Saturday, October 5, 2013

General Information On Kosher Meals

By Molly Morse


Kosher meals refers to recipes that are made utilizing kosher foods. The food items that are given this classification are ones that conform to the various regulations set in place by the Jewish dietary law called kashrut. Foods permitted under this law is known as kosher, which means that it is fit to be consumed. There are a lot of meals that can be made with these items.

Foods that do not fit into the Jewish law are known as treif. Rules about the items, including more detail on what food items are accepted, can be found in the books Deuteronomy and Leviticus. The reason the items may be considered under the label treif include, but are not limited to: food items being made without supervision, non-kosher devices and utensils used in preparation, items that have not been tithed accordingly, animals slaughtered in the incorrect manner or simply, animals that are unfit for eating under these laws.

Rabbinic authorities assert that every law of the kashrut can be broken in situations where life is at stake. In the Jewish Bible it states that all animals that chew the cud and have cloven hooves are ritually clean, but animals that exclusively chew cud or only have hooves that are cloven are not. It identifies four animals considered unclean based on these guidelines: pig, camel, hyrax and hare.

The Torah includes text saying that winged creatures should not be consumed, this is particularly true for fish-eating water birds, bats and birds of prey. Anything that resides in waters, such as rivers and seas, is ritually clean to eat if it has scales and both fins. Furthermore, things that crawl on the earth are unclean and a bug born within a fruit can be eaten if it has never crawled on the ground.

In terms of dairy, milk is considered clean so long as it comes from clean animals. Cheese is a little more complex. Many hard cheeses have rennet. This is the enzyme that splits the milk into curds and whey, it is also derived from the stomach lining of many animals. In the modern day, it might also be produced recombinantly. That which is taken from animals who are acceptable or recombinantly are considered kosher. Despite eggs being an animal product, they are referred to as pareve. Gelatin, depending on its original source, may be allowed.

Preparation of this type of food is equally as important as its original source. There is plenty of information on this topic available to aid those looking to prepare and cook kosher meals. People who consider themselves Jews, consume a diet made up of these foods or just enjoy these types of meals usually know what is and is not permitted.

There might be differences in what foods and rules are acceptable, just as there are differences among Jews and how they practice. Most Jewish recipes only include foods fit for consumption. Because of this, a good source for prep and cook information, as well as recipes, is Jewish cookbooks.

Jews are not the only people who only consume kosher meals. However, this is a system directly correlated to this religion. There are rules when it comes to cooking and food preparation, as well as the types of animals that can be consumed.




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