The Air Fryer Is Your Secret Weapon For Grease-Free Latkes

Classic potato latkes go hand-in-hand with the food celebrations surrounding Hanukkah, but age-old traditions have a funny way of making room for variation, too. Per Kosher Cooking, latkes are traditionally made with onion, eggs, flour, and shredded Yukon gold potatoes, fried in a fair amount of oil, and cooked over the stove.

According to Gil Marks, author of "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food," latkes originated in Italy, where they were first made with ricotta cheese and labeled as pancakes (per PBS). Not until Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus added these cheese pancakes to a list of foods to be served at a Purim feast, did they become a permanent staple in Hanukkah food celebrations.

Yet this classic Jewish mainstay has been recreated over the years in more ways than one. While you could try a twist on the old classic by making Food Network's sweet potato latkes, you can also try mashing your potatoes before forming and frying them, as in The New York Times' mashed potato latkes with dill and shallots recipe. Most of the recreations available in the wide world of recipes still maintain the traditional method of cooking these variations in some sort of oil. Yet, if shredded potatoes fried in mass amounts of oil don't excite your taste buds, your trusted air fryer may be the appliance you need to make delicious latkes without all the added grease.

If you're watching your oil intake or have an aversion to fried foods, you may already own an air fryer. Yet, one student at the University of California Davis, Megha Ramesh, claims owning an air fryer is not simply about making fried foods healthier, but about finding ways of cooking the foods you've been making for years in a new way (per The New York Times). Whatever the reason, home chefs near and far are buying into the air fryer trend: NPD notes that between early 2020 and late 2021, 25.6 million air fryers were purchased in the United States.

Whether or not you plan on making one of many appealing air fryer recipes for everyday meals, this popular gadget may be your newest method of making latkes this Hanukkah. According to The Nosher, not only do air-fried latkes require just a spray of oil as opposed to an entire pan full for deep-frying, but they still turn out with a crispy exterior and soft and creamy insides. But while air-fried latkes may come out just as crispy as their deep-fried counterparts, do they still serve as a proper symbol of the Hanukkah celebration?

Given that latkes are among the most popular Hanukkah foods, you may need a better understanding of why all the oil in frying up these potato clusters. According to NPR, Hanukkah is and has been a celebration of Jewish people reclaiming their spiritual identity after a group of devoted Jews faced and overcame an attack from a Hellenist army in 165 B.C.E. Eight days and nights symbolizes the oil that surprisingly burned in the Jewish temple lantern when there was only supposed to be enough oil for one day of light. In celebration of this defeat, people began to celebrate this dedication to the Jewish faith by eating fried foods.

Jewish Living editor Liz Schoenfein provides a different perspective to readers of The Daily News, stating that the miracle of the oil is what should be commemorated and doesn't necessarily need to equal deep-frying. Yet, Joan Nathan's traditional latke recipe, shared on the JCC Blog, advises readers to use the full one inch of oil suggested when frying up those shredded potatoes. 

For many Jewish people, Hanukkah marks the celebration of the long-lasting miracle oil, and this often parlays into the kitchen. When it comes to your latkes, you be the judge and decide for yourself.