Pragmatist
Pragmatist

Kosher
Sun May 08 2005

I've had some comments and inquiries about Kosher, so this seems like a good time to clear up some misconceptions.

It really isn't all that difficult to keep kosher, and it's a snap when you're a vegetarian. The Number One thing to remember is not to mix meat and dairy at the same meal. There's a time period that needs to be reckoned with if you want a meat meal and ice cream for dessert, for instance.

However, if you're a meat eater, then you need two of everything. That includes two different cupboards, as well as two different sets of dishes, utensils and cooking pots. Meat and dairy dishes must not be kept in the same cupboard so that you don't accidentally grab a dairy plate for your steak, or vice versa. And meat and dairy dishes must not be cooked in the same pot; that is, you can't use a pot for meat one time, then dairy the next time. And combining meat and dairy, as in meat drippings and milk and flour for gravy, is strictly no-no!

Oh, yes, and two dishwashers, unless you want to use the dishwasher for one set of dishes, and hand wash the other set. Two dishwashers might be practical in a large family, both otherwise, probably not. Two refrigerators, too, unless you can manage two distinct areas in the fridge that can't possibly intermingle and contaminate each other. That's a pretty iffy situation, though. I wouldn't try it.

All fresh fruits and vegetables are pareve: neither kosher nor non-kosher. They're OK under all circumstances. Fresh frozen is OK too, but you'll see a hechsher on some packages. Anything that's been processed (canned), needs a hechsher (mark of a supervising rabbi). That means fresh meat, poultry and fish, as well as canned foods. Fish actually is considered pareve, but it can become un-kosher by improper handling.

As for fish, you can take your own kosher cutting board and knife and ask the butcher to cut up a salmon (for instance) for you, but you can't do that with meat, as animals have to be slaughtered in a certain way, and then the meat further processed to remove all traces of blood.

Any kosher animal has a completely split hoof and chews its cud. A pig has a split hoof, but doesn't chew its cud. A camel chews its cud, but doesn't have a split hoof. So they're both non-kosher (or treif).

So it's a little more difficult to keep kosher if you eat meat, but really easy if you're a vegetarian. If you know what to look for, you'd be surprised to see how much merchandize on the grocery shelves is actually kosher.

These are the basics: There's more to kosher than this, but I think I've already said more than you want to know.

Shalom

3 Comments
  • From:
    Allimom (Legacy)
    On:
    Sun May 08 2005
    So horse wouldn't be kosher as it does not have a split hoof? Where do rabbits fit in? They chew their cud (in a manner of speaking) but have no hooves. If slaughtered, are all members of the poultry family kosher, or are carnivorous birds not koser? Are shark considered kosher, or do they fall into the "no-no" category?

    I've never understood the separating of the dairy and meat, no matter how many times my friends tried to explain it to me. The law they quoted made it sound more like they weren't supposed to have veal, rather than separate the foods altogether.

    If you eat fruits and veggies you grow yourself, are you restricted on what you use to fertilize?
    Alli
  • From:
    Sezrah (Legacy)
    On:
    Mon May 09 2005
    now there's something i've not heard of before, a cat-calling printer
  • From:
    Welshamethyst (Legacy)
    On:
    Mon May 09 2005
    I will definately remember not to eat any camel if I ever decide to convert ;)