Kosher food ( product or food) - This that food that conforms to the ancient Jewish dietary laws is KASHRUTH. The word Kosher itself can be interpreted as: correct or suitable. Accordingly, food that meets all the rules of Kashrut is called “kosher food” - “healthy food”.
What is Kashrut, Kosher and Kosher food - in simple words.
As has already become clear from the first paragraph, the word “kosher” means that a particular product is good and suitable for consumption by Jews from the point of view of their religious worldview. But, in order to understand why some products are considered kosher and others are not, we need to break this concept down into its simple components.
So, we already know that the concept of “kosher” comes from a set of rules - Kashrut. In turn, Kashrut corresponds to the laws prescribed in Halacha. For a complete understanding, let's consider what these terms mean.
What is Halacha.
Halacha is a set of Jewish laws that regulate absolutely all aspects of Jewish life, including family life, religion, social behavior and even nutrition. In simple words, we can say that this is a kind of instruction, where it is written what and how to do in order to live life correctly.
What is Kashrut?
Kashrut is term ( list of rules) from the above-mentioned set of rules that determines the suitability or unsuitability of something. This list of rules is very extensive and contains many elements from various religious sources. That is why some rules are very controversial. Which in turn leads to some Jewish communities considering certain foods to be kosher, while others consider them not to be kosher. However, despite differences in views, it is customary to adhere to general rules.
Kashrut - basic rules. (Kosher Laws):
- Some animals cannot be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of prohibited animals;
- Animals that are permitted to be eaten must be killed in accordance with Jewish law;
- All blood from animal or poultry meat must be extracted.
- Not all parts of legal animals can be eaten;
- Fruits and vegetables are allowed, but just in case, you should check whether this product is on the list of allowed ones;
- Meat should not be eaten with dairy products;
- Vegetables, fruits, grains and eggs can be eaten with both meat and milk;
- Fish is a controversial product. Depending on the community, it is permitted or prohibited to eat it with meat or milk;
- Utensils that come into contact with meat cannot be used with dairy products and vice versa;
- Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food cannot be used with kosher food. (the last 2 rules apply only to the area where contact occurred while the food was hot);
- Grape products produced by non-Jews cannot be eaten or drunk.
Kosher and Non-Kosher ( prohibited) animals.
There are many rules regarding which animals can be eaten and which cannot. For example, the most famous of these laws is the ban on eating pork. A pig is considered an “unclean” animal; therefore, eating anything connected with it is prohibited. The list of all animals allowed and prohibited for consumption is of course large, but we will give the main representatives:
This is Kosher:
- Cow;
- Deer;
- Sheep;
- Goat;
- Chicken;
- Duck;
- Geese;
- Turkey;
- A fish that has scales and fins ( tuna, carp and herring, etc.).
This is not kosher:
- Pig;
- Rabbit;
- Shellfish;
- Lobster;
- Cancers;
- Shrimps.
Use of the term "Kosher" in other areas.
The term “kosher” can be heard quite often in areas far from cuisine, food, and even from Jews themselves. The fact is that this word has become very popular in everyday speech and has acquired an approving or condemning connotation of this or that subject of conversation. For example, if someone during a conversation says a phrase like: “This is not kosher at all.”, this will mean that he does not like the idea being discussed or the like. By analogy, the expression: “This is kosher!” would mean approval.
What's happened Kosher products? For centuries, Judaism played the role not only of the Jewish religion as such, but also of the “cement” that firmly united the most diverse communities, wherever they lived.
And since a person cannot exist without food, Judaism examines in detail the laws of what is permitted or prohibited in food (food) from the point of view Halacha(Jewish religious law).
So, very briefly, then, according to the laws of kashrut, a kosher Jew can eat the meat of artiodactyls and ruminants, which include, first of all, cows, sheep and goats, and eating pigs, camels, hyraxes and hares is strictly prohibited.
In a relationship Thor's birds simply lists the species that are not kosher (eagle, owl, ibis, pelican), essentially allowing everyone else to eat. But since it is not possible to accurately identify all birds that are unfit for food, Jews eat only traditionally kosher chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons. Valid kashrut laws and in relation to sea and river inhabitants: thus, only those that are covered with scales and have fins can be eaten. Simply put, all fish (except sturgeon, shark, catfish or eel), as well as their caviar, are allowed, but shellfish, lobsters, crayfish and marine mammals are not.
Kosher products on Pesach have their own separate laws. Plants and, as a result, plant foods are kosher without exception, just like all insects are not kosher by definition, except for some types of locusts that cannot be identified today. You can’t eat anything that comes from a non-kosher animal, the exception (let’s add in parentheses, a pleasant exception) is Bee Honey.
Moreover, kosher products differ not only in that they fully comply with the religious norms of Judaism. All of them, without exception, are very useful, environmentally friendly and high quality. Therefore, kosher is synonymous with “the best,” and kosher food– first of all, healthy eating. This is recognized in many countries of the world, where people who seriously monitor their health and nutrition tend to buy or get (whichever) kosher food(eat) in a kosher Jewish store.
So, say, in the USA up to 70% kosher meat It is not Jews who consume, which, we agree, says a lot, doesn’t it? Kosher products It's more convenient from Israel buy in the Jewish online store, firstly, the choice will be much larger than in a simple kosher store, and secondly, the prices for products will be cheaper, since there are no side costs.
Order at home kosher food or you can buy and purchase kosher products with courier delivery for the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Kyiv.
Postal delivery to any region and country.
We've all heard the word "kosher" at some point. It means fit or suitable. Often used in relation to food by Jewish believers. Stores with the same name are required to have a certificate from a rabbi. It guarantees that only kosher products are sold. There is a special set of rules that determines what a Jew can eat and what not. It's called kashrut. These rules are very difficult for the average person to understand, but for Judaism this is the norm. For example, you cannot eat dairy and meat at the same time or pork. We will not delve too deeply into the essence of the rules; we will only say that the modern concept of “kosher” is not at all what we described above. Now its meaning has acquired a new connotation: “normal, suitable.”
Nutrition
Kosher nutrition is now becoming increasingly popular. This desire is not at all connected with religion, but is a simple desire to improve the health of the body, make its work easier and free it from heavy food.
Kosher is a diet that includes environmentally friendly, healthy foods that are included and permitted by kashrut. They are marked with a special sign, which guarantees usefulness, environmental friendliness and superior quality. Kosher food costs much more. What exactly is this - we will tell you a little further.
Products
As for meat, it includes lamb, beef, goat, and wild herbivores. Kosher animals are those with cloven hooves and the ability to chew. There are also a number of rules for slaughtering and processing meat.
With fish everything is simpler. If it has fins and scales, it can safely be classified as “kosher products”.
“What does this mean, every fish has scales,” you will be surprised. We'll explain. Not all fish species have scales. For example, it is absent in eel, catfish, shark, and sturgeon. Accordingly, black caviar is also not suitable for consumption, and kosher - this, as we already know, means “suitable”. Seafood is not like that either - due to the lack of fins.
As for birds, the Torah says nothing about them; it only talks about predators and scavengers. They cannot be used. Cutting and slaughter here must also be carried out in a special way.
Eating insects and rodents is prohibited. Forbidden species also include the meat of hares, rabbits, amphibians and reptiles. Tora makes an exception for honey, although it is produced by insects.
Kosher food: what it is and how to prepare it
Cooking such food baffles many people. For example, you cannot cook meat and dairy products together, or eat them. If you want to cook poultry in white sauce, it will be simply unforgivable. Deeply religious people prepare these products using different utensils. Some even use different stoves, but this is a cost of beliefs. Dairy products can be eaten or drunk only six hours after meat products, and this is correct. Such a mixture is not very beneficial for the body. After cheese, it is also better to eat meat after six hours.
The consumption of milk for Jews is permitted only from kosher animals. According to the rules, the milking is supervised by a rabbi or his authorized representative.
So, kosher. What does this mean for products? In relation to bread, this word implies baking by the believers themselves. During the baking process, you need to tear off a piece and burn it. It's called halu. If bread is not baked at home, even there the ovens should only be turned on by Jews and monitored by them.
Regarding eggs, there should be no spots on them, especially blood. In everyday life we do not pay much attention to this, but for believers it is very important. Also, you can’t cook them all together. It is allowed to cook only three pre-washed pieces in one container.
If you think that eating plant foods is easier, you are mistaken. Let's understand the concept of kosher products, what they are and how to use them. Since insects and various worms are prohibited for consumption, Jews have to carefully inspect and sift cereals, flour, legumes, herbs, fruits, vegetables, and berries. We, of course, also check food for the presence of the above, but we are not so scrupulous about this process.
Are kosher products beneficial?
These products include wine and all drinks that contain grapes, as well as their derivatives. Such wines are much more expensive than even the highest quality foreign ones. They are produced and manufactured exclusively by Jews. Grapes must be harvested at a certain time from those bushes that have reached four years of age.
Before each production, a ritual sacrifice is made and a prayer is read. At wine factories, all other processes must be stopped at this time. You haven’t yet understood the whole essence of the term “kosher products”, what is it? Then we will go deeper and say that this is the constant sterilization of everything from equipment to communications. This is done not only to disinfect, but also to clean everything. Something like cleansing before the new.
Prohibitions
Under no circumstances should a stranger be allowed to see how wine is made. It is believed that this is a sacred ritual during which outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering.
Working on Saturday is a terrible sin. All production stops for one day.
If someone of non-Jewish blood touches the food, it will lose its kosher status and become unsuitable for cooking.
Kosher wines began to be pasteurized. All this is done to prevent loss of "fitness". Therefore, these and any other wines should be uncorked and poured only by Jews.
Of course, you need to understand that this is just a religious approach to making products, and it has nothing to do with healthy eating. Today, winemakers often avoid such rituals, since it takes a lot of time, and produce ordinary wine drinks.
Conclusion
Summarize. We touched only on the main points in the article about kosher products. These traditions are significant only for Jewish believers and do not apply to ordinary people. You should also not confuse ordinary organic and healthy products with kosher ones.
Alcoholic grape drinks are widely used in other cultures and by different peoples. For example, Christians use it as communion wine, like the blood of the Lord.
But still, kosher products are many times healthier, tastier and cleaner than regular ones. All production is well controlled and products are produced to the highest quality standards. You don’t even have to think about hygiene, since it is constantly checked, especially regarding meat. All living creatures undergo total control and are constantly tested for diseases and so on. You can’t even eat an injured animal, let alone a sick one. When caring and feeding, hormones or antibiotics are not used.
Kosher products - what are they?
Kosher food forms the basis of the diet of countries professing Judaism. According to Jewish rules of halakhah, it is prohibited or permitted to consume certain food products; accordingly, they are divided into kosher and non-kosher. The kosher food system is very ancient and is a kind of treasure of the Jewish people.
All kosher products is divided into 3 large groups: meat - basar, free - dairy products, and parve - bread, fruits, vegetables and other products.
A modern market where they sell kosher products, has become a gigantic business. For example, in the United States alone, the annual turnover of kosher food reaches $150 billion. This has contributed to a large extent to the conquest of the segment of buyers who do not profess Judaism.
Kosher products It is consumed not only by Jews, but also by people suffering from allergies, vegetarians and Muslims. However, people who do not belong to any of these categories often note that kosher products are more natural and tasty.
So, what is kosher food? Kosher products have incredibly high quality requirements. The Jewish tradition of kashrut very strictly defines the criteria that can determine such permitted, pure products. Before entering world markets, kosher food undergoes several levels of quality control, so people who lead a healthy lifestyle are supporters of purchasing kosher goods.
All kosher products are produced or grown under certain conditions that comply with religious rules. If we talk about meat, the animal must be raised in exceptional purity and fed only with environmentally friendly products. In addition, the animal must be killed in the most painless way possible, and its meat must be treated with a saline solution so that there is not a drop of blood in the final product.
Agricultural products, in accordance with kashrut, must be grown in an ecologically clean area, and only natural fertilizers can be used to stimulate growth.
The quality of kosher goods is strictly controlled 170 Jewish organizations that put the appropriate mark on the product. If you doubt whether a product is kosher, always look at its packaging.
In particular, distinguish kosher products from ordinary ones you can if you pay attention to the presence of the letter U in a circle on the packaging.
The list of such products today includes a wide range of goods from confectionery to baby formula and alcohol.
Our online store offers kosher olive oilfrom PICUAL and Arbequina olives, is manufactured in compliance with strict rules and requirements of organic, environmentally friendly, kosher products. Olive groves, where olives are hand-picked by Pons employees, are located in the picturesque city of Lleida, which is the center of olive oil production throughout Catalonia.
The traditions of collecting, producing and storing olive oil have been preserved for many years, and the high quality and unique taste characteristics of Pons kosher olive oil have been noted by many experts. Of course, every bottle of oil has a kosher confirmation in the form of a U surrounded by a circle.
The set of religious precepts of kashrut is very variable and differs in different communities. At the same time, the quality of the product and its environmental friendliness make it very popular and increasingly in demand.
The term “kosher products” came to us from Israel. The life of Jewish believers is strictly regulated by a special set of rules and laws - the so-called Halacha. Halacha determines all the foundations of their family, religious, and social life. The concept of kashrut means how suitable and permissible something is from the point of view of Halakha.
The laws of kashrut strictly dictate to Jewish believers what exactly they should eat, what this food should be prepared from, and how it should be stored. In other words, the quality of real kosher products is subject to very strict control. Who implements it? 170 Jewish organizations (including rabbinates and individual rabbis), each of which contains its own seal. All kosher products are required to have one of these seals.
What does kosher food mean?
Kosher food is divided into three groups:
- meat products, or “basar”;
- dairy products, or “freebies”;
- neutral products, or "parve".
Meat products
Basar is meat that comes from kosher animals. Herbivorous ruminants that live on land and whose hooves are cloven are considered kosher. In other words - sheep, cows, goats, gazelles, moose, giraffes... The Torah indicates animals that have only one sign of kosher. These are rabbits, camels and hyraxes (animals that eat grass, but do not have cloven hooves), and a pig - which has cloven hooves, but does not chew grass.
To be included in the list of kosher products, meat must have one more property, namely the absence of blood. Kashrut does not allow the consumption of blood in any form, since eating blood awakens cruelty in a person. It is also not allowed to eat eggs that contain blood clots.
As for poultry, kashrut does not indicate any signs regarding them, but the Torah lists those birds whose meat cannot be eaten. These are pelican, owl, eagle, falcon and hawk. In other words, only poultry (ducks, turkeys, geese, chickens), as well as pigeons, can be included in the list of kosher products.
Kosher eggs must have unequal ends (one must be pointed, the other more round). Eggs whose both ends are blunt or sharp are considered unfit for food, since such eggs are usually laid by birds of prey or birds that feed on carrion.
Kosher fish is distinguished by two characteristics: it must have scales and fins. The remaining representatives of the seas and oceans (crabs, shrimp, crayfish, octopus, oysters, eels, etc.) cannot be considered kosher products, since they have neither one nor the other. Snakes, worms and insects are also considered non-kosher.
Dairy
With regard to dairy products (“freebies”), the following principle applies: milk that was obtained from kosher animals is considered pure - and therefore can be considered kosher food. Milk obtained from non-kosher animals is considered unclean and therefore cannot be considered kosher food.
Neutral products
Vegetables and fruits (“parve”) can be classified as kosher products only if they are not worm-free and if they have not come into contact with non-kosher products. For example, eating a tomato coated with pork fat is prohibited.
Kosher products are very common, mainly in the Israeli market. 
However, in recent years the trend has been steadily changing. The population of developed countries is attaching more and more importance to healthy eating - and therefore to the quality of the food that ends up on the consumer’s table. From this point of view, kosher products can serve as a kind of guarantor of reliable quality. The list of kosher products includes a wide variety of products - from alcoholic beverages and confectionery to baby food and dry soups.
However, please note the following information. The inscription “kosher” must be accompanied by the name of the rabbinate (or rabbi) under whose supervision the product was manufactured. Otherwise, if there is only one inscription, the product cannot be considered kosher.
