Culinary Customs

Jews around the world celebrate
Chanukah with their own special
traditions and foods.

ETHEL HOFMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Latkes are
the food of
choice in
the United
States.

08

arties, presents and pota-
to latkes. That's what
Chanukah means to
most American Jews.
Chanukah begins on the
25th day of Kislev. This
year Jews around the world
will light the first candle on
the menorah on Sunday
evening, November 27, to
commemorate the holiday, the
Festival of Lights.
Chanukah is a joyous holiday
and getting together to eat is part
of it. Culinary customs vary from
country to country but they all
stem from the vivid historical ac-
counts associated with the holi-
day.
Today, Jews world-wide eat
fried foods to commemorate the
holiday. They may take different
shapes and forms but oil is al-
ways an essential ingredient in
cooking or preparation. Vegetable

oils, low in cholesterol and satu-
rated fats, have only increased
the popularity of latkes and oil-
fried dishes.
Russia and Eastern Europe
were the birthplace of the origi-
nal potato pancake, or latke in
Yiddish. In these cold climates,
potatoes were cheap and easy to
grow even in the poorest soils.
They could be stored through the
long, dark winters when there
was little else to eat.
Enterprising Jewish cooks,
forced to flee to unfamiliar areas,
were accustomed to adapting to
new ingredients. To potatoes, an
egg, onion and a little flour was
added. The result when fried?
The crisp fritters we know and
adore. Since oil was unavailable
or expensive, and certainly out of
the reach of the Jews in the Eu-
ropean and Russian shtetls, these
latkes were usually fried in fat

(schmaltz) rendered from roast
goose or duck, traditionally saved
and fattened for the Sabbath of
Chanukah.
Cooking those delectable
latkes filled the house and nos-
trils with the most appetizing of
aromas and it's easy to imagine
little children gathered around a
scrubbed wooden table clamor-
ing for more. As for the goose, the
Jewish cook learned to use every-
thing; the skin was baked to a
crisp (gribenes), the neck stuffed
and fried with onions, giblets
were used for soup or kreplach
filling and, always thinking
ahead, some of the fat was
packed into jars and stored for
Passover.
Fall apples kept well in a cool,
dark cellar so applesauce became
the natural accompaniment to
potato latkes.
Latkes and applesauce aside,
the fifth night of Chanukah was
the most important for East Eu-
ropean children. Gift-giving was
primarily associated with Purim
but on that night, aunts, uncles,
bubbies and zaydes gathered and
distributed Chanukah "gelt"
(money) to the children.
Although potato latices are still
the most widely favored, so much
so that you find the frozen vari-
ety in every supermarket year
round, contemporary cooks have
created their own combinations.
Broccoli, spinach, cheeses,
fruits and berries and other in-
gredients have been added and/or
substituted to make latkes our
Ashkenazi ancestors never
dreamed of.
British cooks, accustomed to
an abundance of fresh fish from
coastal waters, make gefilte fish
latkes — patties made from
gefilte fish mixture, then fried in-
stead of boiled. They're just as
tasty served cold as hot, and are
always served with a dollop of
horseradish.
In the hot, dry Israeli climate,
potatoes were never a staple. In-
stead, fried fluffy doughballs, suf.-
ganiot, are the customary
Chanukah treat. These come
courtesy of early Austrian and
Hungarian immigrants who
passed on their skills through the

generations to produce Israel's
finest pastry chefs.
The jelly-filled doughnuts,
lighter than American doughnuts
and without the holes, are fried,
doused with powdered sugar and
are absolutely delicious, espe-
cially hot from the pan. Two types
are prepared in Israel — a quick
version made with baking pow-
der, and the yeast variety which
originated in Central Europe.
You'll find the latter sold fresh at
Chanukah time at every Israeli
bakery. If you happen to travel
on El Al airlines during the hol-
iday, trays piled with sufganiot
are offered to travelers at airport
check-ins.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ussia and
Eastern Europe
were the
birthplaces of the
original potato
pancake,
or latke in Yiddish.

Similar puffs, called neyyap-
pam, are made in Southern In-
dia where the batter is allowed
to ferment overnight in the hot,
tropical atmosphere before fry-
ing. Fermentation provides the
raising agent instead of yeast or
baking powder.
Various traditions developed
around the holiday. On the last
day in the Old City of Jerusalem
and in congregations in Damas-
cus, Syria, school children and
their teachers used to go from
house to house of the well-to-do,
singing songs and collecting in-
gredients or food to make three
Seudat Chanukah (Chanukah
feasts) — one for the poor, one for
their teachers and the third for
themselves. These feasts were so
important to the community that
the rabbis and town lay officers
always attended.
Couscous and chicken dishes