geese fat in European areas like France. The tradition of eating latkes during Hannukah soon arose due to the consumption of fried foods during Hannukah because of the relevancy of oil during Hannukah. Later near the 16-17th century, Potatoes were introduced to Europe, and adopted as one of the main starch staples for a lot of European meals. The plethora of potatoes led to the adaptation from Jewish people to use potatoes because of their cheap cost. Now, potato latkes are eaten around the world by Jews.