Need Help – Making Latkes For 120 People

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  • #593213

    Advice needed please,I need to make latkes for about 120 bochrim. How far in advance can they be made ? freeze and reheat? what to do to stop them from turning black ? I am the new cook and have never made latkes for more then 20 before. They need to be served (applesauce of course) with a fleishig meal of either chicken or ground beef any suggestions welcome. I have 2 non jewish helpers who have never seen a latke.

    #712772
    deiyezooger
    Member

    Add a little lemon juice to keep it from turning black, not to much you dont want to taste it, a little drop goes a long way.

    #712773
    basmelech
    Participant

    I don’t know what kind of cooking facilities you have, like how many frying pans you can have on the stove at once or do you have a commercial griddle that’s large enough to make a whole lot at once. I’d say you need at least 3 or 4 latkes (small size) or 1 or 2 large latkes per person, maybe even more depending on everyone’s appetites and how much other food you’re serving. look up a recipe on line, see how much it makes and multiply it by how many portions you need. you can partially fry them to get them crisp on the outside and then finish baking them in the oven to free up your frying pans.If you put some lemon juice or citric acid in the latke mixture it won’t turn black or ruin the taste. Why don’t you call someone who cooks for a yeshiva or a camp and ask him what to do. I imagine it would take sevral hours and although they can be frozen, they taste better fresh. You can refrigerate them for a few days and reheat them. Good Luck and Happy Chanuka!

    #712774
    kapusta
    Participant

    I hope the latke police will not come after me for saying this, but a latke is basically a tiny fried potato kugel. Assuming you are an average home cook (that would be someone with no access to commercial sized tools/utensils) it might be worth stocking up on muffin trays (or mini muffin trays) and baking little kugels aka latkes. You might have to experiment a little with a recipe to get it more “latke-like”. Most kugels usually freeze well so if its packed properly it shouldn’t be a problem to freeze and reheat. I know some people add water to the mixture which keeps it from turning colors a little longer.

    Good luck!

    *kapusta*

    #712775
    amichai
    Participant

    maybe you can get a couple friends,/ family. they can prepare 40 latkes each. this way its not so overwhelming.

    #712776
    minyan gal
    Member

    Many years ago my daughter used to prepare large amounts of latkes for an organization that she belonged to. She had a helper (her husband) outside in the garage – using 2 electric frying pans at a time, frying the batter so that the house wouldn’t smell so badly. Latkes freeze very well. After you fry them, drain them on paper towels, then put them in a single layer on cookie sheets and freeze. When they are frozen, put them in freezer bags. Reheat them from the frozen state. I have never had a problem with the batter turning black and have never used lemon juice or citric acid. When the potatoes are grated, place them in a colander and rinse them well to get rid of the starch, then press down to get rid of all of the water. Then you add your flour and eggs. I think a lot depends on what kind of potatoes that you use. I like (and many recipes recommend) using a drier kind of potato like Yukon gold or russet. Good luck.

    #712777

    Thank you, I am the new cook in a small (by N.Y standards)yeshiva.I have large frying pans but no griddle.B’H the bochrim seem to have healthy appetites so far the rule of thumb seems to be double whatever I would make for adults.

    #712778
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Is it in the rocky mountains? Does Denver really have 120 guys?

    #712779

    If you are really curious come check out Denver on your next vacation.Denver has a warm welcoming community,as well as a kollel, Bais yaakov high school,yeshiva high school w/bais hamedrash, elementary school and of course the mountains…

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