Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
Updated Dec. 22 to clarify when to peel the potatoes.
When I was assigned a Hanukkah story for the East Bay website Berkeleyside Nosh last year, little did I know that a tip buried in a latke recipe would forever change the way I make potato pancakes. But that’s exactly what happened. I tried this new-to-me method, posted it to my Facebook page at the beginning of Hanukkah 2023, then waited for the exclamations. That didn’t take long. But I had to wait an entire year to share the tip with you.
Here it is, the latke technique you didn’t know you’ve been waiting for:
The day before making the latkes, place the whole, unpeeled potatoes in a pot. Cover them with cold water and bring the pot to a boil. As soon as it boils, drain off the water. Lay out the potatoes in a single layer to cool and then refrigerate overnight.
That’s it.
While this extra step prevents oxidation, which is nice since brown potato shreds look rather unappetizing, the bigger benefit is that no liquid seeps out from the shreds, eliminating the need to squeeze them dry. You are also starting with slightly cooked potatoes, so there’s no chance of over-frying the outside of your latkes while the inside remains raw. After this step, you peel and shred them as usual, be it by hand or with a food processor.
Numerous Facebook friends reported back to me last year, saying things like: “Mind totally blown,” “It forever changed my latke making,” “I’ll never go back” and “Delicious and so much easier.” One San Francisco latke party host reported: “Total game-changer for 40 pounds of potatoes. Amazing!”
Another person saw the post the same day she was planning to make them. She went ahead with the instructions, but after boiling the potatoes, refrigerated them for only a few hours rather than overnight. It still worked, she reported back. But overnight is probably best.
Matt Gandin, who is Jewish and the executive chef of Mexican restaurant Comal in Berkeley, first shared the technique in a latke recipe included in my Berkeleyside article last year. When I later asked him where he learned about it, he credited Craig Stoll, the Jewish chef-owner of Delfina. (Before opening Comal, Gandin was a chef at Delfina and worked closely with Stoll.) And by the way, both Gandin and Stoll recommend using Russet potatoes for latkes.
This year, I called Stoll in search of answers. He said the technique was not his, and he’d learned it from yet another Jewish chef, Chris Majer, when they worked together at the now-defunct Italian restaurant Splendido. (Majer has since died.)
Stoll said he still doesn’t know the science behind the method, though he remembers Majer telling him “it sets the starches.” (This refers to the fact that it changes the nature of the starch inside the potato.)
Stoll said he hasn’t made latkes since without including this step. Neither will I.
Delfina uses the method to make thousands of latkes for the holiday each year, selling them frozen by the dozen along with pear-quince conserva and creme fraiche “because we’re fancy like that,” Stoll said. Delfina’s latkes can be preordered here.
Speaking of latkes, Mark ’n Mike’s, the Jewish deli concept within One Market Restaurant, is offering specialty latkes during its monthlong Festival of Latkes. The specialty items include an Onion “Soup” latke with caramelized onion and Gruyere cheese, a Smoked Sturgeon Rillette latke with chives and a Steak Tartare latke with an egg yolk. Address is 1 Market St., San Francisco, and the latke fest runs through New Year’s Eve.
Alec’s Ice Cream, the Petaluma-based premium ice cream brand started by Jewish brothers Alec and Zach Jaffe, is now kosher. Alec’s announced its certification by EarthKosher, based in Boulder, Colorado, in its newsletter.
“We had already been using kosher ingredients,” said Alec Jaffe, founder and CEO. “We did continually get requests for kosher, so we decided the demand was high enough to justify going through the certification process.” The certification applies to all of Alec’s flavors, such as Palm Springs Banana Chocolate Date Shake, Honey Blueberry Lavender and Meyer Lemon Cookie.
Berkeleyside Nosh, the food site where I am also a contributor, recently did a taste test among East Bay bagel companies. Of the five they tried, Hella placed first, Poppy second, Bageltopia third, Boichik fourth and Wise Sons (sold at Beauty’s Bagels in Oakland) fifth. Speaking of Boichik, the Berkeley-based bagel company just celebrated its fifth anniversary.