I have tried not to get personal in this column, which I have been writing for the past 30 years. However, at holiday time, I am torn between two religions. So, forgive me for a little personal history.
I had the best of both worlds. My mother was Christian a Lutheran and my father was Jewish. Although my father was a very famous physician, we had to leave Germany or end up in a concentration camp and be exterminated. Through some good graces of a very high Nazi official, we were able to leave Germany just in time at 11:30 p.m. Dec. 31, 1938.
When I was a little girl, we celebrated both holidays Hanukkah with a menorah candle holder, in which a new candle was lit every day for seven days, and Christmas with a fir tree with candles. Both had to be hidden in my room so that no one could see them, or we would be shipped off never to be heard from again.
Later, in America, we always had a Christmas tree with electric lights. I do not know what happened to the menorah.
Sunday is the beginning of Hanukkah, when Jewish families around the world will light the first of eight candles in a menorah. An additional candle is lit each of the next seven nights.
The holiday commemorates the victory of a band of Jewish fighters, the Maccabees, over the oppressive Syrian king Antiochus more than 21 centuries ago. After the battle, the Maccabees went to their temple in Jerusalem to pray and found that only enough sacred oil was available to light the menorah for one day. However, a miracle repeatedly occurred, and one days supply lasted for eight days. Today, the lighting of the Hanukkah candles symbolizes that event.
For each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, therefore, an additional candle is inserted from right to left, or until an eight-candled menorah is aglow. After the first candle ceremony, it is traditional to sing songs, play with the dreidel (a spinning top), open presents and eat latkes (fried pancakes) and other fried foods.
Because of the importance of oil to this holiday, it is not surprising that fried foods are the traditional choice. One of these, latkes, made with grated potatoes, originated in Eastern Europe in the 16th century.
Many of the Hanukkah food traditions had their roots in the foods of various European regions. In Greece, loukomades, which are deep-fried puffs of dough dipped in honey and sprinkled with powdered sugar, are the Hanukkah fare. Historians believe that these pastries were more like the cakes eaten by the Maccabees. In Turkey, zelebi, snail-shaped deep-fried pastries, are served at Hanukkah, while in Israeli, sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts, carry on the tradition. Deep-fried spiral-shaped pastries are also popular at Hanukkah in Spain and Morocco.
Most Jewish families, however, serve latkes on the first eve of Hanukkah. There is a three-fold symbolism behind this tradition. Made initially of flour and water and fried in olive oil, these pancakes served as a reminder of the food hurriedly prepared for the Maccabees as they went to battle. The oil in which the pancakes are prepared symbolizes the cleansing and rededication of the Temple after it was defiled by the pagan Assyrians.
The third significance of latkes, which was added in medieval times, symbolizes the small fried cheesecakes the widow Judith served the Assyrian general Holofernes before she cut off his head, thus enabling the Maccabees to defeat the Assyrians. As the story goes, if Judith had not fed Holofernes so well and given him so much wine that he fell asleep, he would have had the Jews slaughtered.
Originally, Hanukkah was a very solemn festival. During the Middle Ages, however, it evolved into a joyous family festival. This was about the time deep-fried pastries and, later, latkes became the traditional Hanukkah foods.
The word latke is Yiddish for pancakes. Kartoflani platske are still the words used in Ukraine for potato pancake. Because their daily diet consisted of potatoes and bread, the Jews wanted to include a special dish cooked in oil to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah. This potato pancake, already served by Ukrainians with goose for Christmas, seemed a good and relatively inexpensive choice. Since Hanukkah falls at the season when geese were plentiful, goose fat was an obvious and inexpensive substitute for the original olive oil.
Over the years, the original recipe for latkes has been expanded to include various other ingredients. Although latkes can be made with sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots and even cheese, I still prefer the taste of the brown, crisp potato pancakes.
True aficionados of potato pancakes argue over whether a medium or large grater is better for the potatoes. Modernists prefer a food processor or a salad shooter. I prefer the latter, but I still remember grating my knuckles in addition to the potatoes on a hand grater while helping my mother prepare potatoes for pancakes.
Latkes also can be served as an accompaniment to meat, or as a luncheon dish by themselves. They can be eaten plain or fancy with sugar, applesauce or sour cream.
Potato pancakes are also very much a part of German cookery. My mother usually prepared them on Saturday for lunch. I remember many times sneaking an extra potato into the batch mother had laid out for me to peel and grate so that I could have an extra pancake. Potato pancakes were, and still are, one of my favorite foods.
The following potato pancake recipe has been handed down in my family for several generations. To give a more delicate flavor to the pancakes, I occasionally substitute the finely minced white part of a leek for the onion.
Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
5 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1 large egg
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil, for frying
Peel the potatoes and keep them in cold water until grating. Grate the potatoes alternately with some of the onion. (The onion will help keep the potato mixture from turning dark.) Place the potato mixture in a fine mesh colander and press out as much liquid as possible. Put the potato mixture in a bowl and blend in the egg, flour, salt and pepper.
Add oil to the depth of 1/8 inch to a large skillet and heat it over medium heat. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the potato batter into the hot oil and flatten the pancake with the back of the spoon. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, turning only once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with applesauce, sour cream, sugar or preserves. Serves 4.
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Hilde Lee: Latkes bring an ancient miracle to mind on first night of Hanukkah - The Daily Progress
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