KOSHER FOODS

This reverence for life is evidenced in two other aspects of kashrut. Leviticus 17:11 states “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Since the blood is the life we are forbidden to eat the blood. Through the process of koshering, the blood must be removed from the animal before eating the meat. “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21) is stated and restated because of the basic cruelty involved in combining the life-giving element of an animal—its milk—with the death element—its flesh. Over time, this separation of milk and meat was expanded to prohibit any preparing, cooking, and/or eating of the two elements together.

It is very important to remember that this section is not, and makes no pretense of being, an exhaustive approach to kashrut. Thousands of pages have been written about the subject. This section has only tried to point to a general direction—to make available the major issues and to direct the reader to more detailed material.

VEGETABLES

In accordance with Genesis 1:29, quoted above, all vegetables and fruits are kosher. Not only that, they are genderless and may be served with either milk or meat foods. The only thing to worry about is that insects haven’t invaded your food, since food invaded by insects should not be eaten. For further elucidation see A Guide to the Jewish Dietary Laws by Rabbi Dr. Y. Kemelman.

FISH

Any variety of fish that has both fins and scales is considered kosher. A list of some common kosher fish and some common treif fish follows. In addition, although fish is regarded as pareve, one may not cook fish together with meat. Fish may, however, be cooked in or with milk.

FOWL

As in the case of meat, fowl and birds must be ritually slaughtered by a qualified shohet in order to be kosher. Any animal or fowl that is killed in any other way or that dies a natural death is not kosher. In general, fowl is kashered according to the rules given in the next section for meat. First though, for fowl:

a. remove all innards from the center cavity b. remove neck

If you plan on koshering the feet, remove claws and skin from them.

EGGS

Eggs from nonkosher birds are not kosher. This includes ostrich eggs and seagull eggs. In addition, eggs containing blood spots may not be used. The reason for this is a corollary to the prohibition against eating blood. If you crack an egg and find a blood spot in it, throw it away.

EGG HINT: Generally, the best policy is, if you have a number of eggs to crack, crack them one by one into a glass. As you crack each egg, check it for blood spots and then add it to the rest of your recipe. If you don’t, and are adding eggs directly into the bowl and the last egg has a bloodspot, you will have to throw out everything in the bowl and start again.

MEAT

1. All animals which both chew their cud and have a split hoof are kosher. This includes cattle, sheep, goats, and deer. Animals that are treif include horses, donkeys, camels, and pigs. 2. Meat must be killed according to the laws of shehitah; otherwise it is not regarded as kosher. This means that eating Colonel Sanders’ chicken at KFC is a no-no.3. Such properly slaughtered meat is available at a kosher butcher. Sometimes your local supermarket may carry a limited stock of kosher foods, among which might be EMPIRE chickens, MORRISON and SCHIFF, BARNET and BRODIE, HEBREW NATIONAL hot dogs, salami, bologna, etc. 4. Once the meat is properly slaughtered, it must be kashered—soaked and salted to remove excess blood. Frequently a kosher butcher will perform this service for you, but if he hasn’t, it is up to you to do it. By doing the koshering yourself, you gain the advantage of caring for your own meat and taking a part in the kashrut process.

How to kasher meat:The process of koshering is really much simpler than you might believe. It takes only an hour and a half and requires the following four objects: coarse “kosher” salt, water, a deep tub for soaking, and an inclined board. Step 1: Rinse the meat thoroughly and put it in the tub with enough cold tap water so that all the meat is covered. Include soup bones which might appear to be meatless but which must be kashered too. This process of soaking softens the tissue in the meat. Step 2: After a half hour, drain the meat and lay it on the inclined board so that the blood will be able to drain away from the meat. Step 3: Salt the meat on both sides with a fine covering of the coarse salt. Include all crevices, nooks, crannies, and hidden caverns that the meal might contain. The salt will draw the blood from the meat. Step 4: Let the meat drain, untouched, on the board for an hour. Step 5: At the end of that time, was off the salt. Side note: The heart must be cut and rinsed free of all blood before salting.

LIVER

There is a special way to kasher liver that is even easier than koshering meat. Simply take a shallow pan and buy a top for it that has holes at regularly spaced intervals (a broiling pan is excellent). Rinse the liver and score it in different directions. Salt the liver thoroughly with the coarse salt and place on the pan with the holes. The blood will drip into the pan below as the liver broils. Broil until all the blood is drained from the liver and the meat is edible (it should have a crust on the outside). Incidentally, the utensils used for this purpose should be set aside and used only for koshering and nothing else. The liver may be broiled to the point of edibility and then cooked any way you want. The reason for treating liver in a manner different from other meats is that liver has an excess of blood, and the most effective way to remove blood is by broiling it away.

BROILING: SALT-FREE DIETS

Any meat you broil does not need to be soaked and salted. For people on salt-free diets, simply broil the meat to the point of edibility.

SEPARATION OF MILK AND MEAT

1. The separation of milk and meat utensils as well as the separation of milk and dairy foods from meat ones is as important as eating kosher meat. 2. For this reason you should check all the products you use in order to ascertain their gender. For example, many white breads, even if kosher, can contain milk or milk products. You should therefore be careful when serving them at a meal where meat is served.3. Margarine is not always pareve—unless specifically stated. Very frequently if you check the ingredients you will discover that milk, milk byproducts, or nonfat milk is used.4. Lactose, lactic acid, sodium caseinate, and whey may be milk byproducts: BEWARE!5. The custom is to create a further separation between meat and milk by waiting a certain specified amount of time after eating meat before eating any dairy foods. The amount of time varies, depending on where your family came from in Europe and what your family tradition is. German Jews generally wait three hours, East European Jews wait six hours, and Dutch Jews wait one hour. There are many variations, but these seem to be the most widely accepted waiting periods. If you do not have a family tradition, create one of your own.

KOSHER SYMBOLS ON FOODS

KOSHER KITCHEN

Some people take kosher food rules quite seriously and have specially designed kitchens to keep milk and meat refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, pots and pans, serving dishes, and utensils separate.