What is kosher?
Kosher is a term that describes food that has been sourced and prepared in accordance with Jewish biblical law as interpreted by rabbinic authorities.
Kosher law dictates the types of foods that Jewish people are allowed to eat and the ways in which that food must be prepared.
Kosher food is not restricted to traditional Jewish cuisine.
In fact, any type of cuisine can be kosher as long as it abides by kosher law.
However, one should note that kosher is distinct from halal.
Halal refers to food that is permissible to eat under Islamic law, and the requirements under Islamic law differ from the requirements under Jewish law.
The types of food that are considered kosher can be divided into three categories: meat, dairy, and pareve.
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Meat:
Kosher law dictates that only certain animals be eaten.
Land animals are kosher if they have cloven hooves and chew cud.
Animals who fit these requirements include cows, sheep, lambs, and goats.
Pigs do not chew cud and thus are not considered kosher.
Kosher law identify birds such as geese, ducks, chickens, and turkeys as kosher and birds such as eagles, vultures, and owls as non-kosher.
Dairy:
For dairy or dairy products to be kosher, they must come from kosher animals, such as cows or goats.
Additionally, kosher dairy products cannot contain any non-kosher additives or meat derivatives.
An exception to this rule is cheese made with rennet derived from a kosher-slaughtered animal.
Pareve:
Pareve describes any kosher food that is not meat or dairy.
Examples of pareve are eggs, water, and any plant-based food (e.g., unprocessed vegetables, nuts, fruits).
Kosher food preparation
Kosher dietary laws are very strict about mixing certain product groups.
Meat and dairy products must be manufactured and prepared separately, this extends to the utensils and equipment used as well.
When pareve foods are cooked in combination with dairy, they adopt a dairy status.
Similarly when pareve foods are cooked with meat, those pareve ingredients adopt a meat status and the resulting dish is known as either a milk or meat meal.
Of course, when pareve ingredients, for example, vegetables, are cooked with neither milk nor meat, the dish is known as pareve.
These laws relate both to food preparation within the home as well as any processing that a producer may wish to perform.
In fact, kosher food production facilities must be inspected periodically to ensure that approved production procedures are being maintained.