Classic Potato Latkes
Shredded russets and onion, wrung dry, bound with egg and the potato's own starch, and shallow-fried at 350°F into lacy, golden Hanukkah latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
Latkes are eaten at Hanukkah to remember the oil in the Temple in Jerusalem that lasted eight days, and the oil they are fried in is the point (Wikipedia:). The potato came late. My Jewish Learning's The Nosher traces the earliest written mention of Hanukkah pancakes, "levivot", to a poem by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus in 1322, and explains that the popular pre-latke Hanukkah food was cheese, eaten to honor Judith, whose story was tied to Hanukkah by at least the 14th century (Susannah Brodnitz, December 8, 2022:). Food historian Gil Marks, cited there, traces ricotta pancakes from Italy across Europe. In Eastern Europe, cooks fried in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), and because kosher law does not mix meat and milk, cheese pancakes gave way to buckwheat, rye or turnips. Potatoes only became a staple there in the mid-1800s, after crop failures in Ukraine and Poland in 1839 and 1840 pushed people to plant them, and they became the cheapest thing to fry. Vegetable oil replaced schmaltz as Eastern European Jews settled in America in the early 20th century (The Nosher).
🕎 The original
Shredded russets and onion, wrung dry, bound with egg and the potato's own starch, and shallow-fried at 350°F into lacy, golden Hanukkah latkes with applesauce and sour cream.
🇺🇸 The American version
America dropped the egg and binder and fried plain shredded potato flat on the diner griddle: hash browns. See the Diner Hash Browns recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Wring, then save the starch
Squeezing the shreds keeps them from steaming in the oil, and stirring the settled potato starch back in binds the latkes without extra flour (ATK).
A quick microwave
Warming the shreds sets some of their starch into a gel, so they release less water in the pan, crisp fast and absorb little oil (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Put a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat the oven to 200°F. Toss the shredded potatoes and onion with 1 tsp salt.
- Step 2
Working in two batches, pile the mixture in a clean dish towel, twist the ends hard and wring the liquid into a measuring cup. Let the liquid stand at least 5 minutes so the starch settles.
- Step 3
Cover the wrung potatoes and microwave 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until just warm, not hot. Spread them on a second rimmed baking sheet and cool 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Pour the water off the settled liquid, keeping the white starch in the cup. Stir the eggs into the starch, then toss the potatoes back in the bowl with the starch mixture, parsley and pepper.
- Step 5
Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to 350°F, shimmering but not smoking. Drop 1/4-cup mounds into the oil, five at a time, and press each into a 1/3-inch-thick disk.
- Step 6
Fry about 3 minutes per side, adjusting the heat so the oil bubbles steadily around the edges, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, then hold on the rack in the oven.
- Step 7
Add oil as needed to keep it 1/4 inch deep and bring it back to 350°F between batches. Season with salt and serve hot with applesauce and sour cream.
Classic Potato Latkes
Serves 4 · about 16 latkes · 1 hr 15 min total
Latkes
- 2 lb russet potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed and shredded
- 1/2 cup grated onion
- 1 tsp salt, plus more for serving
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tsp minced fresh parsley
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1/4 inch deep in the skillet)
To serve
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Method
- Put a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat the oven to 200°F. Toss the shredded potatoes and onion with 1 tsp salt.
- Working in two batches, pile the mixture in a clean dish towel, twist the ends hard and wring the liquid into a measuring cup. Let the liquid stand at least 5 minutes so the starch settles.
- Cover the wrung potatoes and microwave 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until just warm, not hot. Spread them on a second rimmed baking sheet and cool 10 minutes.
- Pour the water off the settled liquid, keeping the white starch in the cup. Stir the eggs into the starch, then toss the potatoes back in the bowl with the starch mixture, parsley and pepper.
- Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to 350°F, shimmering but not smoking. Drop 1/4-cup mounds into the oil, five at a time, and press each into a 1/3-inch-thick disk.
- Fry about 3 minutes per side, adjusting the heat so the oil bubbles steadily around the edges, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, then hold on the rack in the oven.
- Add oil as needed to keep it 1/4 inch deep and bring it back to 350°F between batches. Season with salt and serve hot with applesauce and sour cream.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Crispy Potato Latkes" by Andrew Janjigian (April 21, 2013), as written. ATK says it serves 4 to 6 as a side dish; we call it 4 with the toppings. The applesauce and sour cream amounts are ours (ATK simply says to serve them). History from The Nosher (above) and Reform Judaism's "A Brief History of Latkes" by Tina Wasserman. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Use the large holes of a box grater, or the large shredding disk of a food processor.
- Make ahead: cool the latkes, then freeze them on a baking sheet and bag them for up to 1 month. Reheat in a 375°F oven, about 6 minutes per side from frozen (ATK).
- Don't crowd the pan; five latkes in a 12-inch skillet keeps the oil hot.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Latkes were always made of potatoes. Disputed as tradition, settled as history: the potato did not reach Eastern European tables until the 1800s, and cheese and grain pancakes came first (The Nosher, Reform Judaism, Wikipedia). The exact date is the dispute: The Nosher says the mid-1800s, Reform Judaism says the end of the 18th or early 19th century.
- The first Hanukkah latkes were cheese, for Judith. Disputed: The Nosher cites a 1402 copy of the Book of Judith from Provence in which Judith feeds Holofernes fried cheese pancakes (via Susan Weingarten), but older tellings have only salty cheese and wine, and Reform Judaism calls the Judith story a legend.
- Fry in oil for the Hanukkah miracle. Documented as the reason latkes are eaten at Hanukkah (Wikipedia). Early Eastern European latkes were fried in schmaltz, not oil (The Nosher).
- Applesauce or sour cream. Folklore: families fight about it every year, but Wikipedia lists both as traditional, and ATK serves both.
- Latke means "oil". Disputed: Wikipedia traces the Yiddish word through East Slavic oladka, "small fried pancake", back to a Greek word for oil; The Nosher gives the same chain. The link to oil is the far end of the chain, not the meaning.
Every other potato pancake
Swiss Rösti
Potatoes boiled in their skins the day before, coarsely grated and fried slowly in clarified butter into one thick golden cake, flipped with a plate the Swiss way.
Rhineland Reibekuchen with Applesauce
Finely grated potatoes and onion with egg and a little flour, fried in clarified butter into thin, crisp German potato pancakes, sprinkled with sugar and served with warm homemade applesauce.
Irish Boxty
Grated raw potato and mashed potato in a buttermilk and baking soda batter with spring onions, fried in butter into soft, golden griddle boxty for an Irish breakfast.
Belarusian Draniki Stuffed with Chicken
Thick Belarusian-style potato pancakes with a hidden layer of garlicky ground chicken, fried in sunflower oil, finished in the oven and served with sour cream, applesauce and chives.
Polish Placki Ziemniaczane (Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream and Sugar)
Thin, crisp Polish potato pancakes from finely grated potatoes drained in a tilted bowl, fried by the spoonful and served the two classic ways, with sour cream or a sprinkle of sugar.
Swedish Raggmunk with Fried Pork and Lingonberries
Coarsely grated potato stirred into a milk and flour batter, fried in butter into big lacy Swedish potato pancakes and served with crisp fried pork and lingonberry jam.
Korean Gamja-jeon (Potato Pancakes)
Grated potato bound only by its own settled starch, with a little onion and garlic chives, pan-fried into crisp, chewy Korean pancakes with a soy and vinegar dipping sauce.
Diner Hash Browns
Shredded russets squeezed dry, pressed flat in browned butter and cooked until dark golden and crisp on both sides, then folded and cut into wedges, the American diner way.
Make-Ahead Hash Brown Patties
Shredded Yukon Golds rinsed in salt water, wrung dry, microwaved until they bind, pressed into oval patties, chilled and pan-fried crisp, like the freezer-aisle patty, from scratch.
Texas Potato Pancakes
The Texas German take on Kartoffelpuffer: towel-wrung russets, onion, egg and a good half cup of flour, fried in 1/4 inch of oil into big, lacy 4-inch pancakes with sour cream and applesauce.
Sweet Potato Latkes with Horseradish Cream
Half sweet potato and half Yukon Gold, with onion, a pinch of cayenne and egg, fried into orange-flecked latkes and topped with sour cream and horseradish, the American swap.
Sheet-Pan Latkes with Store-Bought Shreds
Refrigerated shredded hash browns squeezed dry, mixed with grated onion, egg and flour, and baked on a well-oiled sheet pan at 425°F, flipped once: twelve latkes, no grater and no skillet.
Scattered, Smothered and Covered Hash Browns, Inspired by Waffle House
Thin, crisp shredded hash browns scattered across a hot buttered pan, smothered with soft sautéed onions and covered with melted American cheese. Inspired by, not official.
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Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
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Danish Frikadeller
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Königsberger Klopse
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Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
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Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
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Lion's Head Meatballs
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