latke

Latkes frying. These latkes were made with potatoes grated into long strips.

Potato pancakes, also known as kartoffelpuffer or latkes or latkas (Yiddish: לאַטקעס), are shallow-fried cakes of grated potato and egg, often flavoured with grated onion. Potato pancakes may be topped with a variety of condiments, from savoury (sour cream, various cheeses) to sweet (applesauce, sugar with or without cinnamon), but traditionalists prefer them ungarnished.

Though commonly associated with the Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of Eastern Europe, they are not necessarily Jewish in origin. Areas like northeast Poland, for instance, know many varieties. A favorite Polish dish is placki węgierskie (placki po węgiersku) — potato pancakes stuffed with a thick, spicy Hungarian goulash. Latkes are traditionally eaten during the Jewish Hanukkah festival although they play no fundamental part in Hanukkah ritual. The custom probably evolved because of the preference for eating fried foods during the festival that celebrates a miracle involving oil in the Temple of ancient Israel. Variants include cheese, apple, zucchini, spinach, leek, and rice latkes.

The potato pancake in its many varieties exists wherever the potato itself exists. It is often the by-product of leftover potatoes being cooked up by their respective housekeeper in an effort to keep from wasting otherwise perfectly edible potatoes which had not found their way into the main dish. This provides the potato pancake with a truly multi-national/multi-cultural proliferation, stemming merely from natural ingenuity on the cook's behalf.

The potatoes can be roughly grated, cut, or julienned to give a textured cake bearing a distinct resemblance to American hash browns. Some chefs prefer to finely mince the potatoes and drop a form of griddle cake. The French dish commonly known as "potato galette" or "crique" is similar, but in it the sour cream is an ingredient rather than a topping.

The Swedish version of unbound potato pancakes is called rårakor. Prepared with a batter of wheat flour, milk, egg, and potatoes and fried like thin pancakes, they are called raggmunk, which literally translates to "hairy doughnuts" (the grated potatoes make them look hairy). Both kinds are enjoyed with fried bacon and/or lingonberry jam. The commercial brand Hungry Jack Potato Pancake mix (formerly French's Potato Pancake Mix) most closely resembles the Swedish style of the dish.

In Germany and Austria, a variation called Kartoffelpuffer or Erdäpfelpuffer exists. It is traditionally sold all through the winter from roadside stands where the pancakes are baked in metal ovens alongside potato wedges and sweet chestnuts. They are eaten with garlic, salt and butter. Alternatively, they may be garnished with apple sauce.

Rösti, potato pancakes of Swiss origin, are distinct from latkes in that they generally contain no egg or binding ingredient and may be flavoured with thyme.

A similar food exists in Korea called gamja jeon (hangul: 감자전, literally "potato pancake"). It is usually mixed with finely grated carrot or green onion, which adds color and crunchy texture to the dish. Cheese or ham may also be added. It is traditionally served with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce and vinegar.

Potato pancakes, or just potato cakes (also known as potato scallops in some shops), are very common in fish and chip shops in Australia. This variant is normally a thick slice of potato, dipped in batter, with no additional flavouring added except salt.

See also

• Hash brown
• Rösti
• Boxty
• Papa rellena
• Potato cake
• Bubble and squeak
• Lefse
• The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

Latkes

External links

• A Hanukkah parody song about latkes
• Potato Latka Recipe
• Chanukah potato Latkes recipes
• Potato latkes
• Korean potato pancake and its dipping sauce
• A blog called "Pancakes at Dawn." Many interesting pancake recipes are provided
• Potato Pancake Recipe

Donate to Wikimedia