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Kosher
Kosher or Kashrut is the body of Jewish law that deals with what foods can
and cannot be eaten. Kosher comes from the Hebrew root Kaf-Shin-Resh, meaning
"fit," "proper," or “correct,” and describes foods that meet these standards.
Food that is not kosher is called treyf, literally meaning torn, as in animals
torn (killed) by other animals.
The basic underlying rules of kosher are fairly simple for those who buy meat
at a kosher butcher and buy only kosher certified products at the market, as
the only thing to think about will be the separation of meat and dairy. Keeping
kosher becomes difficult when eating in a non-kosher restaurant, or at the home
of a person who does not keep kosher, as lack of knowledge about the host's
ingredients and the food preparation techniques make it very difficult to keep
kosher.
In Judaism, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil,
pure and defiled, the sacred and the profane, is very important and imposing
rules on what you can and cannot eat ingrains self control of even the most
basic, primal instincts. The kosher laws derive from a few straightforward rules:
Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh,
organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.
Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in
accordance with Jewish law.
All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is
eaten.
Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
Meat (the flesh of mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits,
vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to
some views, fish may not be served with meat).
Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy,
and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may
not be used with kosher food.
Grape products, such as wine, made by non-Jews may not be consumed, unless
it is mevushaled (boiled)
The Torah specifies that the animals with split hooves and also ruminate are
considered kosher, all others are not kosher. For example, the camel, the rock
badger, the hare and the pig are not kosher. Sheep, cattle, goats and deer are
kosher. Shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all
forbidden. Fish must have fins and scales to be considered kosher, so tuna,
carp, salmon and herring are all permitted; shark is not. For birds, the criteria
is less clear as the Torah lists forbidden birds, but does not specify why these
birds are forbidden, though all of the birds on the list are birds of prey or
scavengers. Birds not on the list are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks
and turkeys. Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects (in the Torah a few
“winged swarming things” – insects – are permitted but it is no longer certain
which ones they are so all have been forbidden) are all forbidden. Any product
derived from these forbidden animals, such as their milk, eggs, fat, or organs,
also cannot be eaten. Rennet, an enzyme used to harden cheese, is often obtained
from non-kosher animals, thus kosher hard cheese can be difficult to find.
The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with
kosher law. Animals that died of natural causes or that were killed by other
animals may not be eaten. Additionally, the animal must have no disease or flaws
in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish.
Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter
is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root
Shin-Chet-Tav, meaning to destroy or kill. The method of slaughter is a quick,
deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or
unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two seconds,
and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible. Another
advantage of shechitah is that ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood,
which is also necessary to render the meat kosher. The shochet is not simply
a butcher; he must be a pious man, well trained in Jewish law, particularly
as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and
the shochet are often the same person.
Kosher law prohibits consumption of blood as the life of the animal is contained
in the blood so it is necessary to remove all blood from the flesh of kosher
animals, however this only applies to the blood of birds and mammals, not to
fish blood. The first step in this process occurs at the time of slaughter,
and the remaining blood must be removed, either by broiling or soaking and salting.
Liver is only made kosher by broiling because it has so much blood in it and
such complex blood vessels. Removing all the blood must be completed within
72 hours after slaughter, and before the meat is frozen or ground. Most butchers
and all frozen food vendors take care of the soaking and salting. Eggs with
a blood spot may not be eaten so it is a good idea to break an egg into a container
and check it before putting it in a heated pan, because by putting a bloodstained
egg into a heated pan, the pan becomes non-kosher.
The sciatic nerve and its adjoining blood vessels may not be eaten and since
the process of removing this nerve is time consuming and not cost-effective,
most American slaughterers sell the hindquarters to non-kosher butchers. A certain
kind of fat, known as chelev, surrounds the vital organs and the liver, may
not be eaten and is removed by kosher butchers. Modern scientists have actually
discovered biochemical differences between chelev, and the fat found around
the muscles and under the skin.
Kosher law prohibits cooking and eating meat and dairy, and poultry and dairy
together, and they cannot be served on the same plates because it is considered
to unhealthy. Though fish and dairy cannot be cooked together, it is permissible
to eat them together and is quite common. Dairy and eggs may also be eaten together.
The separation also includes the utensils, pots and pans with which the foods
are cooked, the plates and flatware from which they are eaten, the dishwashers
or dishpans in which they are cleaned, and the towels with which they are dried.
Kosher households have at least two sets of pots, pans and dishes: one for meat
and one for dairy. Kosher law dictates that one must wait a significant amount
of time, between 3-6 hours, between eating meat and dairy because fatty residues
and meat particles cling to the mouth. However, when eating dairy to meat, one
only has to rinse the mouth and eat a neutral solid like bread, unless the dairy
product in question is a type that clings to the mouth.
Utensils (pots, pans, plates, flatware, etc.) must also be kosher, as utensils
pick up the kosher "status" (meat, dairy, pareve, or treyf) of the food that
is cooked in it or eaten off of it, and transmits that status back to the next
food that is cooked in it or eaten off of it. Kosher status can be transmitted
from the food to the utensil or from the utensil to the food.
Stovetops and sinks routinely become non-kosher utensils, because they come
in contact with both meat and dairy in the presence of heat. Therefore, it is
necessary to use dishpans when cleaning dishes (they can’t be soaked directly
in the sink) and to use separate spoon rests and trivets when putting things
down on the stovetop.
Dishwashers can pose a problem for kosher households. Dishwashers can only
be used for both meat and dairy if they have a stainless steel interior and
there are a separate set of racks for meat and dairy. The dishwasher must be
run through one full cycle empty between meat to dairy or dairy to meat use.
Separate towels and potholders should be used for meat and dairy, but laundering
makes such items kosher, so they can simply be laundered between using them
for meat and dairy.
Kosher restrictions on grape products derive from laws against using products
of idolatry, as wine was commonly used in rituals of all ancient religions,
and was routinely sanctified for pagan purposes while it was being processed.
For this reason, use of wines and other grape products made and served by non-Jews
is prohibited in kosher law. A leniency is allowed if the products of wine and
grape juice are mevushalled (boiled). Whole grapes are not a problem. This rule
only affects wine and grape juice, however many fruit drinks are often sweetened
with grape juice. Additionally, some baking powders are not kosher, because
baking powder is sometimes made with cream of tartar, a by-product of wine making.
Products certified as kosher are labeled with a mark called a hekhsher that
identifies the rabbi or organization that certified the product. Approximately
3/4 of all prepackaged foods have some kind of kosher certification. The most
controversial certification is the K, a plain letter K found on products asserted
to be kosher. A letter of the alphabet cannot be trademarked, so any manufacturer
can put a K on a product. Most other kosher certification marks are trademarked
and cannot be used without the permission of the certifying organization who
assures that the product is kosher according to their standards, but standards
do vary. The acceptance of each hekhsher varies with the level of observance.
A product with a hekhsher does not automatically make it acceptable for all
those who are keeping kosher.
Certifying organizations may also indicate whether the product is fleishig
(meat), milchig (dairy) or pareve (neutral). Dairy products will frequently
have a D or the word Dairy next to the kashrut symbol. Meat will have the word
Meat or an M near the symbol. Pareve products will have the word Pareve (or
Parev) near the symbol, but not a P as P means kosher for Passover. Kosher certification
organizations charge manufacturers a small fee for kosher certification to cover
the expenses of researching the ingredients in the product and inspecting the
facilities used to manufacture the product. Some complain that these certification
costs increase the cost of the products to non-kosher consumers, however, the
actual cost of such certification is so small relative to the overall cost of
production that most manufacturers cannot even calculate it and the cost is
more than justified by the increase in sales it produces. Many Muslims and vegetarians
also rely on kosher certification, as well as many other people who think that
kosher products are cleaner or healthier than non-kosher products.
Dietary kosher laws have beneficial health effects. The laws regarding kosher
slaughter are so sanitary that kosher butchers and slaughterhouses have been
exempted from many USDA regulations. In addition, there is some evidence that
eating meat and dairy together causes digestive problems, and no other food
preparation technique reproduces the health benefit of the kosher law of eating
meat and dairy separately.
The following are benefits of being kosher:
· Kosher law forbids eating animals that died without proper slaughter and
the draining of the blood (which is a medium for the bacteria growth. Kosher
law also forbids eating animals with health problems, shellfish, mollusks, lobsters,
and stone crabs (known to spread typhoid and a source for urticara (a neurotic
skin affliction)), and forbids eating milk and meat together – foods which digest
at different rates and are difficult for the body to process.
· Kosher law teaches sensitivity to the feelings of animals – a mother and
her young are forbidden to be slaughtered on the same day, the limb of an animal
must not be removed while it is still alive, when slaughtering an animal, it
must be done with the least possible pain by using a special knife so sharp
that even the slightest nick in the blade renders it impermissible and this
prevents pain to the animal.
· Kosher law teaches that you are what you eat. Non-kosher foods are believed
to block the spiritual potential of the soul and kosher meat is believed to
have “sparks of holiness” incorporated into the body.
· Kosher law teaches discipline because if people can be disciplined in what
and when they eat, than they will be disciplined in other areas of life as well.
Kosher laws originate in the Torah and have been observed by Jews for over
3,300 years. If in doubt, one should refer to a rabbi.
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