Latkes, three ways: Cooks embrace a variety of styles for making the Hanukkah staple

The old saying “Ask two Jews, get three opinions” sums up the Jewish people’s love of debate and discussion. Every year during the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah, this year Dec. 7-15, the debate topic is latkes.

There are a variety of ways to prepare these crispy potato pancakes. Old school pros start with fresh potatoes, while some local cooks embrace shortcuts: packaged hash browns or a box of frozen Trader Joe’s latkes. Local latke cooks recently shared their affiliations to Team Fresh, Team Hash Browns or Team TJ’s.

Why are latkes part of a Hanukkah celebration?

In his 1994 hit, “The Hanukkah Song,” Adam Sandler taught fans that “Hanukkah is the festival of lights.” But Sandler didn’t mention that it’s all about that oil.

A TLDR Hanukkah summary: Back in the (biblical) day, a Greek-Syrian King outlawed Jewish practices. The Maccabees, a small Jewish army, defeated the King’s much bigger army, and when the Maccabees returned to the temple to light candles, they found enough oil to last one day. Miraculous plot twist: the oil lasted for eight days and now Hanukkah features eight days of indulging in food fried in oil such as latkes and sufganiyot (doughnuts).

Team Fresh Potatoes for latkes

When 130 members of Congregation Sinai, 8223 N. Port Washington Road, gather for a Hanukkah dinner, they have volunteer chef Jill Weinshel and her Sinai cooking crew to thank for latkes made from scratch.

On a recent Sunday morning, the synagogue’s kitchen was buzzing with activity as volunteers chopped onions, shredded potatoes and beat eggs. The result? Crispy, flavorful, potato pancake perfection.

Weinshel, a culinary school graduate, has been leading the group for the past 15 years.

“I started it as a way of elevating our celebrations from a pan of lasagna to some really good food,” Weinshel said. “People love cooking together; it's a way for new people to get to know each other and to connect to this little community. ... We used to get about 40 people at the dinners, then we started doing the food ourselves and now we get over 100.”

Shortcuts are not an option. “How are you going to engage a group of people to participate in doing something really well if you're short cutting it?” she asked. “It's not something that's even on my radar as somebody who's a scratch cook for everything. Even at home, I don't take those shortcuts."

According to Levi Stein, executive director of local nonprofit The Friendship Circle, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy Hanukkah. After dropping invitations into 202 mailboxes, Stein hopes many of his neighbors, regardless of their religious backgrounds, will stop by for a Hanukkah open house.

“We invite our whole neighborhood to light candles and try the Jumbo Stein Latkes. Each one is 12 or 14 inches and it’s meant to serve a family,” he said, noting they make the giant latkes because “they’re faster and more efficient because you use the whole frying pan space, as opposed to little ones when you can only do a few at a time."

Making latkes for a big crowd can be intimidating, but Stein’s process is a well-oiled machine.

“I’ll peel 30 to 40 pounds of potatoes and I have four or five frying pans going, so it’s a constant flow,” he said. “No one should be afraid to make latkes at home. It’s pretty simple ingredients, and it tastes so good.”

“With so much going on in the world and so much hate all around us, Hanukkah is the most appropriate holiday to get together and bring light into the world, because we literally light the menorah and eat good food together,” Stein said. And, importantly, “during Hanukkah, the carbs don't count."

Team Hash Browns as a latke shortcut

The lingering smell of last night’s latkes is a fragrant reminder of Hannukah for Donna Kleiner.

“I'll come home from work and I say to myself, ‘Yep, we made latkes yesterday.’ For me, that smell is special,” she said. “It wouldn’t be Hanukkah unless the house smells like oil for a couple days.”

While this working mom of two grown sons would never skip the frying pan, packaged hash browns are at the top of Kleiner’s Hanukkah shopping list.

“They're fresh potatoes, and you get the same results without the work,” she said. “If I have a big crowd, that package is just easy and quick. ... When you shred your own potatoes, you also have to drain out the moisture. But the bags are pretty much ready to go. I just dump them in the bowl and mix in the egg, flour, salt and onions."

But she doesn’t shy away from cooking from scratch.

“I make curry sweet potato latkes from scratch with homemade apple sauce as a topping,” she said.

Team Trader Joe’s for frozen latkes

There’s no shame in Samara Shapiro and Elyse Cohn’s frozen latke games. These working moms turn to Trader Joe’s popular frozen latkes every year.

Shapiro’s advice? “Start putting the boxes in your freezer in November because they sell out fast.”

But as much as her family loves these latkes, Shapiro admits they don’t compare to homemade.

“When you make latkes from scratch, they taste better because of the fresh ingredients. You can taste the love that went into it, but sometimes that just does not outweigh the convenience,” she said.

Trader Joe’s are worth the trade-off for Elyse Cohn.

“Obviously, I love homemade latkes. I grew up eating my grandmother's, and they were amazing. But when I think about the amount of work and the smell of oil that lingers in your home for weeks and seeps into your clothes and hair, it’s much more important to me to focus my time on other things,” Cohn said. “I understand the love that goes into homemade cooking; I do my own brisket for Hanukkah. But I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen when I could be with my family, having a glass of wine, while the Trader Joe’s latkes are in the oven."

Her advice? “Bake them almost twice as long as the instructions say.”

And they're not just for Hanukkah.

“These are great topped with sour cream and caviar or chives or lox for a cocktail party. They're at Trader Joe’s year-round for a reason,” Cohn said.

Hanukkah: Where to find latkes and sufganiyot in the Milwaukee area

Lights in the darkness

Hanukkah can’t help but hit differently this year.

The celebration of religious freedom begins three weeks after neo-Nazis marched through Madison and while incidents of anti-Semitism reach unthinkable highs. Many Jewish people wrestle with public Hannukah displays.

“It's a scary time. I've never had second thoughts about putting the menorah in the window, but with what’s going on, it will give me a second thought this year,” Kleiner said. “But I will still do it and I think this year it's more important than ever to bring light into the world and to be proud of who we are as Jews and pray for more miracles."

Weinshel agrees. “I think Hanukkah displays and celebrations have to be brighter than ever this year,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: From homemade to Trader Joe's, latkes come in many forms for Hanukkah