Kosher Potato Kugel (2024)

FAQs

Why do Jews eat kugel? ›

Kugels are a mainstay of festive meals in Ashkenazi Jewish homes, particularly on the Jewish Sabbath and other Jewish holidays or at a tish. Some Hasidic Jews believe that eating kugel on the Jewish Sabbath brings special spiritual blessings, particularly if that kugel was served on the table of a Hasidic Rebbe.

Often kugels are made with noodles, a product generally not permitted during Passover (seven or eight days, depending on one's family tradition) because they contain regular flour. As a consequence, most kugels served at Passover are made with potato.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Grate the potatoes into the eggs and stir to coat the potatoes with the egg to keep the potatoes from turning brown.

Pesach Dieters, Take Note: You Can Have Your Potato—and Eat It, Too! - Kosher for Passover.

Kugel is traditionally served as a side dish alongside something meaty like brisket or roast chicken. In this case it would normally be served warm, but it can also be refrigerated and eaten cold the next day. Sweeter versions can also be eaten hot or cold, and taste great with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

I had to look it up but “lokshen” means egg noodles. As for “kugel”, it is a Yiddish word meaning a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. It can be either sweet or savory.

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.

Add lemon juice or vinegar

Lowering the pH of the potato helps fight off oxidation. Just like you might use a squirt of lime juice to keep guacamole from browning, a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar in the bowl with the potatoes will ward off gray hues.

When slicing the potatoes place into water with a little acidity to keep them from turning gray. A small amount of white wine vinegar of lemon will do the trick. Then drain and place the potatoes in foil along with your spices and some olive oil or vegetable oil.

Additionally, it should only contain ingredients that are specifically designated as kosher for Passover, like 100% peanuts that have been processed solely through pasteurization. By following these guidelines, you will be able to eat peanut butter during the Passover holiday.

Can Jews eat french fries on Passover? ›

French fries

Other fast food joints, such as the burger chain Five Guys, serve gluten-free fries that are cooked in peanut oil, meaning that they are kosher for Pesach. You can also find kosher brands of oven fries or make french fries at home. The best way to do this is to slice and rinse the potatoes before cooking.

Potato chips can be non-kosher if the vegetable oil used in the fryer has been pasteurized and deodorized on equipment used for tallow production. In fact, heating equipment used in the production of non-kosher products may not be used for kosher production without kosherization (a hot purging procedure).

The Importance of Kugel

If the dish is made with noodles because they are intertwined, it can mean Jewish unity. The composition and the sugar contained in kugel can symbolize the arrival of Shabbat and bring spiritual blessings.

The kugel was born in Eastern Europe as a leftover bread pastry with fat and eggs and only eight centuries ago evolved into the lokshen (noodle) kugel we know today. Rice kugels were invented in the 16th century thanks to Ottoman influences, and the popular Polish potato kugel showed up in the nineteenth century.

The ritual meal known as the Seder, takes place on the first two evenings of Passover. This ceremonial dinner traditionally includes hard-boiled eggs, to pay homage to the destruction of the Temple and symbolise mourning in general.

There are noodle kugels, ones that combine noodles with vegetables or fruits, all-vegetable ones (no noodles), and kugels made with matzo meal (instead of noodles and flour) for Passover. My favorites are the classics: the potato and lokshen kugel below. This potato kugel is especially wonderful for Hanukkah.