Kosher food can be purchased at the store
Kosher food or food means any food that is allowed to be consumed in accordance with the religious laws of Judaism - Kashrut. The laws of Kashrut are clearly established in the Torah and Talmud (Oral Torah).
Kosher food rules
The Hebrew word “kosher,” which we are accustomed to pronounce as “kosher,” means “fit.” When it comes to food, these laws are quite complex, but in short, they completely prohibit the consumption of certain types of food, such as pork and shellfish. A number of restrictions are imposed on other products, the most important of which is that meat and dairy products cannot be cooked together and consumed at the same meal.
This automatically excludes kosher food Western fast food, such as cheeseburgers and meat-filled pizza. In addition, lighting a fire is prohibited on Shabbat, so only cold or simmered foods are allowed during this period. With all this, thanks to the secular way of life of the majority of the Israeli population, you can find food here for every taste, and many restaurants offer non-kosher menus depending on the region. Kosher laws do not generally apply to the Arab regions of Israel (unless the restaurant is trying to cater to a mixed audience), but halal (the Muslim equivalent of kosher) is observed here.
There are very specific rules for kosher food:
- Only the meat of animals that are both ruminants (strictly herbivores) and artiodactyls (having cloven hooves) is allowed for food. Eating pork and hare is strictly prohibited. There are also specific rules for the slaughter of kosher animals - shechita. The slaughter must be carried out by a specially trained person - a shoikhet.
- As for poultry meat, the Torah does not give any specific signs. kosher birds. She simply rattles off a list of trap birds. Among them are such as eagle, owl, pelican. However, the main feature of the prohibited species is that they are birds of prey.
- Kosher eggs can only come from kosher birds. One of the main signs is different ends (sharp and blunt). Eating blood is also prohibited, so eggs with blood clots are considered non-kosher (however, the part with the clot is often simply cut out).
- Kosher fish are those that have scales and fins. Therefore, for example, catfish and sturgeon are prohibited for consumption (they do not have scales). Roe from non-kosher fish is also prohibited.
Kosher food on a plane
Kosher meals on planes are offered by many airlines flying to Israel, including Russian ones, for example Aeroflot. According to the standards of the International Air Transport Association, on regular flights, a passenger can be provided with a special meal KSML (Kosher Meal) - lunch prepared in compliance with the laws of kashrut. All rations must be approved by the leadership of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, the Moscow Jewish Community and personally by the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Mr. Berl Lazar. Each diet comes with a kosher certificate. The packaging must contain seals and marks of compliance with the level of kashrut. For those who keep kosher, lunch on board will be served without pork or meat-dairy combinations.
Which Russian airlines provide kosher food:
- Aeroflot - provides kosher meals on board free of charge, the order must be made 36 hours before departure.
- S7 - quite difficult to order (at the ticket office or by special phone), kosher meals on board will cost an additional 500 rubles.
- Transaero - provides (or provided, since the company is under threat of bankruptcy) kosher food for free.
And if you, for example, fly with El-Al, then all the food on board will be kosher by default.
Kosher food on an airplane has a number of features. For example, such food is usually purchased by the air carrier from special organizations. And the lunch box with kosher food has a special lock that can only be opened by a passenger on board, thereby ensuring that the food is kosher.
Kosher menu in restaurants and hotels
Many Israeli hotels offer kosher food. Be prepared to be served dairy products for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner there will be no milk for coffee or butter to spread on bread (however, soy milk substitutes and spreads are often found). Most large supermarkets sell only kosher products, but in recent years more and more non-kosher supermarkets and department stores have been popping up, thanks in part to a huge number non-religious Jews who moved to Israel from the countries of the former USSR.
The situation with restaurants is somewhat more complex: Tel Aviv has fewer kosher restaurants than more religious cities such as Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, on the contrary, kosher cafes and restaurants are much more common. Remember that restaurants that remain open on Shabbat cannot obtain kosher certification, so some restaurants that are not kosher certified may still serve kosher food. So, if in doubt, there is no need to speculate - just ask. If a restaurant is kosher, it means that it will either serve only dairy-based food, or only meat dishes. Restaurants serving dairy products are suitable for vegetarian tourists, but some dishes are likely to contain fish and eggs.
Kosher fast food
For devout Jews and tourists, there are kosher McDonald's restaurants. Please note that most restaurants in this chain are still non-kosher, so check before you place your order. Most Burger King restaurants in Israel are kosher, and the same applies to the Israeli fast food brand Burger Ranch. Also, kosher establishments in Israel include restaurants of the Pizza Hut chain, so be prepared to receive pizza without meat filling. But Domino snack bars are not kosher and therefore the set of fillings in them coincides with the European standard.
There is one pitfall in finding kosher food: there are scammers selling fake kashrut certificates. So if you want to try real kosher food (or your religion prevents you from eating anything else), ask to see a certificate issued by your local rabbinate or a reputable kashrut certification agency. Certificates issued by unknown organizations should never be trusted.
Everyone has heard that there are kosher and non-kosher products, but not everyone knows what the difference is and how to distinguish them on store shelves. Kosher foods are those recommended by the Torah. healthy foods nutrition for those who observe the dietary laws prescribed by faith. To a person who is far from this faith, all products are the same, and it may seem that Jews eat a very small percentage of what is on the shelves grocery supermarkets. However, among kosher products, most of all are healthy and dietary, so it is worth taking a closer look at the list of kosher products and learning to distinguish them from non-kosher ones.
What are kosher products
Kosher nutrition is the basis of nutrition in countries that profess Judaism. Jewish law halakha allows or prohibits the consumption of certain products; based on this law, all consumed products are divided into kosher and non-kosher. If you adhere to the principles of nutrition according to Kashrut, then you need to carefully study all the rules for separating food products into kosher and non-kosher.
The first thing you should know is that products are divided into three main groups. The first is permitted, or kosher, products, the second is forbidden, non-kosher, and the third group of products is called psul, or inedible products according to Kashrut. For example: bananas are kosher, but mussel meat is not kosher. But banana peel- This is a capsule, an inedible product.
All kosher products are also divided into three main types: basar - meat products, freebies - and dairy products, and parve - this includes all other products (fruits, bread, etc.).
Basar is meat only from kosher animals that have been vaccinated against rabies. To determine that an animal is kosher and its meat can be eaten, you need to know the shape of the animal's hooves. If an animal has a cloven hoof and chews cud, then its meat can be eaten; it is kosher. These are ruminant artiodactyls: cow, sheep, goat and horse. Pork is not kosher because it does not chew the cud, but has paired hooves.
All poultry that was raised at home is edible, that is, kosher. These are domestic chickens, geese and ducks, as well as pigeon and turkey meat. Poultry eggs can also be eaten, but be careful about their shape. Only an egg with one end blunt and the other sharp is considered kosher. Usually, chicken eggs always fall into the kosher egg category.
- This is a whole section of gastronomy, healthy products for feeding children and adults. However, they should be divided into kosher and non-kosher. According to the rules of Kashrut, you can only eat fish that have scales. This is all River fish, as well as red fish - salmon, and other types of fish with scales. However, squid and mussels, as well as shrimp and other seafood, can no longer be edible and kosher products, since they do not have scales.
Dairy products are only kosher if they came from a kosher animal. That is, what is familiar to us cow's milk and products made from it can immediately be considered kosher and eaten. But if you are in doubt whether a product is kosher or not, look at the packaging. All Israeli products carry a kosher label on their packaging, and many supermarkets open separate sections with kosher products.
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There are many peoples living on our planet, and many of them have their own prohibitions and taboos, from religion to food. Ordinary citizens are sometimes perplexed by strange words that do not become clearer, even in context. Besides, there are no prohibitions in Russian cuisine, we just don’t eat what we’re not used to.. I strongly recommend adding this resource to your browser bookmarks, because we constantly post useful information. Today it is the turn to talk about such a concept as Kosher food, which means you can read it a little later.
However, before you continue, I want to recommend you a few informative publications on random topics. For example, what does Kompromat mean, how to understand Opposite, what is Gam, what does Creating mean, etc.
So let's continue What does Kosher food mean?? This term was borrowed from Hebrew" casher" (כשר), and is translated as “suitable”, “suitable”.
Kosher food- any food prepared according to strict Jewish rules
Jews call food allowed for consumption Kosher. Even those Jews who have never been to their ancestral home still strictly adhere to the covenants of their “founding fathers.” Some historians associate the origin of this word with the concept " kashrut". This term in Judaism refers to everything that corresponds to Halakha (traditional Jewish law, the community of institutions and laws of Judaism that regulate the social, family and religious life of Jewish believers). This is quite difficult to understand, to make it easier for you to accept, I would like to note that that in many ways kosher food corresponds to generally accepted concepts of separate and healthy eating. For example, milk and meat are completely incompatible foods, and among Jews it is strictly forbidden to mix them. This is probably what explains the increased interest in kosher products not only among Jews, but also among ordinary citizens.
In fact, " kosher"is not a type of cuisine, but rather a sign of the quality of the products. Therefore, Thai, Russian, Georgian, Dagestan, Italian, etc. dishes can be kosher. They simply should not contain sea creatures, pork, some types of birds, fish and even vegetables. This food should not combine animal milk and meat at the same time, and the quality of the food should be certified by a mashgiach (“observer”; senior teacher responsible for educating yeshiva students), as well as several other small, but no less important elements .
Interestingly, products made from milk are also kosher and non-kosher. For example, camel milk is prohibited from being eaten, since this animal does not have cloven hooves, while cow milk is highly revered kosher product. The main thing is that milk does not intersect with meat anywhere; it cannot even be poured into a container that previously contained the flesh of killed animals.
Jews also have neutral food, the so-called " parva". It usually includes something that is neither milk nor meat. This can include honey, herbs, berries, vegetables, nuts, fruits. Oddly enough, Jews also classify fish as “parva,” although for Russian people it is much closer to meat than to greens.
In this case, the rule is observed that it cannot be combined with meat in any way, and even placed in a pan where the meat was previously located. This is a rather unusual taboo, but it can also be explained by differences in protein structure.
After reading this article, you learned Kosher product, what does it mean in food, and why lovers of a healthy lifestyle are so interested in it.
Religious rules for eating food were not taken out of thin air and are mostly ancient simplified ones sanitary standards and rules of healthy lifestyle (at the then existing level of knowledge). However, these laws often become outdated under the onslaught of scientific knowledge. For example, we have all heard about “kosher” food, let’s figure out what “kosher” (and non-kosher) food is.
« Kosher"is any food (even from Chinese cuisine or Russian folk), but corresponding to the strict laws of “Kashrut” (the permissibility of something from the point of view of the laws contained in the Torah, Talmud, etc.)
The word "kosher" itself means "permissible", the word "kosher" is simply a Russian derivative meaning that the food complies with the rules of Judaism.
Kosher McDonald's in Buenos Aires.
Contrary to popular belief, rabbis or other religious leaders do not “bless” food to make it kosher. "Blessing" is not related to the term "kosher".
Kosher is not a cooking style. Chinese food can be kosher if it is prepared according to Jewish law, and there are many excellent kosher Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia and New York.
Conversely, traditional Jewish foods such as bagels, pancakes, matzo and shara soup may not be kosher unless they have been prepared in accordance with Jewish law.
Some kashrut laws are outdated from a healthy lifestyle point of view
Many modern Jews believe that kashrut laws are simply primitive health regulations that are outdated. For example, according to current scientific knowledge, there is no reason to consider camel or rabbit meat any less healthy than cow or goat meat. There is also no direct scientific evidence or observations of harm from combining dairy and meat products (which is not kosher).
However, the logic here is different: a camel (not kosher for food) is more useful as a beast of burden than as a source of food.
The short answer to why Jews keep these laws is because the Torah says so. The Torah does not specify any reasons for these laws and the traditional Jew does not need to see any other reasons. A more detailed version from the book “Being a Jew” by Rabbi Chaim Halevi Donin: obedience to laws is such self-control as to learn to control even the simplest, most basic instincts.
We present here the basic rules of kosher with comments from Zozhnik.
Basic rules of kosher nutrition
The laws of kashrut stem from several fairly simple, understandable rules:
1. Some animals cannot be eaten completely. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of animals, which are prohibited.
2. Of the animals that can be eaten, birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
3. All blood should be removed from meat and poultry before cooking.
4. Some parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
5. Fruits and vegetables are allowed, but must be checked for parts that cannot be eaten.
6. Meat (poultry and mammals) cannot be eaten together with dairy products. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with any meat or dairy products. (According to some opinions, fish cannot be eaten with meat).
There is no scientific or medical evidence of harm from combining dairy and meat products. It is important to understand that both meat and dairy are protein-rich foods. Protein products- “heavy”, require more effort for the body to digest them. It is on the digestion of protein foods that the body can spend up to 30% of the energy it receives from them ().
7. Utensils (including pots and pans and other food preparation surfaces) that come into contact with meat cannot be used with dairy products, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with food products not of kosher origin, cannot be used with kosher food.
8. Grape products made by non-Jews cannot be eaten.
9. There are several other rules that are not universal.
And now a little more detail on these issues.
Animals that cannot be eaten
Of the “beasts of the earth,” you can eat any animal that has cloven hooves and is a ruminant.. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is prohibited. The Torah specifies that camels, jerboas, hares and pigs are not kosher because each of them lacks one of these two qualifications. Cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and bison are kosher.
Of the “aquatic” creatures, you can eat anything that has feathers and scales. Thus, shellfish such as lobster, oysters, shrimp, clams and crab are all prohibited. Fish such as tuna, carp, salmon and herring are allowed.
Complete exclusion of some healthy seafood on the one hand, it depletes the diet of some microelements. On the other hand, there are some:
For birds, the criteria are less clear. The Torah provides a list of prohibited birds, but does not specify why these particular birds are prohibited. All the birds included in the list are either birds of prey or scavengers, which the rabbis claim was the basis for their distinction.
Other birds allowed, for example, chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys.
Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, insects are prohibited.
Kosher slaughter
Mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. It is forbidden to eat animals that have died of natural causes or were killed by other animals - which is quite logical from a health point of view.
In addition, animals must not have diseases or organ defects at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish, only small and large livestock.
Exist special rules kosher slaughter of animals. Their meaning is reduced to a minimum of pain experienced by the animal before death. And this has an important meaning.
Commentary on this topic by Ivan Shishkin, chef of the Delicatessen and Yunost restaurants, as reported by Afisha:
If an animal experiences fear or stress before slaughter, muscle glycogen stores drop and after slaughter the natural process of muscle pH drop is slowed or stopped. There is such a phenomenon as dark, firm and dry meat - dark, hard, dry meat obtained through the process of improper stress slaughter. It has a higher pH and tends to retain water inside. In appearance, such meat becomes tough and dark, which reduces its attractiveness to the buyer. Increased pH causes meat to spoil faster: many pathogenic bacteria survive more readily in a less acidic environment.
A sharp knife called a challef is used to cut open the animal's throat, causing the animal to immediately lose consciousness.
If the process is not done correctly, or the animal is not kosher, or the animal was killed by hunters not in accordance with the biblical laws of kashrut, Jews are prohibited from eating the meat.
Bleeding
The Torah prohibits the consumption of blood. Jews do not eat blood because the life of animals (literally, the soul of animals) is contained in the blood. This only applies to the blood of birds and mammals, but does not apply to the blood of fish.
An egg that contains very little blood can be eaten. Also in accordance with kashrut good idea-Crack an egg into a glass or cup to check it is fresh and edible before adding it to the hot pan. This simple rule should be taken into account by all cooks, regardless of religion.
According to kashrut, the consequences can be serious - if you suddenly break a bloody egg into a heated frying pan or pan, this utensil becomes non-kosher. You can no longer cook kosher food on it.
If your recipe calls for multiple eggs, crack each one into a glass one at a time so you don't waste all the eggs unless the last one is kosher.
Ban on fats and nerves
Kashrut requires careful attention to cutting meat. Sciatic nerve and adjacent nerves blood vessels cannot be eaten. The process of removing this nerve is time-consuming and not cost-effective, so most harvesters kosher meat, they simply sell the hindquarters to non-kosher butchers.
A certain type of fat that surrounds vital organs and the liver cannot be eaten. Kosher butchers also remove this part of the carcass.
According to some sources, scientists have found biochemical differences between this type of fat and acceptable fat around the muscles and subcutaneous fat.
Kosher vegetables and fruits
All fruits and vegetables are kosher, but there are a few caveats.
Wormholes and wormy fruits and vegetables are not kosher. Fruits and vegetables that are susceptible to this type of damage should be inspected to ensure they are free of wormholes and rot. Leafy vegetables, lettuce and greens, strawberries and raspberries should be carefully inspected.
In addition, there is a separate ban on grape products made by non-Jews. Wine is widely used in rituals of all ancient religions. For this reason, the use of wine and other grape products made by non-Jews was prohibited.
A true Jew should drink only “kosher” wines—that is, wines made by Jews.
Separation of meat and dairy products
There is a phrase in the Torah: “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” The Oral Torah explains that this passage prohibits eating meat and dairy products together. In addition, the Talmud prohibits cooking meat and fish together.
This, however, allows you to eat fish and dairy products together.
Also It is acceptable to eat dairy products and eggs together.
This division includes not only food, but also the dishes, pots and pans in which they are prepared, the plates and cutlery from which they are eaten, the dishwashers and sinks in which they are cleaned, and the sponges and towels used to dry dishes.
Kosher living conditions must include at least two sets of utensils - one for meat, the other for dairy products.
However, as we have already answered above, this strict and key prohibition does not find support in the form of a scientific and practical explanation. According to the latest scientific knowledge, combining meat and dairy products is not harmful from the point of view of a healthy lifestyle.
Kosher supplies
Utensils (pots, pans, plates, cutlery, etc., etc.) must be kosher. The cookware raises the kosher status of food cooked in it. So if you are cooking chicken soup in a saucepan, the saucepan becomes a utensil for meat.
Kosher status can only be transferred from food to utensils or from utensils to food in the presence of heat (including hot spices) or prolonged exposure to fire, so if you eat cold food in a non-kosher environment, this is not a problem. For example, for ice cream ( milk product) the dishes don't matter because it's cold.
This also means that you can use the same knife to cut a slice of sausage and cheese, but this is not the recommended procedure.
The clash of ancient laws with modern devices can be a comically serious problem. In theory, you need to have 2 dishwashers - for “dairy” dishes and “meat”. However, common sense in modern interpretation The Torah takes over and it is allowed either to have separate compartments for dairy and meat dishes in the “dishwasher”, or even simpler - to run dishwasher separate meat and dairy dishes.
Kashrut certification
The task of keeping food kosher is greatly simplified by widespread kashrut certification. Products that have been certified kosher are marked with marks that are usually designated by rabbis or certified product organizations.
Kosher signs for food products.
An example of kosher certification for domestic pasta.
The certification process is not about “blessing” the food, but rather it is about looking at the ingredients used to prepare the food.
The processes by which food is prepared are also reviewed, and processing plants are periodically inspected to ensure that kosher standards are maintained.
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