"latke recipes" news and stories

8 Tips for Making Latkes

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 11th 2009 @ 12:30PM

by Janna Gur

The eight days of Hanukkah are upon us and in preparation, we've asked Janna Gur, author of "The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey," to share her tips for producing the best potato latke. Eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- Janna's Potato Latke recipe will be the highlight of your holiday.

1. Be Creative Enhance your basic potato-onion mixture with sweet potatoes and carrots for color and flavor. Cheese it up with grated mozzarella, Gruyere or Parmesan; don't forget the herbs: dill, thyme or rosemary combine beautifully with potatoes.

2. Use a Food Processor for Grating the Vegetables It will make life much easier. After grating, make sure to squeeze out all the liquids.

More tips and recipes after the jump.

Filed under: Holidays, Recipes

Frozen Latke Taste Test

COMMENTS 1

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

Filed under: Taste Test, Holidays

Bubbe Wendy's Hanukkah Latkes

COMMENTS 0

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 11:30AM

fancy fast food latkes Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

Hey everybody, it's Hanukkah! It's Chanukah! No matter how you spell it, it's time for the Jewish festival of lights -- eight crazy nights of dreidels gone wild, a time when latkes are as abundant as old yentas around a mah-jongg table.

But you don't need to be Jewish to partake in Hanukkah traditions, particularly the gastronomic treat of latkes (or lattkes). No matter how you spell it, latke is Yiddish for fried pancakes, typically of the potato variety.

These oily treats are oddly similar to McDonald's hash browns. But, Bubbe Wendy has guilted us into using her Fancy Fast Food recipe ("If you just want to use McDonald's hash browns, then I guess that's fine by me..."), so here goes. Oy. ...

Filed under: Fancy Fast Food