Is it Kosher?
Title
Is it Kosher?
Creator
Innovations in Jewish Life Collections
Date
2023
Contributor
Gregg Drinkwater, Hilary Kalisman, Samira Mehta, Maggie Rosenau
Rights
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Format
Portable Document Format
Language
English
Text
Is it kosher?
Kosher food is food conforming to the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut. Resting on commandments outlined in the Bible, the laws of kashrut include three main principles:
1) Meat and dairy foods should not be mixed the same dish or meal. This also includes restrictions on using the same dishes, utensils or cooking implements for both meat and dairy foods. Some foods, such as fruits and vegetable, but also fish, are called "pareve" and are classified as neither meat nor milk and can be eaten with either.
2) The world’s animals, sea life, and birds are divided into groups of permitted animals and forbidden, or “treyf” animals. For example, pigs, rabbits, birds of prey, shark, shell fish, turtles, and eels, among many other species, are treyf. Cows, sheep, chickens, goats, ducks, and others are permitted.
3) To be kosher, rules governing the ritual slaughter of permitted animals must be followed, blood must be drained or removed (blood is considered treyf), and only certain parts of the animal are kosher. Hunted animals or animals that died of natural causes are treyf (even if from a permitted species) because they have not been killed under the system of ritual slaughter.
There are more detailed specification and variations on how Jews implement the laws, based on both geography and level of observance. With the advent of industrialized food and supermarkets, regional and national agencies emerged that offer kosher certification for mass-produced food products. Agencies use symbols and logos to label food as “certified kosher,” meaning that it was produced under strict conformity with the laws of kashrut. The Orthodox Union is the largest of many such certification agency in the United States. Although only a minority of American Jews observe the laws of kashrut, the kosher food industry in America has experienced remarkable growth in recent decades.
Most certified-kosher products are purchased by non-Jews, many of whom mistakenly believe that kosher certification ensures the foods are “cleaner” or “healthier,” which is not always true—if produced in the right way, French fries are kosher!
Kosher food is food conforming to the Jewish dietary laws of kashrut. Resting on commandments outlined in the Bible, the laws of kashrut include three main principles:
1) Meat and dairy foods should not be mixed the same dish or meal. This also includes restrictions on using the same dishes, utensils or cooking implements for both meat and dairy foods. Some foods, such as fruits and vegetable, but also fish, are called "pareve" and are classified as neither meat nor milk and can be eaten with either.
2) The world’s animals, sea life, and birds are divided into groups of permitted animals and forbidden, or “treyf” animals. For example, pigs, rabbits, birds of prey, shark, shell fish, turtles, and eels, among many other species, are treyf. Cows, sheep, chickens, goats, ducks, and others are permitted.
3) To be kosher, rules governing the ritual slaughter of permitted animals must be followed, blood must be drained or removed (blood is considered treyf), and only certain parts of the animal are kosher. Hunted animals or animals that died of natural causes are treyf (even if from a permitted species) because they have not been killed under the system of ritual slaughter.
There are more detailed specification and variations on how Jews implement the laws, based on both geography and level of observance. With the advent of industrialized food and supermarkets, regional and national agencies emerged that offer kosher certification for mass-produced food products. Agencies use symbols and logos to label food as “certified kosher,” meaning that it was produced under strict conformity with the laws of kashrut. The Orthodox Union is the largest of many such certification agency in the United States. Although only a minority of American Jews observe the laws of kashrut, the kosher food industry in America has experienced remarkable growth in recent decades.
Most certified-kosher products are purchased by non-Jews, many of whom mistakenly believe that kosher certification ensures the foods are “cleaner” or “healthier,” which is not always true—if produced in the right way, French fries are kosher!
Files
Citation
Innovations in Jewish Life Collections, “Is it Kosher?,” IJL Digital Exhibits, accessed April 30, 2024, https://embodiedjudaism.omeka.net/items/show/127.