Kosherfest (2024)

FAQs

What isn't kosher? ›

Some Specifics: Kashrut prescribes that a large number of animals are not to be eaten. Any animal who has cloven hooves and chews its cud may be eaten; such animals as the camel, badger, hare and the pig then may not be eaten. Sheep, cattle, goats and deer are all kosher and may be eaten.

Certified for Passover and year-round use. Malic Acid-Granular • Tate & Lyle OUW3-57F155A Pareve Symbol required. Certified for Passover and year-round use.

The Torah expressly forbids Jews from eating insects (tolayim). In Leviticus 11:41, we are told, “And every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth is a detestable thing; it shall not be eaten.” Any food known to be subject to insect infestation, therefore, cannot be eaten until the insects have been removed.

In Hebrew, “kosher” means fit or proper. Kosher food is any food fit for consumption by Jewish people. The laws of kosher define which foods a person can and cannot eat, and also how they should produce and handle certain foods. The laws also state which combinations of foods people should avoid.

No. KFC is not kosher.

Cheese is common in the diet of many groups of Jews, especially Ashkenazi or Jews descended from Eastern Europe but also for non-Ashkenazi Jews. Shavuot (pronounced shah-voo-oht) which commemorates the spring harvest and the Jews receiving the Torah is unofficially known as the dairy holiday by Ashkenazi Jews.

Along with wheat, barley, rye and spelt, oats are one of the “five grains,” which can become chametz when brought into contact with water. On Passover, it is forbidden to eat or even own chametz. Oatmeal (and most other oat products) is therefore not kosher for Passover.

For chefs, MSG is a very useful ingredient when used appropriately and can really make food stand out. When sourced properly, MSG is a kosher ingredient and can be derived naturally as well.

– Many dairy products, like cheese and yogurt, are acceptable when they are not mixed with additives (like corn syrup). Dairy products cannot be mixed with meat.

That said, even though insects are not kosher for consumption, Judaism has some complimentary things to say about creepy crawlies. The sages tell us how King David wondered why G‑d created spiders and mosquitoes.

Why can Jews eat locusts? ›

How and by whom kosher locusts were eaten. Locusts were not considered a delicacy – rather they were food for the poor. It has been suggested that consuming locusts is permitted precisely because they destroy crops. Thus, if the locusts were to eat all one's crops, one could instead eat locusts and avoid starvation.

Like all reptiles and amphibians, alligators and crocodiles are not kosher. This means that their meat may not be consumed by Jewish people. It should be noted, however, that leather of a non-kosher animal is allowed.

Since the rabbis presume adult, rabbinic males to be normative, this immediately marks breast milk as worthy of consideration. Further, breast milk is the only bodily liquid kosher for human consumption, though, as we shall see, this is a complicated claim.

That also means not all ice cream is necessarily kosher—it must be certified as such. Want to know quickly if an ice cream (or any consumer packaged good) is kosher? Look for the OU Kosher symbol. This means the food has been certified by OU Kosher which certifies 70% of kosher food.

What makes a pickle kosher? To be considered kosher, a pickle must be made from cucumbers that have been produced naturally, without any genetic modification or other artificial means. The pickling process must also be overseen by a rabbi who is familiar with Jewish dietary laws.

Kashrut—Jewish dietary laws

Certain foods, notably pork, shellfish and almost all insects are forbidden; meat and dairy cannot be eaten together in one dish and a certain period of time must elapse before dairy food can be eaten following a meat dish.

Only eggs from kosher fowl are kosher. These include chicken, Cornish hens, ducks, geese, and turkey. The prohibition of eating blood applies even to the smallest drop of blood, and thus any blood spots found in an egg renders the egg non-kosher.

When all of the ingredients inside a food are "kosher", the food is then labeled as "kosher." Pizza consists of 3 main ingredients: Dough, Sauce, and Cheese. The ingredients used to make the dough (flour, sugar, salt, water, etc.) must be (and typically are) kosher.

Prohibition on mixing dairy products with meat

Others associate it with the general prohibition on certain mixtures set out in the Torah, such as that of coupling animals from different species. Yet others see it as symbolic: the refusal to mix life (milk) and death (meat).