Best Potato Kugel Recipe – Oma's Baked Potato Pancake (Dibbelabbes) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between potato latkes and potato pancakes? ›

Potato pancakes have a creamy, almost mashed-potato-like center, with a thin, golden, crisp exterior. Latkes, on the other hand, should have a deeply browned crust, with wispy, lacy edges. Latkes also aren't hash browns.

If you don't drain the moisture, they won't crisp as easily and that may be why your potato pancakes are gummy. Feel the Heat. Sufficiently heating oil in the pan prior to placing the patty in the pan is the key to a properly crispy pancake.

Potato kugel can be prepared in advance. Once cooked and cooled, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

There's not enough starch binding the latkes. Luckily, the fix for both of these problems is the same: add some more starch — ideally in the form of matzo meal — which will soak up that extra moisture and bind the ingredients together more tightly. Flour works too, but it sticks together and makes for denser latkes.

Potato latkes are a more recent Ashkenazi invention that gained popularity in Eastern Europe during the mid 1800? s. A series of crop failures in Poland and the Ukraine led to mass planting of potatoes, which were easy and cheap to grow. But before potatoes came on the scene, the latke of choice was cheese.

It is the national dish of Belarus, Ukraine and Slovakia. In Germany, potato pancakes are eaten either salty (as a side dish) or sweet with apple sauce, or blueberries, sugar and cinnamon; they are a very common menu item during outdoor markets and festivals in colder seasons.

Russet potatoes work best in this recipe because they have a high starch content, which helps to bind the pancakes together. I do not recommend substituting with red or yellow potatoes.

– Always serve latkes hot and fresh if possible.

When ready to reheat, place in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes (7 if using a convection oven) until heated through just prior to serving. A convection oven setting will produce a more crispy result.

Potatoes are typically 80 percent water and 20 percent solids or starch so to avoid soggy latkes, take the potato-onion mixture a handful at a time and literally squeeze the water out. Then add the eggs, flour and salt. Refrigerate covered to avoid exposure to air.

Grate the potatoes into the eggs and stir to coat the potatoes with the egg to keep the potatoes from turning brown. Add the grated onion, potato starch, salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Mix well. Remove the pan from the oven and make sure the sides of the pan are coated with oil as well.

What to eat with potato kugel? ›

Potato kugel keeps well in the refrigerator for four to five days, as long as it's covered. You can eat a cold slice right out of the fridge, or reheat it in a 350 F oven, uncovered so the top can crisp, until hot. Kugel will also freeze well.

It depends on whether your potatoes are turning gray before you cook them or after. When you grate raw potatoes, you release starch that can cause them to oxidize, or turn dark. The best way to keep that from happening is to cover the potatoes with cold water, then drain them very well and pat them dry before cooking.

The simplest and most effective method to prevent discoloration in prepping potatoes is this formula: Add one teaspoon of concentrated lemon juice or white wine vinegar for every gallon of water. This will minimize discoloration.

One of the most popular foods eaten during Hanukkah are latkes, which are fried potato pancakes. Choosing extra virgin olive oil – low in saturated fat – to make this dish, will ensure your guests receive a healthy dose of antioxidants or polyphenols too.

📣 Easy way to remember: you grate potatoes for latkes, you shred them for hashbrowns. 🥔 Also, you won't find a recipe better then my Papa Leo's, I promise.

These potato pancakes (called latkes) are meant to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah, when the oil of the menorah in the ransacked Second Temple of Jerusalem was able to stay aflame for eight days even though there was only enough oil for one day. The symbolism comes in the form of the oil in which latkes are fried.

Originally, hash browns were made by simply frying shredded spuds in a pan until they got crunchy — they may glom together as they cook, but that's not caused by any extra ingredients. Potato pancake recipes, on the other hand, include binding ingredients like eggs, breadcrumbs, or flour.

Tradition says so. Latkes are usually served at dinnertime along with a meaty main, like brisket. Mixing milk and meat at the same meal is a no-no for those who keep kosher, so sour cream would be out as a latke condiment leaving the underdog apple sauce victorious.