Potato Kugel/Latkes- Is it Sour Cream, Applesauce or...?

[weinoo]

I recently made potato kugel for a Passover seder we were invited to. Well, I actually made kugelettes, if that is indeed a word. They came out great.

But my question isn't so much about the making of the kugel as it is in what do you like to serve it with. I heated up the leftovers today for lunch, and tried them with both applesauce and sour cream. And I can't decide which I like better.

What's your go-to with kugel or potato pancakes even? Is there another accompaniment I might be missing?

[Porthos]

What's your go-to with kugel or potato pancakes even? Is there another accompaniment I might be missing?

Without a doubt sour cream!

[Pam R]

100% sour cream. If I'm eating it with a meat meal, I'd rather have nothing than have applesauce. So, don't eat them with a meat meal (obviously if you don't keep kosher, this is not an issue?).

[Jim Dixon]

For latkes, ketchup.

Jim

[weinoo]

I grew up eating them/it with sour cream (though not when we ate at Grandma's, cause she did keep kosher). So where did the whole trend of eating them with applesauce come from?

[weinoo]

For latkes, ketchup.

Jim

Yikes - that's one I hadn't heard of, or thought of, though obviously the connection to french fries can be made. Or can it?

[Pam R]

I think ketchup and latkes may be against the law in some places. Against the laws of kashrut at least (not really).

Mitch, I assume apple-sauce became the norm because it is parve and can be used with a meat meal. I have no idea why it was applesauce rather than anything else though.

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

Sour cream? Feh! Apple sauce all the way.

[Darienne]

Salt and pepper only.

[judiu]

Latkes? GRAVY!

[LoriZig]

Both! Some bites with sour cream, some with applesauce, some with both!

Craving them now...

[Lilija]

Both here, too, but also my Polish grandparents would serve latkes dusted with granulated sugar and salt, which is still my favorite. I won't turn down a gob of sour cream, or a little bowl of applesauce on the side, though!

[Marlene]

Sour cream for me, applesauce for the husband

[Pierogi]

Both here, too, but also my Polish grandparents would serve latkes dusted with granulated sugar and salt, which is still my favorite. I won't turn down a gob of sour cream, or a little bowl of applesauce on the side, though!

Lilija, it must be a Polish thing, because BOTH for me too, absolutely. That's the way my Polish mom always served latkes. Although the sugar/salt thing sounds intriguing, may have to do some field research on that....

[Darienne]

Both here, too, but also my Polish grandparents would serve latkes dusted with granulated sugar and salt, which is still my favorite. I won't turn down a gob of sour cream, or a little bowl of applesauce on the side, though!

Lilija, it must be a Polish thing, because BOTH for me too, absolutely. That's the way my Polish mom always served latkes. Although the sugar/salt thing sounds intriguing, may have to do some field research on that....

Hey! Wait just a second there guys. My Polish family served Latkes with salt and pepper only.

[mgaretz]

Hey! Wait just a second there guys. My Polish family served Latkes with salt and pepper only.

Mine too.

[Lilija]

Maybe it was a local thing, or maybe it was my grandmother's excuse to eat sugar anyhow and anywhere They were from Warsaw, if it means anything.

[Darienne]

My family is from Sejny and my Mother was born and raised in Montreal...where you get MONTREAL bagels which I love.

(I also eat French Toast with only salt on it, something that came from my Mother. I don't think my Bubi ever made French Toast. I am sure my Papa (that's what I called him...that's what my Mother called him) would ever eat something so foreign as French Toast. )

[Shamanjoe]

I love sour cream on many things, but for me it has to be applesauce. There's just something about the sweetness and texture that makes applesauce the perfect thing.

[kayb]

From a Southern goy who loves latkes -- sour cream and apple butter.

[Skywater]

Sour cream mixed with horseradish.

[zeffer81]

I've never topped my kugel with anything but latkes get apple sauce AND sour cream. Mmmm...

[Kim Shook]

Never could understand the combination of applesauce and potatoes. Sour cream is good, but for me ketchup is the best. With LOTS of salt and pepper.

[mgaretz]

Personally, a good latke shouldn't need anything!

[Snadra]

I grew up in a non-Jewish household and we always had applesauce with our potato pancakes. I make homemade unsweetened applesauce just for these and I love the way the tartness and freshness cuts the oil. But the things are always the whole meal in our house rather than a side dish.

Regarding the use of apples, there is an old German dish known as Himmel und Erde which is apple and potato mash - maybe it's part of the same continuum.