Hanukkah provides a chance for families to commemorate their roots – especially through cooking. Image from zilber42 from iStock by Getty Images. Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that celebrates “lighting the way,” remembers an occasion of miraculous endurance, recording the story of oil lasting for eight days when it should have only remained for one. Today, Jews light up a menorah having eight candles and an additional known as a shamas to honor the Hanukkah oil, the substance that made the eternal light of the Jerusalem temple shine brilliantly. The Jewish holiday begins by igniting only the shamash and one of the eight candles, and then, on the closing night, all nine lights in the menorah are glowing. Moreover, to honor the holiday’s tradition of utilizing oil, Jews also take pleasure in indulging in meals cooked with oil. In America, latkes, which are potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are jelly doughnuts, typically come to mind when people think about oily foods. For most American Jews, these dishes that come with nostalgia – both for the scrumptiousness of their oily, heavy consistency, as well as the fragrances they create in the home following a latke frying session. Furthermore, these particular treats are of Ashkenazi origins, indicating that their forbears hailed from Eastern Europe. Approximately two out of every three Jews in the USA are Ashkenazi, and this ethnic group has had a major impact on American Jewish culture.
