Kosher is a Hebrew term that means ‘Fit’! As per experts, it is about eating Fit food for Jews. So, there are many Keeping Kosher: Do’s and Don’ts mentioning what Jews can eat and what to not! There is a Jewish tradition of eating! According to this, some dietary laws can govern what a Jew should eat. It includes food and beverages known as kosher food! Food is Kosher if you prepare, cook, and inspect the food as per strict laws. Its rules are rooted in religion and history. Kosher is not a style of cooking!
How to Keep Kosher?
Keeping Kosher means the Commitment of a person to eat Jewish dietary food! Anyone can eat this food. Likewise, not all Jewish people keep kosher. By the way, you can find the kosher version of almost every drink and food people consume in the world. Many supermarkets have a separate section containing only kosher foods.
There is a part in the Jewish bible, Torah states the usual principles of keeping kosher! There are commandments known as mitzvahs one can follow to obey God. It includes keeping kosher!
As per scholars, among the different food laws present in records, the first ones are the Jewish dietary laws. The modern dietary laws are still following the Torah commandments. Yet, they have evolved by people over the years as per the growing technology.
An Outlook on the varieties of Kosher Food
There are three categories of kosher foods, Dairy, Meat, and Parve (Pareve);
Meat – It is about eating the meat of animals having split hooves. The list of such animals includes goats, sheep, and cows but not pigs since they do not chew their cud (partially digested food)! There are dietary laws for Jews that govern the slaughterhouse equipment, and the process of slaughtering. Some animal parts like all-Blood, some-Nerves, and some-Fats are not kosher. If the death of an animal is natural, it is no more kosher!
Dairy – Like meat, dairy products should also belong to kosher animals. It includes cheese, milk, yogurt, and butter. Not only the ingredients but the equipment used to prepare them must be kosher as well!
Pareve (Plant-based) – Everything other than dairy and meat generally comes in this category. It includes vegetables, fruits, coffee, pasta, and packaged foods.
Do’s for Keeping Kosher
You can follow the below habits to eat fit food as per Judaism rules;
– Fish or any other Seafood is kosher only if it contains both scales and fins like trout, bass, and salmon.
– You cannot take the meat and milk products at the same time. Never use the same utensils for them for cooking or serving purposes. A person needs to wait for some time to eat dairy products after meat and vice versa.
– Not all cheeses are kosher. Cheese should not include animal-based rennet! The rennet is an enzyme that originates in the stomach of cows.
– Bread should be baked with kosher ingredients but not include the oils and fats from animals for greasing purposes. The grains used to prepare bread are kosher.
– Fresh vegetables and fruits are kosher.
– Seeds and Nuts should be consumed all-natural. The processed one should be certified kosher.
– Oils should be extracted from kosher ingredients. Yet, there should be kosher certification! It is to guarantee they do not expose to non-kosher ingredients while processing.
– Wine must be certified by the Orthodox rabbi and should be made with strict rules to be kosher.
– It is best to eat only certified matzah during Passover!
– Processed foods such as matzah should have a label ‘P’ nearby seal as a mark of its certification of kosher for Passover!
Don’ts for Keeping Kosher
You must avoid the following food to maintain eating kosher food;
– Sea creatures that lack scales and fins are not kosher like lobster, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish!
– Eating plant-based products having insects in them are not kosher.
– You should avoid taking frozen or canned produce. It is to keep kosher if in doubt whether one is a product of non-kosher ingredients and equipment or not!
– Not to eat any food that includes grain that has fermented or risen. The forbidden foods are known as ‘Chametz’.
– There are many restrictions during the holiday of Passover for Jews. In this time one should refrain from taking liquors, beers, pasta, bread, and more.
– There should be no trace of chametz on the utensils, pans, pots, dishes, or kitchen.
– During Passover, the kosher fresh produce, chicken, fish, or meat must not touch directly with chametz.
What Important Facts to consider for Keeping Kosher?
While shopping for any Food item you should look at their packaging for any kind of kosher certification from below;
– ‘U within a circle’ or ‘parve’ or ‘pareve’ – These words are there with the kosher symbol. It is to state the neutrality of the food product, which means it does not include meat or daily ingredients.
– ‘D’ – This character after the kosher symbol indicates that dairy products or equipment are used to handle this food.
– ‘K’ – It marks kosher certification! A ‘K’ within a circle indicates kosher approval of the firm OK Kosher Certification.
Keeping Kosher is helpful, especially for people facing allergies to some dairy products. After all, ‘D’ items are made with strict regulations. It also helps vegan or vegetarians shop for clean and dietary foods for their meals!
Interested in Keeping kosher?
Here are some great Kosher cookbooks we recommend!
