These deep-fried Israeli delicacies symbolize the miracle of the burning oil lamps in the ancient Holy Temple in Jerusalem celebrated during Hanukkah. Plump up each doughnut with your favorite fruit jam.

Are donuts a Hanukkah thing?

Sufganiyah (Hebrew: סופגנייה or סופגניה‎ [ˌsufɡaniˈja]; plural: sufganiyot, Hebrew: סופגניות‎ [ˌsufɡaniˈjot]) is a round jelly doughnut eaten in Israel and around the world on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried in oil, filled with jam or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar.

Why do Jews eat oily food on Hanukkah?

Why Are Fried Foods Eaten for Hanukkah? Fried foods are an important part of the traditional Hanukkah dinner because they represent the small amount of oil that miraculously burned for 8 days instead of just one when the Jews rededicated the Temple after overcoming oppression.

Why do we eat fried food on Hanukkah?

Why fried? Fried foods, like potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts, are prepared and eaten throughout the holiday to celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah: oil that kept the menorah (an ancient lamp) lit for 8 days instead of the 1 day it was supposed to last.

What is the difference between Sufganiyot and donuts?

Every culture seems to have its own version of the doughnut — and usually some fancy name for it, too. In Italy, fried dough is called bombolone or zeppole. ... In Israel, doughnuts are known as sufganiyot.

Tess Makes Her Family's Favorite Jelly Donuts For Hanukkah | Slightly Kosher

40 related questions found

What is a Sufganiyot and what do they symbolize?

Author: TV-PG. 3:16. These traditional Jewish jelly doughnuts are cooked in oil and used to symbolize the oil lamps that burned for eight nights in the Hanukkah story.

When did Jews start eating latkes?

The latke, it turns out, has its roots in an old Italian Jewish custom, documented as early as the 14th century. That, it seems, is where Jews first fried pancakes to celebrate Hannukah.

Do you eat challah on Hanukkah?

This Challah bread is a staple during Hanukkah, but it's also great for sandwiches and French toast!

What does spin the dreidel mean?

A dreidel is a spinning top with four sides, each inscribed with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. ... The letters form an acronym for the Hebrew saying Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, which can be translated to "a great miracle happened there," referring to the miracle which Hanukkah is centered around.

Why is cheese a Hanukkah food?

She elaborates: “Judith fed cheese to Holofernes to intensify his thirst, which she slaked with wine to make him sleepy. ... She then chopped off his head, thereby preventing the siege of her village, set for the next day.”

Why do we eat cheese on Hanukkah?

"By the 14th century, there's quite a strong tradition that people eat cheese on Hanukkah and it's associated with Judith giving cheese to the enemy to make him drunk," Weingarten says. ... During the Middle Ages, that cheese would have likely come from a goat or a sheep, as cow's milk cheese was rare, Weingarten says.

Is gefilte a fish?

Gefilte fish translates from Yiddish as "stuffed fish." That's because the dish, which is made by grinding up deboned fish (usually carp, whitefish, mullet, and pike) and adding filler ingredients like breadcrumbs, eggs, and vegetable scraps, was traditionally stuffed back into the skin of a whole fish; then, the ...

Who invented doughnuts?

Hanson Gregory, an American, claimed to have invented the ring-shaped doughnut in 1847 aboard a lime-trading ship when he was 16 years old. Gregory was dissatisfied with the greasiness of doughnuts twisted into various shapes and with the raw center of regular doughnuts.

How many jelly donuts are eaten in Israel during Hanukkah?

In 2009, about eighteen million sufganiyot were consumed in the weeks before and during the holiday, or about three doughnuts per Israeli, with the Israeli Defense Force alone purchasing around a half million that year.

During which historic war were doughnuts really popular?

But in fact doughnuts didn't come into their own until World War I, when millions of homesick American doughboys met millions of doughnuts in the trenches of France. They were served up by women volunteers who even brought them to the front lines to give soldiers a tasty touch of home.

Is matzo ball soup served at Hanukkah?

As the holiday approach us, let's not forget to make Matzo Ball Soup for Hanukkah. There was so much food to pick from but the Matzo Ball Soup was my favorite that evening and the pot was full of Matzo Balls. ...

What is a typical Hanukkah dinner?

10 Best Traditional Hanukkah Foods

• Latkes.
• Beef brisket.
• Roasted chicken.
• Kugel.
• Matzo ball soup.
• Rugelach.
• Sufganiyot (Jelly-Filled Doughnuts)
• Challah.

What main dish goes with potato pancakes?

What to Serve with Potato Pancakes

• Stews. Beef stew is one of the most favored dishes to serve alongside potato pancakes and for good reason. ...
• Roast Chicken. ...
• Lox or Salmon. ...
• Buttered Vegetables. ...
• Green Salad. ...
• Coleslaw. ...
• Applesauce. ...
• Sour Cream.

Are latkes Ashkenazi?

Latkes (לאַטקע, sometimes spelled latka) are potato pancakes that Ashkenazi Jews have prepared as part of the Hanukkah festival since the mid-1800s, based on an older variant of the dish that goes back to at least the Middle Ages. Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes.

Why do Jews eat latkes with applesauce?

Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah by consuming fried foods like latkes, as well as other foods cooked in oil during the eight-day holiday. ... The applesauce conceals the oiliness of the potato, while creating an explosion of fall food flavors in your mouth.

Are latkes Italian?

According to some food experts, the Hanukkah latke dates back to 13th-century southern Italy. ... She learned from Marks that ricotta pancakes were associated with Hanukkah by medieval Italian rabbi Kalonymus son of Kalonymus, who also connected them with the holiday of Purim.

What are filled donuts called?

A jelly (or jam) doughnut is a doughnut stuffed with jelly filling.

Are donuts German?

Although the diversity of colorful and frosted doughnuts might seem like an American delicacy, the origin of these sugar-laden treats lies at least partially in Germany.