Who is kosher

Apply for Kosher Certification Now — for Free! Need More Help? Companies Search for:. Making The Separation: The definitions of meat, dairy and Pareve in the kosher facility. MEAT — Includes red meat as well as poultry. Cows, sheep and goats are kosher; rabbits, kangaroos and fox are not. Kosher fowl are identified by a universally accepted tradition and include the domesticated species of chickens, Cornish hens, ducks, geese and turkeys.

The Torah names the species of fowl that are forbidden, including all predatory and scavenger birds. Animal and fowl must be slaughtered with precision and examined by a skilled shochet , an individual extensively trained in the rituals kosher slaughtering.

Permissible portions of the animal and fowl must be properly prepared soaked and to remove any trace of blood before cooking. All utensils used in slaughtering, cleaning, preparing and packaging must be kosher. Dairy products must meet the following criteria in order to be certified kosher: They must come from a kosher animal.

All ingredients must be kosher and free of meat derivatives. Pareve foods have the fewest restrictions, providing the producer prepares them according to kosher rules.

Examples of pareve foods are:. The only kosher mammals are those that are herbivores, chew their cud — known as ruminants, and have cloven hooves. The Torah lists 24 species of fowl that are forbidden by kosher law. All other birds are considered kosher.

In the United States, the only poultry considered kosher are:. Kosher fish must have fins and scales, and seafood that does not meet those basic requirements is not kosher. Popular kosher fish include:. Although there has been some debate over which insects are kosher, most kashrut organizations agree that some species of locust are permitted. Most Jews do not eat locusts, although in some Jewish communities, locusts are a traditional food.

Passover, or Pesach, is an 8-day festival that takes place in early Spring. It celebrates the freeing of Israelites from Ancient Egypt. For people who wish to follow a kosher diet, there are special rules to follow during Passover. Although kosher rules permit most grains during Passover, they must not contain any yeast or have been in contact with moisture for longer than 18 minutes.

Matzo, a type of unleavened flatbread, is not considered chametz and can be eaten throughout Passover.

Buying kosher food can present many challenges, as many foods go through complex stages of production. Each stage should conform to kosher laws by eliminating cross-contamination with non-permitted foods.

Many Jewish people choose to eat a kosher diet as it helps them feel connected to their heritage, faith, and communities. Pickles are vegetables that people put in jars with brine. Fermented pickles can have a variety of health benefits, as they encourage the growth of…. Some types of fish can be a good source of high-quality protein and other nutrients.

Some of the best fish to eat include wild-caught salmon, mackerel,. Tilapia is a popular edible fish that is low in fat and a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

Tilapia farming occurs around the world, but…. Increasing numbers of people are choosing to give up dairy for their health or other reasons.

Ideally, it is best to have two kitchen sinks, one for meat and the other for dairy. If this is not feasible, and one uses one sink for both meat and dairy, dishes and utensils should be placed and washed on a rack, so as not to touch the sink. Separate racks are to be used for meat and dairy use. Care must be taken to make sure that the water should not be allowed to rise to reach the level of the rack, and dishes cannot be soaked in a sink used for both dairy and meat.

Eggs The eggs or other by-products of non-kosher birds or fish are not kosher. Caviar, therefore, must come from a kosher fish and this requires reliable supervision. Commercial liquid eggs also require supervision. Eggs of kosher fowl that contain a blood spots must be discarded, and therefore eggs should be checked before use. Shortening and Oil: Government regulations concerning the labeling of food ingredients have undergone strict changes.

Not only must the label specify the type of shortening, i. Thus, it is commonplace to find mention of cottonseed oil, lard, coconut oil, and other oil sources. The result of this explicit label display is that the consumer can easily detect what is blatantly non-kosher. However, it is important to be aware that the kosher status of a product containing even pure vegetable shortening can only be verified by reliable kosher certification. The reason for this is that manufacturers of vegetable shortening often process animal fats on common equipment.

Pure vegetable products may satisfy USDA guidelines for purity, however, in terms of Jewish law, vegetable oil may be non-kosher because it is processed on non-kosher equipment. Emulsifiers: Emulsifiers are complex substances that are used in many types of food production. They can perform a number of critical functions, among them acting as a surfactant reducing the surface tension of a liquid thus making oil and water soluble.

Emulsifiers are critical components in many food items, such as margarine, shortenings, cream fillings, toppings, coffee creamers, whiteners, prepared cake mixes, donuts, puddings, ice cream, frozen desserts, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, breakfast cereals, chocolates and candies. Emulsifiers may be listed on the ingredient label as polysorbates, glycerides, mono and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearates, etc.

Emulsifiers are produced from either animal or vegetable oil, and emulsifiers require reliable kosher supervision. Flavors: A critical sector of the food industry is manufacturers of flavors.

Flavors, whether artificial or natural, are components of nearly every product. Flavor production is highly complex and uses raw materials from every imaginable source. Some common kosher sensitive ingredients used in flavors are fusel oil which may be extracted from grape juice , glycerin and castorium a beaver extract. Since the ingredient declaration never includes a breakdown of ingredients used in flavors, food items containing natural or artificial flavors require reliable supervision.

Fillings and Cremes: All fillings, cremes, and fudge bases must be certified kosher because they may contain fats, emulsifiers, gelatin stabilizers and flavors. Breads, Rolls, Challah , Bagels and Bialys: These basic household staples present several kosher problems and require kosher certification.

Many types of bread are made with oils and shortenings. Basic ingredients of specially prepared dough mixes and dough conditioners are shortenings and di-glycerides. In bakeries, pans and troughs in which the dough is placed to rise and to bake are coated with grease or divider oils, which may be non-kosher.

These oils often do not appear on the label. There may also be an issue of other non-kosher products prepared and baked on the same equipment. These are some of the reasons that bread requires kosher supervision.

It is Rabbinically prohibited to produce bread utilizing dairy ingredients. Since bread is frequently eaten at all meals, the Rabbis were concerned that one might inadvertently eat dairy bread with a meat meal. There are two exceptions — if the bread is baked in an unusual shape or design indicating that it is dairy, or if the loaf is so small that it would be consumed at one meal.

While any size portion is adequate for challah, it is customary to separate a portion the size of an olive. After separation, the challah is burned. This ritual is obligatory only when the owner of the dough at the time of its preparation is Jewish, and the dough is made from flour of any of the following five grains: wheat, oats, rye, spelt, and barley. If the batter contains at least 5 pounds of flour, a blessing is recited before separating challah.

If this mitzvah has not been performed in the bakery, it may be performed in the home by placing all the baked goods in one room, breaking open all sealed packaged material, and taking a small piece from any of the baked goods and burning it. Cake, Pastries and Doughnuts These products generally contain shortening, emulsifiers, flavors and other kosher sensitive ingredients, and therefore reliable supervision is necessary.

Dairy Products A. Milk: Rabbinic law requires that there be supervision during the milking process to ensure that the source of the milk is from a kosher animal.

These government requirements fulfill the Rabbinical requirement for supervision. However, some individuals are more stringent and only consume milk that was produced with full-time supervision. This is known as cholov yisroel. All cheeses require kosher certification, including hard cheeses Swiss, cheddar, etc.

Rennet, processed from the stomachs of unweaned calves, is often used in the production of hard cheese as a curdling and coagulating agent.

Kosher hard cheese is produced with microbial rennet, which is derived from kosher sources. Because hard cheese is typically made with animal rennet, the Rabbinic sages decreed that even when animal rennet is not used, a full-time supervisor must be present to guarantee the kosher integrity of the product. Hard cheese produced with kosher ingredients and a full-time supervisor is known as gevinat yisroel.

Soft cheeses may contain cultures and flavors that are not kosher. Since these products are pasteurized, the integrity of the equipment is an issue as well.

Pareve foods are neutral and may be eaten with meat or dairy foods. An item that is labeled OU without a suffix can be assumed to be pareve. Nonetheless, we recommend checking the ingredients listed on the label, since on rare occasions, the OU-D is inadvertently omitted.

Water ices may be pareve or dairy, which will be reflected in the OU designation.