Pop fans – the time has come to start updating your Christmas playlists.
This year, we’ve really been spoilt, with some of the biggest names in music unveiling brand new festive offerings, including seasonal tunes from the likes of Lizzo, Sam Smith and Alicia Keys.
Fortunately for those who don’t feel like sifting through every single new song to sort out the “naughty” from the “nice”, we’ve done all the hard work for you.
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Here’s our take on some of the biggest new Christmas releases for this year, starting with something very special indeed…
Lindsay Lohan – Jingle Bell Rock, feat. Ali Tomineek
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Oh, Santa has been good to us this year. Not only is 2022 the year we finally got a Lindsay Lohan comeback in the wonderfully cheesy Netflix original Falling For Christmas, it also came with a bonus stocking filler in the form of a new musical offering from the criminally-underrated artiste.
What’s more, the track is a cover of the festive staple Jingle Bell Rock, in a nod to one of the most iconic scenes of Lindsay’s signature film, Mean Girls.
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All in all, we’re very much here for her take on Jingle Bell Rock, and we enjoy what the musical team did in terms of bringing the song up to date without taking it too far away from the original. Still, we have had to deduct marks for the completely unnecessary addition of a rap verse (a bit of digging reveals Ali Tomineek originally rose to prominence on the Netflix talent search Rhythm + Flow, which may well explain how he came to be on the track in the first place).
Sample lyric: What a bright time, it’s the right time to rock the night away.
It can be the case that when a big-name singer releases a holiday album they spend the afternoon recording a few covers, slap some sleigh bells on it, pose in some fake snow for the artwork and call it a day.
Well, we’re happy to see that’s not the approach Alicia Keys has taken, with her new festive release featuring four original tracks (including a co-write with Emeli Sandé!) alongside covers of Santa Baby, Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and The Christmas song.
The stand-out is lead single December Back 2 June which mixes a retro R&B vibe with a modern sound in that way Alica does so well. It’s also a bit of a bop, with lyrics referencing how the festive season makes her feel nostalgic for the past year with a loved one. Ask us next year whether it’s made our permanent playlist, but we’ll definitely be giving it a spin this December at the very least.
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Sample lyric: “For this Christmas, don’t need wishes, not since I met you, every season, you’ll give reason to love you from December back to June”
As part of Amazon Music’s Christmas celebrations, Lizzo has chosen to delve deep into the festive vaults and cover Stevie Wonder’s classic Someday At Christmas, a full 55 years after it was first released.
While “peace on earth” is a pretty popular Yuletide lyrical theme, Someday At Christmas takes a more specific approach in its lyrics right from the opening line: “Someday at Christmas, men won’t be boys, playing with bombs like kids play with toys.”
The lyrics certainly pack a punch, and as you’d expect from a good Stevie Wonder cover, the production is definitely a 60s throwback. And there’s certainly no arguing with Lizzo’s vocal abilities here.
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Sample lyric: “Someday all our dreams will come to be, someday in a world where we are free, maybe not in time for you and me, but someday at Christmas time.”
Anyone looking for something new to cosy up to in front of the fire while slurping down mulled wine and looking out of the window at where snow would no doubt be cascading if climate change hadn’t stopped us from ever having a white Christmas again is in luck.
Sam Smith’s new slow jam is very much in their usual wheelhouse (it’s certainly more Stay With Me than Unholy, in case anyone is worried about a festive jump-scare), and there’s no denying it’s a pretty song that would be the perfect soundtrack to an under-the-mistletoe moment.
Still, it’s not exactly imaginative, which is a shame as just a couple of years ago Sam gave us the brilliantly unique Christmas tune The Lighthouse Keeper, which is definitely the superior of their two festive originals.
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Sample lyric: “Come rest your weary head on my chest, the year is behind us, we’re still at our best, the magic of Christmas is what’s coming next, so lean in and kiss me and all of the rest.”
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You might be surprised to see Sir Cliff on our round-up of contemporary festive tunes, but with three Christmas number ones to his name, and a new album out for 2022, we’d be remiss not to include him.
This track is the lead single from the crooner’s new album Christmas With Cliff, beginning with some pretty standard lyrics about how “the streets are glistening with lights”, “the air is getting cold outside” and “the snow is falling from above”, but by the time we get to the chorus it becomes apparent that the “Heart Of Christmas” Sir Cliff is singing about is, Jesus. To be fair, his most recent number one was a reimagined version of The Lord’s Prayer so we could probably have seen this coming.
“Hear the angels singing out, unto us a child is born,” he sings on the chorus. “Jesus, the heart of Christmas.”
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So, yeah – this one probably isn’t for everybody. But at the same time, we can’t pretend this isn’t among the catchier Christmas tunes on the list…
Sample lyric: “Listen and you hear the sound, the song they sang in Bethlehem is forever.”
Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Jinkx Monsoon And BenDeLaCreme – Looking At The Lights
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Fans of drag duo Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme might already know this original festive tune, as it was featured in their 2021 holiday special. This year, it’s been given a proper single release, which we’re over the moon about, as it hopefully means even more people will now discover it.
Written by BenDeLaCreme and performed by the recently-crowned “Queen of All Queens” Jinkx, Looking At The Lights is a sorrowful, musical theatre-inspired torch song that will certainly speak to anyone who finds this particular time of year difficult.
Still, don’t go thinking it’s all doom and gloom. Yes, Looking At The Lights does highlight the many reasons a lot of us struggle in the winter, but also highlights how having even just one person in your corner, whether that be a partner, friend or family member, can often be enough to get you through it.
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Sample lyric: “You may see a tree wonder what’s the use… maybe there’s no use, just a nice excuse for me to sit beside you on these cold and lonely nights.”
Our rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens – We Should Be Together
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Rosie Thomas","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ONVTsnuzEk5De8kKL55lQ","cache_age":86400,"description":"Ltd Ed \"We Should Be Together\" Necklace Sets at https://rosiethomas.bandcamp.com/merch \nGet em while you can!\nCredits:\nWritten by Jeffrey Shoop, Rosanne Thomas\nProduced by Jeff Shoop\nPerformed by Jeff Shoop, Rosie Thomas\nGuest Vocals, Drums, and Additional Engineering by Sufjan Stevens\nSleigh bells by James McAlister\nEngineered by Jeff Shoop\nMixed by Yuuki Matthews\nMastered by Ed Brooks\nVideo by Jeff Shoop\n\nLyrics:\nMan why did I let you leave me alone in summer\nI should have known by fall Id finally finish your sweater\nAnd now it’s lying here on my bed\nAt night I wrap the arms around my waist\nPretend it’s you instead\nAnd cry into the shoulder\n\nWe’ve pulled this thread for so long\nTo let it come undone now\nI still believe \nWe still belong\nSomeway somehow so\n\nI’ll be home for Christmas time\n(Whatever the weather)\nYou be home for Christmas too\n(We should be together)\n\nMan why did I let my feet get cold and bitter\nToo scared\nInsecure\nUnsure if you were unsure \nThe pieces wouldn’t fit\nNot a tight enough knit \nFor us \nTo make it through the winter \n\nWe’ve pulled this thread for so long\nTo let it come undone now\nI still believe \nWe still belong\nSomeway somehow so\n\nI’ll be home for Christmas time\n(Whatever the weather)\nYou be home for Christmas too\n(We should be together)\n\nWe should be together\n\n\n\n#christmas #christianmusic #lovesong #breakupsong #rosiethomas #sufjanstevens","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":480,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xRxdaa0GBbE/sddefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Rosie Thomas – We Should Be Together (feat. 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The second we heard that Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens had teamed up to record a Christmas tune, we knew we were in for something truly devastating. And yet, there was still no preparing for quite how much of an emotional listen this would be.
On We Should Be Together, Rosie sings from the perspective of someone who’s hoping for a Yuletide reconciliation, after a pivotal relationship came to an end in the summer, with some truly heartbreaking lyrics comparing the relationship to a Christmas jumper the protagonist has spent the last year working on.
Between the lyrics and the beautiful way Rosie and Sufjan’s voices complement one another, We Should Be Together is an extremely effective festive effort. Admittedly, it’s probably a little too sad to stick on between Slade and Wizzard (unless you fancy crying into your turkey on Christmas day), but it’s the perfect soundtrack to a moody walk in the snow.
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Sample lyric: “The pieces wouldn’t fit, not enough fit to make it through a winter, we’ve pulled this thread too long to let it come undone now, I still believe we still belong someway, somehow, so I’ll be home for Christmas time…”
There’s a bit of a wild-card element to every play date. You can control your own behaviour, and you may have attempted to teach your child how to behave as a guest in someone else’s home – or as a host in their own – but you can’t guarantee that your kid won’t spontaneously decide that today is the day to break all the rules.
The children may wander off while you’re attempting to make polite conversation with another parent, and just when you think how nice it is that they are playing together quietly, you suddenly realize that things have gotten too quiet.
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We asked for tales of play dates gone wrong on HuffPost Parents’ Facebook page and elsewhere. Here are some of the wildest stories, lightly edited for readability.
A leaky situation
New York mum Kimberly Schwartz and her husband went to pick up their three-year-old from an after-school play date at a friend’s house. After they arrived, the adults chatted in the kitchen while the kids played upstairs. Then, “my husband pointed out a leak coming from the ceiling. The wall was yellow where it was leaking,” said Schwartz.
“My daughter was having so much fun she decided to opt out of using the bathroom and had wet herself in the exact spot upstairs where there was a gap in the molding. She had made it rain urine in their house. And now it’s all I can think of when I visit.”
An eerie glow
When Tammy Greenwood-Stewart of San Diego arranged a play date for her youngest child, then six, she bought glow sticks for entertainment. It worked, but “the two kids chewed the glow sticks,” Greenwood-Stewart said, “and their mouths, tongues, stuffed animals and bedding were all luminescent for hours.”
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She said that the parents “Googled like crazy” but the kids were unharmed, adding that her child has since grown into an 18-year-old adult.
Playing referee
When her boys were 10 and eigh years old, Suzanne Brown of Austin, Texas, invited two brothers at those same ages to their house for a play date — but things quickly turned violent.
“Our guests got into such a horrible physical fight with each other that my husband actually had to physically separate them,” said Brown.
“The only way we could keep things from restarting was to move the younger boys to a different part of the house and keep them there.”
When Brown and her husband explained to the guests’ mother what had happened, she responded nonchalantly, “Oh, they get rowdy sometimes.”
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Is that a wipe?
Lauren Woods of Washington agreed to babysit a friend’s three-year-old son at the boy’s house. Her own daughter was two at the time.
“He went to the bathroom by himself and said he didn’t need help, and naive person that I was, I believed him,” said Woods.
Later, when she entered the bathroom, Woods discovered that her charge had “gone number two and reached into his mom’s makeup to wipe himself.” When her friend texted to see if everything was going okay, Woods responded, “Yes, but I’m throwing your mascara away — please don’t try to retrieve it.“
Wisely, her friend texted back, “OK, I don’t want to know!”
When a play date is not a play date
Ashley Austrew of Omaha, Nebraska, once brought her kids to another family’s home for what she believed was a play date. She was invited to stay, but while the kids had fun playing, Austrew was subjected to what she generously called “a surprise MLM sales pitch.”
“I had to sit through a presentation about this mom’s multilevel marketing company and get pressured to buy things from her. I’m extremely introverted and really don’t know how to remove myself from awkward situations, so I just politely faked interest,” said Austrew. “It was painful.”
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Paul Biris via Getty Images
When the kids are playing together quietly, it’s not always a good sign.
A dress-up surprise
Sarah Zimmerman of California was chatting with other parents in her living room when she realized that they hadn’t seen their children for a bit, and things were suspiciously quiet.
Then, “my kid came out from the back of our house wearing my teddy,” she said. “It had been in a nondescript gray bag on the upper shelf of my closet. Delightful.”
Keeping everybody safe
Leah Cate of Portland, Oregon, recalled that shortly after her two boys were placed with her home as foster children, the family learned that the pair had two sisters also in foster care.
“We invited the girls over for a play date as soon as possible,” said Cate. This meant four children in the house, ages 6, 4, 3 and 2.
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In what Cate described as “the happy chaos of reuniting,” the children “locked us out of the house in front of their social worker, who had come by to check on us. She found us panicking on the porch.”
But the story has the happiest of endings. “We all coached the kids about how to unlock the door, the worker had a great sense of humour, the girls soon came to live with their brothers, and after being in care for six years we adopted them all,” said Cate, who added, “I’m tired just remembering.”
Feelin’ free
Keaton Erin Buster hosted a get-together at her home when her son was preschool age.
“It was summer, so we were all hanging out on the back deck enjoying a barbecue,” she remembered.
“My son announced that he needed to go to the bathroom. I told him ‘OK’ and thought nothing of it. The next thing I know, he’s dropped his pants and is peeing off the deck in front of everyone!”
Buster says she yelled: “Nooo! Not there!”
He son gave her a bewildered look and said: “Why?? You always let me do it!”
“I died of embarrassment twice in the span of about eight seconds,” said Buster.
What happens in the woods…
Canada-based Ashley Owens recalled a celebration for the end of the school year where her son “pooped in the woods instead of going inside to do his business.”
The act might have remained secret, but “one of his friends put it on the end of a stick and chased other kids around with it,” said Owens.
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Don’t drink that!
HuffPost reader Rai Mitchell’s daughter was in elementary school when she hosted a sleepover with one of the girl’s friends.
“I walked around the corner to see the child mixing a ‘potion’ concoction consisting of cough medicine, mouthwash and soda that she had intended to give to my child to drink,” she said.
Mitchell was shocked; she had figured that the girls were old enough to know to stay out of the medicine cabinet. But while they had the know-how to open all the safety caps on the bottles, they lacked the wisdom to understand that actually consuming the potion was a bad idea.
Unfortunately, the evening ended badly when Mitchell called off the slumber party. The friend “went fully feral, lashing out and refusing to comply,” said Mitchell, who eventually calmed the child down and drove her home.
It’s the thought that Counts?
Daniela of Cambridge, England, shared that she took her two daughters, ages five and three, to a play date with several other girls.
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“At the end of it, the mum who hosted us gave the guests … Christmas presents. My girls received one present to share,” she said.
“It was a present for the ‘family.’ A big drama followed by. My 3-year-old could not understand that it was a shared present, and my oldest wanted to carry it home by herself. They both cried all the way home.”
Me want cookie!
Another parent from Portland shared the story of an “impromptu” outdoor play date with their children, ages five and three, and a neighbour’s 3-year-old. One of their kids asked for a bite of the cookie that the neighbour child was holding — “and accidentally bit his thumb in the process. There was a little bit of blood.”
Of course, “the other mum was understandably upset,” perhaps not believing that the reader’s child had asked for the bite of cookie.
There were no further play dates between the families.
After almost 10 months of war, the impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine’s children is truly devastating.
The UN believes around 400 children have been killed and more than 700 have been left with life-changing injuries since Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine.
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And, as the war is ongoing – making it harder to gauge the full impact of the atrocities in Ukraine – agencies believe the real figures are much higher.
Three Ukrainian photographers – Anastasia Vlasova, Alina Smutko, and Nina Sologubenko – have captured how children are coping this Christmas for Save The Children.
According to one mother, Oksana*, her eight-year-old daughter’s hair has started to turn grey from the stress.
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“Look at my elder daughter, she is only eight and she has grey hair. I do not tell her, but when I braid her hair, I burst into tears, because she is a little child and they saw such things,” she told the photographers.
“It was very scary sitting in the basement, knowing that if – God forbid – the house was hit, you would be buried. You worried about yourself at that point, you’re scared for your children.”
Twelve-year-old Karina* also told the photographers: “There’s going to be something lacking. You know, the atmosphere of Ukrainian Christmas.”
Olha*, mother of seven, told Save The Children: “This year the mood isn’t festive. We just wish the war would be over, to live peacefully.
“We don’t want anything, no Christmas, no New Year. How can we celebrate? People are dying.”
She said that at night they “fear every rustle”.
Here are just seven images which provide a snapshot into the lives of Ukrainian children under attack from Russia right now.
Save The Children
15-year-old Dmytro* was one of several children interviewed for Save The Children.
Save The Children
Dmytro* lives with his mother and six younger siblings in northern Ukraine, near the border with Russia and Belarus.
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Save The Children
A view of *Dmytro’s house that burned down, near Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Save The Children
Three photographers have shared a harrowing insight into life in Ukraine right now.
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Dmytro*’s brother Taras*, four, sits by the wall behind the heating stove at home near Chernihiv, Ukraine.
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Elena*, 36, sits for a portrait with her two-year-old daughter Vira* in their flat in Suceava county, northern Romania
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Vira*, two, sits in her kitchen for a portrait in Suceava county, northern Romania
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Elena*, 36, hugs her daughter Vira*, two, in the bathroom at their home Suceava county, northern Romania
The difficulties Ukrainian children are facing during this tumultuous period has not gone unnoticed in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video address on the first day of the new school year back in September. He said: “They stole part of your childhood, part of your youth…
“But you are free. You always will be. So be worthy of your will – and of our Ukraine.”
*Names have been changed to protect their identity.
In the past few years we’ve seen mental healthand therapy content explode online. As the stigma towards therapy decreases, people are using social media to share the beauty that can come out of sitting down with a professional and talking.
Among those sharing videos, are therapists and counsellors who want to reach a wider audience.
As someone who has been in therapy, being able to watch content linked to anxiety has helped and encouraged me to continue to do the internal work. And let’s face it, accessing therapy can be both arduous and expensive – especially if you’re early in your career or you’re facing long NHS waiting lists – so these videos are a way for people to start work on themselves today, without paying a hefty fee.
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However, there’s been recent debate around how therapists are using social media. There’s a big difference between a therapist who shares five tips for coping with anxiety – and a therapist who retells their client’s life story for likes. (And no, I won’t be sharing examples of the latter).
slightly concerned about the amount of doctors, nurses, & therapists trying to go viral on tiktok & insta…can at least *one* segment of society be, like, healthy and grounded enough to maybe not need validation from strangers via 15-second clips with spongebob music
I had some students confide in me that their THERAPISTS were making fun of them on Tiktok. They were so completely traumatized, and I’m not sure they will even regain the ability to trust people in authority again. I would never make fun of a student.
Increasingly, it feels like it’s becoming normalised for therapists to speak about their clients in their social media, which has made people wonder how ethical this is.
“Therapists are not supposed to be using their clients to become influencers,” one therapist (@QueeringPsych) said on Twitter.
“Sharing helpful info (without generalising or diagnosing strangers) is great. Making your clients wonder if you’re gonna talk about them affects the relationship,” he added.
Therapists aren’t the only ones using social media to speak about their profession. American nurses recently came under fire after sharing their patient ‘icks’ on TikTok.
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No job is perfect and being a nurse is a demanding job. But where is the line between raising awareness of the challenges of your profession and speaking about real-life patients? Does it matter if they’re unnamed? Or does it still cross a line?
Vuma Phiri, who is a 25-year-old paralegal from Western Australia, thinks the content therapists make is starting to go overboard.
“There are certain client-facing careers that need to avoid speaking about the people who come to see them because they visit you at their most vulnerable. It’s unethical to use their vulnerability to go viral,” Phiri says.
However, she shares that she’s benefitted from therapy content but mainly the therapists who give general advice without mentioning their clients’ experiences.
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“You can definitely reach your audience well by giving out advice based on your knowledge rather than specifically speaking on those who come see you,” she says.
Phiri also says she’d be angry if her therapist used her story for a viral video. “The security I feel signing a confidentiality agreement would be breached by you speaking about me online on an app as far reaching as TikTok, even if I was anonymised.”
Crystal*, who has been going to therapy for some years, understands how these videos can help others, but “when its explicitly prefaced and explained as the story of a particular person, I think it’s invasive and an informal violation of trust,” she says.
She explains that she would feel violated if her therapist shared her story online. “How can I be baring my soul and telling a professional things that even my close family and friends don’t know and they’re using it as gist online for engagement?” asks the 24-year-old painter from London. “Even though only I would know it was about me, I would feel quite exposed.”
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She adds that she’s never found hearing people’s personal stories in this context helpful. “It feels like entertainment and the focus is always on how juicy the story is rather than the healing/resolution/lesson to be learned,” Crystal adds.
Caroline Jesper, who’s head of professional standards at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s (BACP), believes social media channels can be a great way to connect and communicate with people, and for therapists, it can be a good way to network with other professionals.
“However, it’s important therapists keep in mind their ethical values and principles while doing so,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“They shouldn’t breach confidentiality or publish anything on social media which could identify a client. They should also be aware that even when anonymising aspects of their client work, a client may see this and recognise themselves in being said. This would be a breach of trust in the therapeutic relationship.”
Are therapists allowed to speak about clients online?
Counselling Directory member Jennifer Warwick shares that there’s been some healthy debate amongst therapists about how, or if, they should use social media.
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“Some stay well away, while others see it as a way of connecting and engaging with people,” Warwick says. “It’s a way of showing ourselves as being human and relatable.”
Therapists in the UK are bound by ethical guidelines set out by the governing boards, such as the BACP, so in theory this should prevent people crossing a line.
“Client confidentiality and privacy are key, so we need to make sure that no information that might identify the client is used,” Warwick explains.
“The BACP even have specific guidance for its members, which includes how social media relates to its ethical framework, maintaining clients’ privacy and confidentiality, as well as appropriate boundaries.”
But if you’re viewing this kind of content on TikTok – or you’re in therapy yourself – how can you judge when a therapist has shared too much?
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“It’s vital for therapists to tread very carefully around this and not to share anyidentifiable information about clients, past or current.” Warwick adds.
“Imagine seeing a post from your therapist and thinking ‘they’re talking about me!’ even without them giving a name or location.”
She emphasis on the the importance of a health relationship between therapists and clients. “It makes no sense to have a client or potential client feel that we might not be safe to work with when they see us posting about a current client.
“It can however be helpful to talk about general themes or issues on social media that we work with, as this helps clients find the right therapist for them.”
Should therapists ask their clients if they can speak about them online?
“It’s definitely good to set boundaries with clients around social media use, for example, not responding to DMs or accepting friend requests,” Warwick says.
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“Ideally, this would be stated as part of the therapist’s social media and also as part of the agreements made when starting with a client.”
“It might be good to discuss with a client how we use social media, to be there to answer any questions they might have and put their minds at ease so they know we are bound by ethical guidelines in our work, which protects our clients’ privacy and confidentiality.”
If you have concerns about your therapist, the BACP advises trying to speak to your therapist first to try to resolve the issue directly with them. But if you think confidentiality has been breached, you can make a formal complaint.
Help and support:
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
Choosing the right oil makes all the difference between latkes that are golden and savoury and ones that end up oily and rancid. Using schmaltz, aka rendered chicken fat, is the traditional way to fry latkes, imparting a rich flavour to the potato pancakes. Canola and peanut oil are more popular and widely available, while some experts also tout olive oil, a more controversial pick. HuffPost interviewed several chefs to determine the best oil for frying latkes.
Option 1: Canola Oil
Grown from the rapeseed plant, this traditionally affordable oil has seen a recent spike in price due to the war in Ukraine. While canola is a type of vegetable oil, it’s not the same thing as vegetable oil. However, you can swap vegetable oil (typically a blend of soybean, corn, safflower or other oils) for canola in a pinch, since both have high smoke points (meaning you can cook it at a high temperature) and a neutral flavour.
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Jeremy Salamon, the chef and owner of Agi’s Counter, a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, told HuffPost that canola oil is usually his “go-to choice.”
“That’s what my mother uses, what my grandmothers used,” Salamon said. “It has a higher smoking point and lasts longer. You will get more flavor out of schmaltz, but canola is a sure thing.”
Phoebe Raileanu of Deli and Bakery in Sunset Valley, Texas, also uses canola. “Canola oil is the oil I grew up frying my latkes in. It makes for crispy, light latkes with a soft inside. Canola oil can also heat up to a high enough temperature to cook the whole latke through.”
Canola gets bonus points because you can reuse it. Simply strain the oil of any potato bits between uses. Shannon Sarna, the author of Modern Jewish Comfort Food, explained, “Just use a fine mesh sieve to strain out any pieces of food in the oil, store in a container at room temperature and use one to two additional times depending on how much cooking debris is left in the oil.”
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Option 2: Peanut Oil
Often given a bad rap for flavouring foods with a peanuty taste, peanut oil “usually has a pretty neutral flavor, if not a little bit nutty,” said chef David Benstock from restaurant Il Ritorno in St. Petersburg, Florida. Refined peanut oil is often safe for those with nut allergies, as the oil is bleached and deodorised, removing the allergenic parts. Many restaurants and fast-food joints use peanut oil to deep fry, and it may be your favourite oil as a result.
Andrew Dana, the CEO and co-founder of Call Your Mother Deli in Bethesda, Maryland, told HuffPost, “Winner winner (shmaltz?) chicken dinner! I LOVE frying with peanut oil. I love to fry my latkes at a super high temp, and this oil holds up to the task. This allows me to make super crispy latkes without an overpowering oil flavour.”
Creating a light, crisp texture, peanut oil comes in second place for most chefs only out of an abundance of caution for those with nut allergies. As Raileanu explained, “peanut oil is the hippest oil to fry anything these days. It does make for a perfect texture on the latke, especially if you are deep frying.”
Option 3: Schmaltz
Traditionally used in Ashkenazi (or Eastern European) cooking, schmaltz is rendered poultry fat. Described as “liquid gold,” the lush and flavourful fat acts as a butter substitute for those who follow Jewish dietary laws, which forbid dairy and meat from being used in the same meal. Look for schmaltz at your local butcher shop or in the refrigerated section of some supermarkets.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
If you follow a kosher diet and like adding sour cream to your latkes, you’ll want to avoid frying with schmaltz.
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According to Raileanu, this old-school option might not work for some followers of the faith. “Traditionally, latkes are eaten with applesauce and sour cream. I was raised in a kosher household, so this option would never work for us ― no mixing meat and dairy!”
While schmaltz is beloved for its rich flavor, deep frying with the fat could be too much of a good thing. “Sounds good in theory,” said Dana, “but it is just too much in practice! When I make latkes, I want to be able to eat at least six, and when fried with schmaltz, they get a little too rich for me.”
Looking for some of that umami schmaltz flavor without the heavy finish? Sarna recommends combining the oils for the best of both worlds, using two-thirds canola oil and one-third schmaltz when frying.
If you fry with schmaltz, be aware of the lower smoke point, which means your latkes can burn quickly. Novice latke makers may want to try another oil like canola.
Option 4: Olive Oil (Your Last Resort)
An unexpected oil for frying, olive oil is typically not recommended since it has a lower smoke point (176-210°C/350-410°F) relative to the other oils (200-230°C/ 400-450°F). (Basically, olive oil can’t be heated as hot as other oils without breaking down, which makes food taste burned).
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If you’re frying with olive oil, keep the temperature low as latkes can burn and turn bitter, according to Salamon. It will also require a patient chef.
Raileanu cautioned: “I have used it once or twice in an emergency, but it has a lower burning point. So keeping the pan on low makes the latkes take forever, and frankly it’s not usually worth the wait.”
Frying typically requires larger quantities of oil, which can be prohibitive for pricey olive oil. Depending on your preference, the pungent and spicy flavor of olive oil imparted onto the latkes may be a pro or a con. Benstock considers it a positive: “The biggest pro of using olive oil is that it has amazing flavor and a nice viscosity for cooking.”
Looking to honour the OG Hanukkah story? Olive oil was likely the oil that lasted the eight days.
“On Hanukkah, we Jews eat things that are fried (ie, latkes, jelly doughnuts or sufganiyot ) to commemorate the miracle of the oil,” Raileanu said. “So if you are trying to stick to the script, use olive oil. But you’ll be the only one!”
