I want to know what kosher means pertaining to food?

Question

i have heard and seen foods advertised as kosher, but never understood just exactly what it means.can anyone help me with an answer?

Answer 1

It's a religious/health code, mostly pertaining to what people eat or drink. It's the mark of a strictly observant Jew. The Muslim version would be "halal."

Answer 2

describes food that has been prepared so that it is fit and suitable under Jewish law

Answer 3

Kosher simply means Fit for Consumption.

Answer 4

The kosher dietary laws determine which foods are “fit or proper” for Jews and deal predominantly with 3 issues: allowed animals, the prohibition of blood, and the prohibition of mixing milk and meat.

http://members.ift.org/NR/rdonlyres/520D...

Answer 5

I always tohught it was jewish er something but i never really cared. good question though

Answer 6

Kosher refers primarily to the Jewish religion. It is the type of food or the preparation of the food that is most important.

Answer 7

It refers to foods prepared according to the specific laws of the Torah.

Here is a basic set of rules you can find more at the link referenced below:

General Rules

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.

Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.

All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.

Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.

Fruits and vegetables are permitted, but must be inspected for bugs

Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).

Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.

Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.

There are a few other rules that are not universal.

The Details

Animals that may not be eaten

Of the "beasts of the earth" (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud. Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden. The Torah specifies that the camel, the rock badger, the hare and the pig are not kosher because each lacks one of these two qualifications. Sheep, cattle, goats, deer and bison are kosher.

Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales. Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9. Thus, shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all forbidden. Fish like tuna, carp, salmon and herring are all permitted.

For birds, the criteria is less clear. The Torah provides a list of forbidden birds (Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:11-18), but does not specify why these particular birds are forbidden. All of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, thus the rabbis inferred that this was the basis for the distinction. Other birds are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys. However, some people avoid turkey, because it is not mentioned in the Torah, leaving room for doubt.

Of the "winged swarming things" (winged insects), a few are specifically permitted (Lev. 11:22), but the Sages are no longer certain which ones they are, so all have been forbidden. There are communities that have a tradition about what species are permitted, and in those communities some insects are eaten.

Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects (except as mentioned above) are all forbidden. Lev. 11:29-30, 42-43.

Some authorities require a post-mortem examination of the lungs of cattle, to determine whether the lungs are free from adhesions. If the lungs are free from such adhesions, the animal is deemed "glatt" (that is, "smooth"). In certain circumstances, an animal can be kosher without being glatt; however, the stringency of keeping "glatt kosher" has become increasingly common in recent years, and you would be hard-pressed to find any kosher meat that is not labeled as "glatt kosher."

As mentioned above, any product derived from these forbidden animals, such as their milk, eggs, fat, or organs, also cannot be eaten. Rennet, an enzyme used to harden cheese, is often obtained from non-kosher animals, thus kosher hard cheese can be difficult to find.

Kosher slaughtering

The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. (Deut. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks and herds (Num. 11:22).

Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Cheit-Tav, meaning to destroy or kill. The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible.

Another advantage of shechitah is that it ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which is also necessary to render the meat kosher.

The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the shochet were often the same person.

Draining of Blood

The Torah prohibits consumption of blood. Lev. 7:26-27; Lev. 17:10-14. This is the only dietary law that has a reason specified in Torah: we do not eat blood because the life of the animal (literally, the soul of the animal) is contained in the blood. This applies only to the blood of birds and mammals, not to fish blood. Thus, it is necessary to remove all blood from the flesh of kosher animals.

The first step in this process occurs at the time of slaughter. As discussed above, shechitah allows for rapid draining of most of the blood.

The remaining blood must be removed, either by broiling or soaking and salting. Liver may only be kashered by the broiling method, because it has so much blood in it and such complex blood vessels. This final process must be completed within 72 hours after slaughter, and before the meat is frozen or ground. Most butchers and all frozen food vendors take care of the soaking and salting for you, but you should always check this when you are buying someplace you are unfamiliar with.

An egg that contains a blood spot may not be eaten. This isn't very common, but I find them once in a while. It is a good idea to break an egg into a glass and check it before you put it into a heated pan, because if you put a blood-stained egg into a heated pan, the pan becomes non-kosher.

Forbidden Fats and Nerves

The sciatic nerve and its adjoining blood vessels may not be eaten. The process of removing this nerve is time consuming and not cost-effective, so most American slaughterers simply sell the hind quarters to non-kosher butchers.

A certain kind of fat, known as chelev, which surrounds the vital organs and the liver, may not be eaten. Kosher butchers remove this. Modern scientists have found biochemical differences between this type of fat and the permissible fat around the muscles and under the skin.

Fruits and Vegetables

All fruits and vegetables are kosher (but see the note regarding Grape Products below). However, bugs and worms that may be found in some fruits and vegetables are not kosher. Fruits and vegetables that are prone to this sort of thing should be inspected to ensure that they contain no bugs. Leafy vegetables like lettuce and herbs and flowery vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are particularly prone to bugs and should be inspected carefully. Strawberries and raspberries can also be problematic. The Star-K kosher certification organization has a very nice overview of the fruits and vegetables prone to this and the procedure for addressing it in each type.

Separation of Meat and Dairy

On three separate occasions, the Torah tells us not to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." (Ex. 23:19; Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21). The Oral Torah explains that this passage prohibits eating meat and dairy together. The rabbis extended this prohibition to include not eating milk and poultry together. In addition, the Talmud prohibits cooking meat and fish together or serving them on the same plates, because it is considered to be unhealthy. It is, however, permissible to eat fish and dairy together, and it is quite common (lox and cream cheese, for example). It is also permissible to eat dairy and eggs together.

This separation includes not only the foods themselves, but the utensils, pots and pans with which they are cooked, the plates and flatware from which they are eaten, the dishwashers or dishpans in which they are cleaned, and the towels on which they are dried. A kosher household will have at least two sets of pots, pans and dishes: one for meat and one for dairy. See Utensils below for more details.

One must wait a significant amount of time between eating meat and dairy. Opinions differ, and vary from three to six hours. This is because fatty residues and meat particles tend to cling to the mouth. From dairy to meat, however, one need only rinse one's mouth and eat a neutral solid like bread, unless the dairy product in question is also of a type that tends to stick in the mouth.

The Yiddish words fleishik (meat), milchik (dairy) and pareve (neutral) are commonly used to describe food or utensils that fall into one of those categories.

Note that even the smallest quantity of dairy (or meat) in something renders it entirely dairy (or meat) for purposes of kashrut. For example, most margarines are dairy for kosher purposes, because they contain a small quantity of whey or other dairy products to give it a buttery taste. Animal fat is considered meat for purposes of kashrut. You should read the ingredients very carefully, even if the product is kosher-certified.

Utensils

Utensils (pots, pans, plates, flatware, etc., etc.) must also be kosher. A utensil picks up the kosher "status" (meat, dairy, pareve, or treif) of the food that is cooked in it or eaten off of it, and transmits that status back to the next food that is cooked in it or eaten off of it.

Answer 8

It is food that is ritually fit for use in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law. Its about how their food is prepared from start to finish...Apparently, Jews like their stuff a certain way.

Answer 9

Food that is prepared in such a manner that would be considered 'humane'.  Certain foods cannot cook with other or even touch them for that matter.  Also, animals have to be killed in a certain way if it's the meat that's kosher.

Answer 10

here

http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm

For me it is 2000 year old nonsense.

Answer 11

Kashrut, or kosher, refers to Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Hebrew term kashér, meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law). Jews may not consume non-kosher food (but there are no restrictions for non-dietary use, for example, injection of insulin of porcine origin). Food that is not in accord with Jewish law is called treif, (טרייף or treyf, Hebrew טְרֵפָה trēfáh). Treif meat is meat from a non-kosher animal or a kosher animal that has not been properly slaughtered according to Jewish law, but the term is applied by extension to all non-kosher food.

Many of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah's Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, with their details set down in the oral law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) and codified by the Shulchan Aruch and later rabbinical authorities. The Torah does not explicitly state the reason for most kashrut laws, and many varied reasons have been offered for these laws, ranging from philosophical and ritualistic, to practical and hygienic.

By extension, the word kosher means legitimate, acceptable, permissible, genuine or authentic, in a broader sense.

Islam has a related but different system, named halal, and both systems have a comparable system of ritual slaughter.

Answer 12

Kosher foods are prepared according to specific laws of the Jewish religion.

The basics are no pork, no shellfish, and no mixing meat and dairy. Of course, it's much more complex than that but that's the main idea.

Answer 13

it pertains to meat specially slaughtered by a rabbi

Answer 14

Refers to Jewish dietary laws.

Answer 15

There are many foods that are Kosher ie Coca Cola.  Any food label that has "COR" in a circle, "U" in a circle or "K" in a circle is considered Kosher.  You'd be surprised how many items in your cupboard are Kosher and you don't realize it.

Answer 16

As a Christian, what I understand is the laws of Kosher were set by God to protect man from illness and disease.  Also to promote the most healthy food combinations and avoid those unhealthy ones.

One example is the avoidance of beef and milk.  Beef is high in iron, that is good.  Milk is high in calcium, that is good.  But when you combine the two, the calcium binds up the iron and it cannot be absorbed.

However, after Jesus came, He freed us from the "law" ...the bondage and servitude to the law and further man made laws to complicate matters, ...making it more important to follow the law and ritual, even worship it, rather than worship God.  And today with the hygeine and proper proved cooking methods we have available, the risk of contamination is very low.  It is still advisable to observe the food combinations limitiations, even though not widely known about.  Also, observe from what we have learned about mad cow disease, eating certain organ meats, and prevelant methods of slaughter.

Why did Walking on Sunshine get thumbs down for telling the truth?

Answer 17

There must be a lot of rabbis in the world making sure that Kosher salt is prepared properly to Jewish law.

Answer 18

animals die peacefully