We’re sharing the differences between potato pancakes and potato latkes so you can choose the right recipe.
Potato pancakes or potato latkes? Which should you make? Is there really any difference? There are some significant differences and we’re sharing them so you aren’t disappointed in the outcome the next time you make them. By the way, we have both the perfect potato pancake and potato latke recipe for you.
Preparation
Potato pancakes require a little more time in preparation. They have to be grated on the finest (smallest) holes of the grater. It requires more precision to prepare them and takes longer to grate them to the mushy consistency you need to for pancakes. Potato latkes are shredded on the largest holes of the grater and they take less time. Both of them require similar ingredients, including eggs which help bind everything together. Some people use a higher ration of batter to potato for their pancakes than I do, which can also give a lighter fluffier texture to the pancake.
Texture
Either way you make them, potato pancakes have a softer texture. Because the potatoes are finely grated the batter appears pulpy and watery. Once they are fried they are generally softer and fluffier like traditional pancakes. Potato latkes on the other hand are crunchy. Because you grate the potato into larger shreds, you still get more of the potato’s natural texture, which helps them fry up with the delightful crunchiness latkes are known for.
Taste
Potato pancakes and potato latkes both have an incredible potato taste and depend on the seasonings you mix in with them to give them variations in flavor.
Cook
Potato pancakes cook in about 3 – 4 minutes on each side, while potato latkes take 4 – 5 minutes on each side – both on low-medium heat. Therefore, potato latkes require a little longer time to cook. I’ve also noticed potato pancakes splatter more around the pan making a little more mess since it is more of a batter while potato latkes don’t splatter so much.
Look
Potato pancakes are more rounded than potato latkes and you can make them uniform more easily. On the other hand, potato latkes are also rounded, but you’ll notice shredded pieces of potato sticking out here and there. Finally, potato pancakes are thinner, while potato latkes are thicker.
ilona,
Enjoyed your sharing of potato cuisine. I was born in France, Polish parents displaced after WWII, and enjoyed authentic (cooked from scratch) Polish recipes. We immigrated to USA in 1954, where I presenly reside. Thanks for the tip on grating onions prior to potatoes to help control oxidation. Getting ready to get down with some Idaho potatoes and always have my cheesecloth handy. I also like mine, whether latkes or placki kartoflane, with ketchup. Never to old to learn something new Thank you for sharing your empirical knowledge of creating a tasty potato morsel.
Thank you for sharing!
Hello and thank you for so much such good information. I believe I can add just a bit about the Latkas vs Potato Pancakes question. My Jewish Grandma was born in Eastern Europe. She came to this country before the Holocaust and at a time when Millions of Mommas and Grandmas (Bubbies) were still alive to cook Latkas for the millions of Yiddishe Kinderlach (Jewish Children) and Tatas ( fathers) and Zeidelach ( grandfathers) to enjoy. As we say, Oy!
Anyway, the word Latka, is Yiddish for pancake. According to my Momma and Bubbe, the Latkas were eaten year round
and not just at Hannuka. As the Jews were forced by the governments and Church to live in poor villages, they too,were very poor and ate Kosher and pork-free variants of the local cuisine – potato pancakes or Latkas being one such example. Of course, at Hunnukah, they were also eaten. Mommy and Bubbe always finely grated them, whenever they were eaten. I am happy to share a trick for purple/ oxidized free, potatoes. So simple and yet so perfectly wonderful. Grate the onions first and than grate the potatoes into the onions. They do not darken at all this way. And, to make it even easier, put the onions into a blender, first. And than, you will have onion juice to start the blending process for the potatoes. You can also add some water if necessary. You will be draining it anyway. If, after you drain, you feel you have lost some of the onion, blend a bit more onion and add it to the mush. The large side of the grater, grated potatoes are merely a cooks way of avoiding the tedium of finely grated potatoes and knuckles. Unfortunately, the beautiful and sweet Yiddish Language was also almost entirely anililated. But Latka, Bagel, Challah – they are widely known words – even today.
Thank you for sharing with us, Adrienne!
I have been eating potato pancakes since about 1950, when my grandmother made them. We called them P. Pancakes, but now I know they were actually P. Latkes, having been shredded rather than grated. As an adult I had to learn how to recreate what my G’mother had been making: since it had been some years since I had had the real thing. I think the biggest trick to learn was to grate the onions (on the shredder side of a box grater). It completely changes the flavor, compared to just finely chopping the onions. We have learned to make sure the kitchen exhauster is on! Cooking potato pancakes sends the aroma into every fiber of the house! We add some chopped chives and some fresh chopped marjoram as well. We find that quickly adding the beaten egg to the shredded potatoes, mixing it in, prevents browning. presumably coats the potatoes reducing exposure to air. We add some potato starch flour instead of trying to recover starch from the shredded potatoes. Apple sauce or sour cream on the side, or just as they are is good to great.
Thanks for sharing your grandmother’s tricks with us, David!
Hi, I was looking for a recipe for potato pancakes when I came upon your comparison. When I was young, my mother used to make homemade potato pancakes. They were kind of fluffy like regular pancakes, but had a purplish tinge to them and the edges were crisp. I can’t ask her for the recipe, because she died when I was 12. I think it may have been a family recipe, but haven’t been able to find a similar recipe. I can see them in my mind and almost taste them, but haven’t been able to come close to what I remember. I’m sure she used raw, finely shredded potatoes, because there were no chunks or noticeable pieces of potato.
I’m not sure if they had onion in them or now. They were served for breakfast with syrup. If you have any ideas for a recipe, I’d be very grateful if you’d share it with me. Thank you for your time and the article you posted, made my mouth water just thinking about it.
By the way, my mother’s grandfather was from Prussia.
Christina, I’m really not sure. I’m guessing they’d be closer to the potato pancakes than to the latkes. Both can be served with a sweet syrup or apple sauce. The purple tinge comes from the potatoes oxidizing between when they’re shredded and when they’re cooked and can happen to both types as well. Good luck trying the recipes and in finding the one that reminds you the most of your childhood. if you find it, do come back and let us know!