Frozen Latke Taste Test

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 4:00PM

by Trisha Thompson

What would Hanukkah be without latkes (potato pancakes)? Skinny candles, chocolate gelt, driedel gambling and one long Adam Sandler song. In other words, not enough and not satisfying.

Latkes are satisfying. But just because they're essential to this Jewish holiday (and to homes that don't even celebrate Hannukah), doesn't mean you have to make them, at least not from scratch.

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Best Frozen Latkes

by Trisha Thompson

We tested various supermarket brands of frozen latkes that are most widely available, rating them on crispiness, potato-onion flavor and the all-important grease factor.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Best Frozen Latkes

by Trisha Thompson

We tested various supermarket brands of frozen latkes that are most widely available, rating them on crispiness, potato-onion flavor, and the all-important grease factor.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-Up: Dr. Praeger's All Natural Potato Pancakes

Crispiness (1-5): 3, fairly crispy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 4, a good balance of potato and onion
Grease Factor: Low, could use a bit more (if the doctor would let us)
Comments: "Better than expected, given that they're made by a doctor wearing white coat and stethoscope on back. Brand motto: 'Where you recognize all the ingredients.' And we did. Wish these cookie-cutter circles looked a little more like free-form homemade latkes, though."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Runner-Up: Ratner's Traditional Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Crispiness (1-5): 3, fairly crispy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 4, very mashed potato-y inside, but it could use more onion
Grease Factor: Not too much, not too little
Comments: "More like a flat knish than a latke, but tasty."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Winner: Trader Joe's Traditional Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

Crispiness (1-5): 4, nicely crisped
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 5, satisfyingly oniony/potato-y
Grease Factor: just right
Comments: "The crispy outside, potato-onion clumpy texture inside makes it taste homemade," said one tester. Good ingredients (nothing scary), and at a good price too. If you're lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's, you're all set. If not, go to the runners up.

Keith Morrison, AOL

Honorable Mention: An Alternative Latke Trader Joe's Vegetable Bird's Nests

A carrot-onion latke with an Asian name. Swap out the soy dipping sauce for applesauce and sour cream, and you've got a new spin on latkes. Bake these a few minutes longer than the package says to get them crisp.

Rachel Been, AOL

Next to Worst: Golden Potato Pancakes (Traditional Latkes)

Crispiness (1-5): 2, a notch above gummy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 2, gluey and floury
Grease Factor: Adequate, but given the other flavor and texture issues, not a save
Comments: "Meal (wheat flour) is listed as the second ingredient, and we think that could be the problem."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Worst Overall: Kineret Potato Latkes

Crispiness (1-5): 2, a notch above gummy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 1, none whatsoever
Grease Factor: fake tasting fat
Comments: "This is terrible," said several testers. "Chemical-tasting." "Leaves a film on my tongue." Even extra sour cream and applesauce didn't make it more palatable. Perhaps the manufacturer went overboard on the "disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate (to promote color rentention)" listed in the ingredients. Keep away.

Keith Morrison, AOL

Tip on preparation: While some latke brands actually tell you to pan- or even deep-fry their already fried-and-frozen potato pancakes, just ignore this. If you had wanted to stand in the kitchen frying, you would have made the latkes yourself from scratch, right? And they don't need to be twice fried anyway. The best way to heat these babies up is on a metal rack over a cookie sheet (following package directions for temperature and timing). This method gets them crisp on both sides without flipping.

Trisha Thompson is co-owner of Small Batch Books, Private Publishing of Personal Histories. She also blogs on teen issues for The Faster Times. Formerly, she was executive editor of Wondertime, editor-in-chief of Time, Inc.'s BabyTalk, health and psychology editor at SELF, and a writer and editor for BabyCenter, Parenting, Harvard Medical School, Harper's Bazaar, Redbook, Esquire, and other publications and websites.

Related: Hanukkah Foods: Safe or Scary?

Filed Under: Taste Test, Holidays
Tags: chanukah, frozen latke taste test, frozen latkes, hanukkah, latke recipes, latke taste test, latkes

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-13-2009 @12:33PM George said... forget about frozen,...!!!!..the thing thats missing in the frozen is the blood and skin from the knuckles,.!!..when I was a kid a zillion years ago, my Mom would give me the job of peeling the potatoes, then hand me a "scraper" that you rubbed the potatoes on that fell into a bowl.The "scraper" had 4 sides, fine, medium, coarse and rough,.??..a little hand held thing,..??..I wore band aids on my knuckles for a week,BUT, they were delicious,..!!!!..remember,..??..hahahahahah
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