What is Kosher? What Makes foods Kosher?

Kosher in the Jewish religion means foods which are acceptable according to Jewish dietary laws. There are many laws in the Old Testament relating to permitted and forbidden foods and ways in which these may be prepared, and the sages who interpreted these laws, added several of their own, known as Rabbinic Laws, which are binding, if not quite as strict as the Torah Law itself. It is, despite this seeming to be a common myth..nothing to do with food being blessed by the rabbi or not. The only foodstuff to which a blessing is relevant is wine and the sabbath loaves. And these are blessed by the head of the household not a rabbi.

"If it wasn't for Jews, the world would be overrun by chickens"

We all know about pork not being allowed. What other foods are forbidden?

With regard to meat, it is easier to say which is permitted rather than forbidden! Our Torah tells us the signs of a kosher animal are that it chews its cud and has split hooves. Pigs have split hooves but do not chew their cud. Some other animals chew the cud but don't have split hooves. (camels, horses). Basically beef lamb and venison is allowed, rabbits and other small game animals are not. With birds only chickens, ducks and turkeys are permitted. Fish have to have both fins and scales in order to be kosher, thus ruling out shellfish, eels, sharks, sturgeon etc.

In order for meat and poultry to be kosher, it has also to be slaughtered in a special way, then the meat drained of blood and salted. Jews are not allowed to consume blood. This little known fact rather makes a lie of the middle ages "blood libel" which accused Jews of murdering gentile babies for their blood.

Do other foods have to be kosher?

Almost every prepared food comes under the laws of kosher, since in its preparation it might have had non kosher ingredients added, or have been prepared in utensils previously used for non kosher foods. The only foods that a Jew can eat without worry are fruits and vegetables, and even these have to be carefully checked for insect infestations. Eating insects, even by accident, is strictly forbidden. Therefore it is safer to buy groceries in a Kosher shop where the goods have been specially prepared and supervised. Bread, cheese, milk, almost every grocery item save for fruits and vegetables (fresh tinned or frozen) should ideally be supervised and have a "kosher" label affixed. It is possible to buy fresh and frozen vegetables that have been checked for insect infestations and have a kosher certification to that effect. The fresh veg comes mainly from Israel, the frozen from the USA. Nowadays many UK Kosher certification authorities, such as the London Beth Din, and the Federation of Synagogues, give kosher certification to generally available goods, and some even have a generic "kosher" symbol on, (eg: KLBD) rather like the OU symbol in the USA.

What about drinks?

Almost all soft drinks are perfectly in order and do not need supervision unless they contain grape juice. Alchoholic drinks too, with the exception of wine and wine based drinks. This is because wine has holy associations in the Jewish religion. Wine and non alcoholic grape juice must be prepared and bottled by Jews to be kosher.

What about food preparation?

The Old Testament tells us that we must not cook a kid in its mother's milk. The sages interpreted this as keeping all meat and dairy products separate in preparation, cooking and eating. A kosher meal will not contain both meat and dairy products in the same meal. In order to keep them separate, a kosher kitchen must have two sets of all dishes and utensils; one for meat and one for dairy.

Are there kosher restaurants?

Indeed, but usually only concentrated in areas with a high Jewish population. There can be many different kinds of kosher restaurant the same as non kosher; serving European, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Israeli or any kind of food.

Passover

Oy vey! Dont mention Passover! A very busy time for the Jewish family for no bread or flour based products are allowed so only matzoh, or unleavened bread is eaten, and the house must be cleared of all "leaven". It is a lovely festival once it begins, even though the preparation can be very hard work. It also means quite some imagination in things like cake baking since no flour is allowed. We make nuts cakes, and light as feather sponges that contain maybe a little potato starch but no real flour.

The children tend to miss their breakfast cereals on Passover (which are all grain based). An enterprising american firm came up with a vile cereal by the hopeful name of Crispios which my son, when small, consumed only to keep total starvation at bay. At the end of the eight days they are more than ready for their bowls of Frosties!

Interestingly enough, kosher is one of the Jewish laws that most Jews keep to a greater or lesser extent, no matter how far from their religion they have strayed. Whether they keep the sabbath or not, or go to synagogue, most Jews have at least some grasp of the concept of what eating kosher food is.