OVERVIEW:

Learn about why Jews celebrating Hanukkah by frying foods in oil and learn how to deep fry anything at home. This program is especially fun as a potluck-style event where participants bring something they want to try fried!

MATERIALS:

• Printed blessing sheets 
• Blank paper or sticky notes 
• 4 quarts of canola or vegetable oil for frying 
• A sturdy, deep pot with handles 
• A deep fry or candy thermometer 
• Large slotted spoon, spider spoon, or strainer spoon to fish out foods  
• Baking rack and baking tray 
• 1-2 large carrots (not for eating) 
• Options for breading like panko, flour, corn starch, crushed cereal, egg, etc. 
• Things to fry (check out this ChefSteps video for inspiration) 
• Optional: consider a splatter screen – things that are full of water, like brussel sprouts, splatter everywhere! 

TIP: Apply for a Jewish Culture or Jewish Learning JIO to help cover costs

PROGRAM PREP: 

• Print out these blessing sheets and put them up on the wall where everyone can see them. 
• Write down the names of any foods that you are providing to fry on sticky notes or the appropriate blessing sheet (see introduction below). 

PROGRAM OUTLINE (~90 minutes): 

• Introduction & Orientation (15 minutes) 
• Frying, Blessing, and Enjoying (30 minutes) 
• Closing (15 minutes) 

Introduction & Orientation (15 minutes)

• Read aloud this excerpt from this NPR article: 
  • “Through the eight days of Hanukkah, it almost doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as it’s cooked in oil. A good case could be made for eating potato chips with every meal throughout the holiday. 
    The story goes that in 165 B.C., the Maccabees, a small band of pious Jews, led a revolt that defeated the powerful Hellenist imperial army. The Hellenist forces had mandated pagan rituals into Jewish life and desecrated the Jews’ temple. 
    There was only enough consecrated olive oil left to keep the temple lamp burning for a single day, so a messenger was sent for more. When he returned to the temple eight days later, the lamp was still burning. And to celebrate this miracle, Jews cook with oil. 
    For most American Jews, that means cooking up latkes — potato pancakes fried in oil. But other cultures toss different foods into pots of boiling oil. Austrian Jews deep-fry beef and Moroccan Jews fry chicken. Roman Jews fry vegetables, especially artichokes and endives, and Israeli Jews fry doughnuts. Sweet or savory, Middle Eastern or Italian, there is no shortage of options for Hanukkah dining. The only real requirement is that whatever you eat, it’s made with oil.” 
• SAY: 
  • “Inspired by this tradition, today we’ll be deep-frying anything and everything! But first, we’ll learn a bit about how Jewish tradition categorizes food.” 
• DO: 
  • Have each participant write the name of the food they brought on a sticky note and attach it to the wall near the appropriate blessing. 
  • OR, if using blank pieces of paper, attach one under each blessing and have participants write down what they brought in a list under each blessing. 
  • If participants have questions about which blessings go with which foods, you can direct them to: oukosher.org/guide-to-blessings. 

Frying, Blessing, and Enjoying (30 minutes) 

• Start by putting a large carrot into the oil. This is not to eat! It’ll absorb the bad stuff from the oil and help keep it clear longer. 
• Check out a guide to deep frying at home 
• Fried foods don’t age well, so eat them as soon as they’re cool enough. Encourage participants to recite the appropriate blessing on the fried food. 

Closing (15 minutes) 

• Have participants vote for their top 3 fried experiments by adding a tally on the food’s sticky note (or next to the food’s name) under the blessing sheets.  
• Don’t forget to thank participants for coming!