sufganiyot.
As soon as the Israeli Hanukkah doughnuts start appearing in bakeries at the beginning of the Hebrew month of Kislev, weeks before the festival, Kent launches into his tastings. He samples the gamut, from the ubiquitous red jelly-filled to the decadent halva or dulce de leche-flavored, at gas stations or at high end patisseries.
“I never eat an entire donut” he wrote via e-mail. By the time Hanukkah actually starts, he’s done with doughnuts and has latched on to latkes.
Of course, each oily food in Kent’s annual routine is a traditional Chanuka treat among Jewish communities around the world. The oil used to fry each dish recalls the miracle of the oil lasting in the rededicated Jerusalem Temple in the second century BCE.