Sunday, May 25, 2014

Tips For Choosing A Kosher MRE

By Marci Glover


Sometimes you do not want to cook a meal from scratch. You may only have an hour or so before a meeting or you only have a half an hour lunch break. In this instance grabbing a ready to eat meal is ideal. Unfortunately this can be complicated if you are Jewish and strictly observe rules regarding what you eat. Fortunately there is an alternative and there are a number of companies that produce kosher MRE products.

The term MRE stands for Meal, Ready to Eat. The idea is that you can take the food and heat it up as and when you need it. This is best suited for people who do not have a lot of time to cook and yet want something a bit more substantial than a quick snack grabbed from the fridge.

Part of the problem for Jewish who want to purchase ready meals is that it is not always easy to know if food is kosher. The fact is that the term does not just refer to the type of food Jewish people are not allowed to eat such as shellfish. It also refers to the way in which the food is prepared.

For example for those who strictly observe kosher there is the issue of how meat is prepared. With beef the meat should be coated in salt and all the blood should be drained out. If the meat is not prepared in this way then strictly speaking that bit of meat would not be approved by a rabbi.

Kosher is not solely about the type of food that people eat. For example there are strict rules regarding the mixing of dairy and meat with cutlery and crockery in Jewish kitchen in separate areas in order to ensure meat and dairy do not mix. With a factory process it can be difficult to ensure that cross contamination takes place which is why some food labels will warn of items could potentially contain nuts if they are handled on a factory line with products that contain nuts and so forth.

As with any form of ready meal you also need to check in terms of quality. The quality can vary depending on where you order them from. For example some companies may produce food that is fresh that has then been frozen. The quality can vary considerably although generally the more expensive brands will tend to use better ingredients and produce tastier food.

There is also the issue of the quality of the food itself. Even if they strictly adhere to traditional guidelines this does not necessarily mean you will get good food. You have to be sure that what you are buying is tasty and worth the effort. Furthermore it is also making sure that the food is relatively easy to prepare.

You can find a number of companies that offer ready to eat kosher meals online. It is best to check their specifications to see if the products they offer are suitable for the kind of oven or microwave that you own. You should also check for feedback from customers who have used products in the past in order to find the ideal one to suit the needs of you and your household.




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