A bit more precision would be helpful: the word “latke” simply means “pancake” (the Yiddish is based on a Russian word). It is unrelated to potatoes. Prior to the appearance of the potato in Europe, Jews were already making pancakes: out of grains such as wheat or buckwheat, and for Hanukkah, especially, out of cheese. Yes, cheese.
Cheese is not only a food traditionally eaten at Hanukkah time, to commemorate the salty cheese said to have been fed to Holofernes by the heroine Yehudit/Judith, to induce him to drink more wine and thus causing him to fall asleep; the cheese latke — originally savory, now made either savory or sweet — possibly originated in Italy, where fried cheese in various forms has been a treat since ancient times. Cheese-based, fried foods are eaten across the Jewish diaspora, including in Sephardic and Mizrahi communities, particularly for Hanukkah. In Yiddish-speaking lands, these would have been referred to as latkes.
A bit more precision would be helpful: the word “latke” simply means “pancake” (the Yiddish is based on a Russian word). It is unrelated to potatoes. Prior to the appearance of the potato in Europe, Jews were already making pancakes: out of grains such as wheat or buckwheat, and for Hanukkah, especially, out of cheese. Yes, cheese.
Cheese is not only a food traditionally eaten at Hanukkah time, to commemorate the salty cheese said to have been fed to Holofernes by the heroine Yehudit/Judith, to induce him to drink more wine and thus causing him to fall asleep; the cheese latke — originally savory, now made either savory or sweet — possibly originated in Italy, where fried cheese in various forms has been a treat since ancient times. Cheese-based, fried foods are eaten across the Jewish diaspora, including in Sephardic and Mizrahi communities, particularly for Hanukkah. In Yiddish-speaking lands, these would have been referred to as latkes.