This video takes a creative look at some foods traditional to Chanukah, including sufganiyot, sometimes dubbed the original Jewish donut. Check out some of the wild and crazy flavors of sufganiyot beyond the traditional fillings.
What is sufganiyot? It is similar to a donut, made from a sweet yeast dough and filled with fruit jelly. Strawberry or raspberry jelly is the most common, though technically any fruit would suffice. This sweet dessert is enjoyed not only in Israel but around the world at Chanukah. After the jelly filled dough concoctions are made, they are deep fried in oil to make them tastier (and inevitably less healthy); then are topped with powdered sugar.
The significance to Chanukah is deep frying in oil. The cooking oil we use parallels the lamp oil that, in the common understanding of Chanukah, lasted for eight days.
This is indeed a miracle; God can certainly make oil last eight days or as long as He pleases. We also know there are deeper themes to Chanukah, including religious liberty and preservation of the Jewish people. However, that does not stop the tradition of the deep fried donuts from continuing.
Written by Erin Parfet
