close

Israeli Jelly Donuts “Sufganiyot”

Sufganiyot, also known as, Israeli jelly donuts or “Hanukkah donuts” are deep-fried jelly donuts that are traditionally eaten in Israel during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Here the oil used to fry the donuts, like a traditional latke, is reminiscent of the oil that miraculously burned— according to the Hanukkah story—in the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.

Israeli jelly donuts

Filled with your favorite fruit jam and sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, these easy-to-make holiday treats never disappoint.  The custom of eating oil-fried foods on Hanukkah is an old tradition that has been around since ancient times.

I have always known donuts symbolized the miracle of the burning oil lamps in the ancient Holy Temple in Jerusalem. But  I did not know the whole jelly story, until now.

Israeli jelly donuts

In the 16th century, jelly was added when sugar became cheaper and Europe experienced “a pastry revolution“. During that time Polish Jews started putting jelly in the donuts that they ate when celebrating Hanukkah.

Israeli jelly donuts

According to Jewish cookbook author Joan Nathan, it wasn’t until the creation of modern Israel that the tradition of eating sweet fried foods took off. During this time, Jewish leaders were trying to form a national identity. In doing so, they were trying to come up with foods and/or traditions that were distinctly Israeli. The creation of sufganiyot (which translates to mean “sponge” as in a sponge to soak up oil) is one of those very custom and personal, I’m thankful for it.Israeli jelly donuts

My recipe for Israeli jelly donuts is not simple, but it is a tasty one. Effort, patience, and time are required, but trust me, they are worth it. This is the kind of recipe kids should be involved in. But be prepared, they disappear much faster that way!

About the Author

Andrea Potischman

I am a professionally trained NYC chef turned CA mom and food blogger. I post about real food, with doable ingredient lists that are family friendly.

2 thoughts on "Israeli Jelly Donuts “Sufganiyot”"

  1. Avatar photo Victor Cerbins says:

    Thank you for the history and your recipe. My favorite donut!!❤️❤️

    1. Hi Victor- Thank you so much for reaching out and for your lovely compliment. So kind of you to take time yo reach out! This is one of my favorite blog recipes. The history behind food it is something I always like to talk about.

      Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season. -Andrea

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Policy

Simmer + Sauce reserves the right to remove or restrict comments that do not contribute constructively to the topic conversation, contain profanity or offensive language, personal attacks, or seek to promote a personal or unrelated business. Any post found to be in violation of any of these guidelines will be modified or removed without warning. When making a comment on my blog, you grant Simmer + Sauce permission to reproduce your content to our discretion, an example being for a possible endorsement or media kit purposes. If you don’t want your comment to be used for such purposes, please explicitly state this within the body of your comment. If you find evidence of copyright infringement in the comments of simmerandsauce.com, contact me and I will remove that in question promptly.