Culture and Condiment

No, that's not an undiscovered Jane Austen novel, it's an annual Chanike (following some discussion of the spelling of the holiday over at Mirty's, I've decided to go with the phonetic Yiddish transliteration--phonetic for how I say it, anyway) conflict that happens at my house every year.

I like latkes. The fella likes latkes fine. The only problem is, the fella likes latkes with ketchup.

Now, I was raised in a home, where we eat latkes with applesauce and sour cream like normal people. My mom sometimes even makes applesauce out of apples, the real stuff (although out of the jar is also nice). I love sour cream like a maniac, so this a particularly nice holiday as far as I'm concerned. Chanike rocks. Get me more applesauce and sour cream. Keep grating.

I like latkes. I've made latkes for the fella's family on Christmas Eve, and I made carrot latkes for Thanksgiving one year. I sometimes just make them when it's not even Chanike for no apparent reason.

Latkes are lovely.

Oh yeah, there was a reason for this post. The fella. And the ketchup problem.

He defends this weird condiment decision by insisting that it is, in fact, completely logical, rational, and normal. He argues like this. Latkes are a potato product. A grated, fried, potato product. Therefore, as one would put ketchup on a french fry, or even more similarly, a hash brown, you should be able to put ketchup on a latke.

A couple of years ago, we went on vacation together to England and Ireland, and fairly easily fed ourselves throughout on those incredible huge B&B breakfasts. It worked out well. He got all the pork--sausage, rashers, etc., and I got both eggs, and any fried mushrooms, and we split the toast. When we went to Ireland, there was the addition of 'hash browns' which the fella rejected because they were damp and eggy, and not hash brown like enough. I tasted. Kugel. Actually, I think it was once known in Ireland as 'boxty', but basically, kugel. I ate it.

I try not to be judgemental about the ketchup. I actually know of other people, including at least one Jew, who eat them like this. It just seems WRONG, though. He's tried them with applesauce. He doesn't like sour cream. But faced with a potato product, he just reverts to ketchup.

The children will eat them with applesauce. And that is ALL I have to say on the matter.