Saturday, September 29, 2018

Guidelines For Kosher Prepared Meals

By Steven Campbell


Members of the Jewish community are bound to take specific meals that are referred to as Kosher. Most of the regulations are focused on the kind of animals that are supposed to be slaughtered, but it also includes restrictions in the utensils to be used, the manner to take the foods and time as well. The following are a few guidelines for kosher prepared meals that one should take into consideration.

Do not take meat from restricted animals. Mammals with cloven feet and those who chew their cud are the only ones which are supposed to be taken. Therefore, animals such as horses, pigs, hares, and rabbits are off the list. Some of the animals that fall in this list include the bison, goats, sheep, and cattle. Pigs are disregarded due to the speculation that they are unclean since they used to have frequent infections in the early Jewish period.

Avoid fish that do not have scales. There are a couple of fish species that are not supposed to be taken. This includes crabs, oyster, shrimps, lobster and fish without scales such as the swordfish. These laws are extracted from the Torah and the Bible which instructs Jews not to take anything that does not have fins or scales since it is considered unclean. Some speculations suggest that shellfish are regarded as unclean since they dwell on the floor of the ocean which is considered to be dirty.

Avoid reptiles, rodents, insects, and bird of prey. There is a wide variety of animals that are in this category of restricted foods. This includes dolphins, turtle, salamander, snakes, vultures, and crows. Some community within the Jewish allows certain insects but are restricted to specific people and themselves as well.

Avoid taking products from unauthorized animals. You can still end up breaking these rules if you choose products from animals that are considered as not being kosher. It might seem easy to avoid such products, but there are high chances if the content of the restricted animal is quite low. This includes a special enzyme called rennet which is used to make cheese. Carefully read the ingredient that has been indicated in the product to be certain about its suitability even though they have a kosher seal.

Take meals that have been prepared using the kashrut practice. One can still take illegitimate food if they are not prepared according to the Jewish law. Some of the critical aspects that should be considered during the preparation include humanely slaughtering the animals and draining the blood. Besides that, a special person referred to as the shochet is supposed to slaughter the animals.

Vital aspects to consider while eating. You need to consider a couple of eating habits to maintain the Jewish regulations. To start with, one should not take dairy and meat products at the same time. Some communities agree that one should maintain a minimum of three hours interval before taking these meal groups. You should as well take grape products that have been prepared by Jews, check whether worms and blood stains in eggs infest fruits.

Check for unique labels before you buy any product. You need to check for seals that shows that particular products have been authorized for consumption. These products have labels such as u and k which indicates the orthodox union and Kosher respectively.




About the Author: