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Why do Jews eat potato pancakes?

Author

Olivia House

Updated on March 02, 2026

Why do Jews eat potato pancakes?

In short, latkes are generally consumed on Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the story of the event Hanukkah comemorates, the rededication of the Holy Temple. The latkes, as we know them, are potato-based pancakes constructed of salt, onions, eggs, and spices of the chef's choice.

Also asked, what sides go with potato pancakes?

  1. Applesauce: This is the usual accompaniment to potato pancakes, jarred or homemade.
  2. Horseradish Sauce: Mix prepared horseradish (or peel and grate a fresh root) with sour cream and chopped dill.
  3. Roasted Beets: Wrap them individually in foil.

Furthermore, why do my potato pancakes fall apart? The reason is the variations of moisture and ingredients in mashed potatoes. The creamier they are from being made with butter and cream calls for more egg and flour to be added to the pancake mix. The butter and cream melts during cooking and can cause the pancakes to fall apart or be too soft.

Correspondingly, when should you eat potato pancakes?

Serve these classic potato pancakes with applesauce or sour cream. Top them with slices of smoked salmon and a dollop of sour cream and you have a fabulous easy lunch. They are great as a side dish with dinner or with a big breakfast or brunch as well.

Can you eat potato latkes on Passover?

Though latkes are traditionally eaten on Hanukkah, they can technically be served on Passover when made with matzo meal. Also known as potato pancakes, latkes are made with shredded or ground potatoes and onions, then deep-fried to a golden brown.

What meat goes well with potato pancakes?

If you're a purist, there are really only two things to serve with potato pancakes: sour cream and applesauce. If you want to widen your options, sautern Brussels sprouts would be great and some relatively strongly flavored meat (duck, turkey, sausage, possibly grilled lamb chops).

What is a traditional Hanukkah dinner?

Traditional Fried Foods
Fried potato pancakes, called latkes in Yiddish and levivot in Hebrew, are the most popular Hanukkah food. They are shredded potatoes mixed with onion, egg, flour and seasonings, The crispy latkes are served with sour cream and applesauce on the side.

What goes with pancakes for dinner?

Savoury:
  • Grilled chicken breast strips, spinach, mozzarella, caramelised tomato.
  • Bacon, maple syrup, sausage and rocket salad.
  • Wilted spinach, mozzarella balls, pesto and olives.

What is the difference between potato pancakes and potato latkes?

But potatoes are the most common. Latkes are usually made with eggs, a little milk, flour or matzo meal and baking powder. Potato pancakes turn up in most European cultures, from Polish placki to Swedish rarakor, German kartoffelpuffer and Irish boxty. Most have egg as a binder, but not all have flour or baking powder.

What good served with pancakes?

What are the best pairings for pancakes?
  • Simple sugar and lemon pancakes.
  • Pancakes with fresh berries like strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.
  • Pancakes with golden or maple syrup.
  • Pancakes with chocolate sauce.
  • Pancakes with a cherry, apricot or other fruit compote.
  • Savoury pancakes with cheese and ham or spinach.
  • Smoked salmon blinis.
  • Crispy duck pancakes.

What do you eat potato cakes with?

Potato cakes or farls
Serve hot with a little butter with fried eggs, baked beans, or even with a nice steak!

What goes well with potato salad?

Aside from the meat dishes I mentioned earlier, you can also pair potato salad with chicken nuggets, roasted chicken, pork chop, battered chicken, and the like. Potato is a light dish that can go well with any of these dishes. I personally love pairing potato salad with grilled ham steak.

How do you make potato pancakes from scratch?

Directions
  1. Finely grate potatoes with onion into a large bowl. Drain off any excess liquid.
  2. Mix in egg, salt, and black pepper.
  3. Turn oven to low, about 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
  4. Heat 1/4 inch oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium high heat.

Where are potato pancakes from?

Although many Americans associate potato pancakes with Hanukkah, they have more broad origins. They originated in the eastern European countries of Germany Austria, Russia and Poland as a peasant food. Potatoes were cheap, plentiful and easy to store, making them a staple and necessitating inventive potato recipes.

What are potato pancakes made of?

Mix mashed potatoes, egg, flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and any optional ingredients, into mashed potatoes. Preheat skillet and add a couple of tablespoons of Crisco shortening or oil. Make sure the mixture is not too thin. Pour 1/4 cup batter into hot pan; brown on both sides.

Why is it called a Dutch Baby?

It is derived from the German Pfannkuchen. While these pancakes are derived from the German pancake dish, it is said that the name Dutch baby was coined by one of Manca's daughters, where “Dutch” perhaps was her corruption of the German deutsch.

Are potato pancakes the same as hash browns?

Potato pancakes are held together, usually with egg, sometimes flour as well. Hash Browns are usually just the potato, maybe onion and seasonings.

Why are latkes served with applesauce?

Applesauce is light and fruity, and when eaten on top of a piping-hot fried potato and onion latke, is a sweet and savory dream for your taste buds. The applesauce conceals the oiliness of the potato, while creating an explosion of fall food flavors in your mouth.

What is another name for potato pancakes?

Potato pancakes, draniki, deruny, latkes, raggmunk or boxties are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasoning.

How long should I boil potatoes?

Cover the pot with a lid. Cook the potatoes in gently boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes for small Red Potatoes, New Potatoes or cubed potatoes large potatoes, and 20 to 25 minutes for quartered potatoes. You can use a fork to test to see if they are tender enough.

What nationality are latkes?

They originated in the eastern European countries of Germany Austria, Russia and Poland as a peasant food. Potatoes were cheap, plentiful and easy to store, making them a staple and necessitating inventive potato recipes.

How do you keep potato pancakes from falling apart?

If they're falling apart while you're shaping them, they either need a little more flour to hold them together (QueenSashy recommends saving the potato starch that gathers at the bottom of the liquid you squeeze out of the grated potatoes and mixing that back into the potato mix) or they're too wet and need to be wrung

What is the best oil for frying latkes?

Second, as lovely as olive oil is, leave it out—it can't handle the heat for latke-frying. Stick to canola or peanut oil, which both have high enough smoke points to fry up a mess of latkes.

Should you peel potatoes for latkes?

For best results, use russet potatoes. They are high in starch, which is necessary to form pancakes that don't fall apart. If you peel the potatoes before making latkes, put them in water between peeling and shredding to prevent oxidizing and discoloring.

Why are my latkes falling apart?

If they're falling apart while you're shaping them, they either need a little more flour to hold them together (QueenSashy recommends saving the potato starch that gathers at the bottom of the liquid you squeeze out of the grated potatoes and mixing that back into the potato mix) or they're too wet and need to be wrung

How do you reheat potato pancakes?

How to Reheat Potato Pancakes
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F for fresh or refrigerated potato pancakes or 400 F for frozen potato pancakes.
  2. Place a baking rack onto a baking sheet.
  3. Arrange the potato pancakes, either frozen or fresh, on the baking rack.
  4. Place the baking sheet and rack holding the potato pancakes into your preheated oven.

Can you freeze potato pancakes?

You can also freeze the potato pancakes and crisp them up in a 350-degree oven at a later time.

How do you keep fritters from falling apart?

Fritters can also fall apart if it's stuck to the cooking pan. Make sure to use enough oil, don't flip too soon or too much, or you can use a non-stick cooking pan. When cooking fritters, don't cook at too high temperature. Preheat the cooking pan first and then cook the fritters over medium to medium-low heat setting.

How do you keep potato cakes from sticking?

If you like making your mashed potato with lots of butter, cream, or milk then you'll probably need to add more flour to get the cakes to stick together. If, like me, you make your mashed potatoes with only a little bit of butter and a splash of milk then stick to the 3 tbsp of flour.

Can I freeze homemade potato cakes?

To freeze, cool patties in a single layer on a cooling rack, then place entire cooling rack in freezer for 2 hours. Transfer individually frozen patties into a freezer bag, seal well, label and freeze for up to six months. Reheat patties in microwave or fry frozen patties over medium heat until heated through.

Are french fries OK for Passover?

Too much of the ever-versatile matzo can sit like a brick in your stomach, and most kosher-for-Passover potato chips and flavored crackers contain MSG, plus not-great-for-you cottonseed oil. Or even real French fries; potatoes are your friend during Passover.

Which potatoes are best?

1) Starchy potatoes (russets and many sweet potatoes): Great for baking and frying as they're absorbant. 2) Waxy potatoes (red-skinned and fingerling potatoes): These potatoes are great for soups and salads because they hold their shape so well during cooking.

What can you not eat for Passover?

Chametz, any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and rise, is not to be consumed during Passover. Instead, matzah, an unleavened flatbread made of flour and water, is eaten.

What foods are kosher?

There are three main kosher food categories:
  • Meat (fleishig): Mammals or fowl, as well as products derived from them, including bones or broth.
  • Dairy (milchig): Milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt.
  • Pareve: Any food that is not meat or dairy, including fish, eggs, and plant-based foods.

Why are latkes eaten at Hanukkah?

In short, latkes are generally consumed on Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the story of the event Hanukkah comemorates, the rededication of the Holy Temple. Hanukkah, as a holiday, celebrates rededication to the Jewish identity after it was compromised by oppressors in 168 B.C.E.

Whats kosher mean?

The Hebrew word “kosher” means fit or proper as it relates to Jewish dietary law. Kosher foods are permitted to be eaten, and can be used as ingredients in the production of additional food items. In addition, Rabbinic bodies enacted protective legislation to safeguard the integrity of kosher laws.

What is matzo meal made of?

Matzo is an unleavened cracker-like bread that is traditionally eaten at Passover. It is made with flour and water, and it is the flour-containing product that is deemed to be Kosher for passover. Matzo meal is made by finely grinding matzo crackers into a breadcrumb-like consistency.

What do latkes taste like?

They taste like a deep fried cloud; like what potatoes taste like once they die and become little potato angels. It's impossible to describe a taste, but imagine what a potato dumpling could possibly taste like, then make it ten times tastier.

What main dish goes with latkes?

Latkes are definitely one of those things, but there are a few others that deserve just as much room at the table.
  • Crisp Parsnip Latkes.
  • Pummelo, Fennel & Radish Salad.
  • Spaghetti Squash Latkes.
  • Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts, Pomegranate Molasses, and Shanklish.
  • Syrian Herb and Meat Latkes (Ijeh B'Lahmeh)

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