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Kosher, kasher
[Hebrew, "fit", "proper"] - Foods allowed
according to Jewish religious law. Judaic dietary
principles, known by
the Hebrew term kashrut ("suitability") belong to the oldest
and most
enduring elements of Jewish culture. They are included in
the Five Books
of Moses (Leviticus, 11; Deuteronomy, 14: 9-21). Only
certain animal
meat can be eaten. Pork, shellfish and eel, for example, are
forbidden-treyf. Beef should come from the front of the
animal. The
animals must be killed by ritual slaughter (shechita). Meat
and milk
products may not be consumed simultaneously, which is why
separate
dishes and pots are used during their preparation and
consumption. Meat
and milk products must undergo special treatment throughout
the entire
cooking process. Before preparing meat, the meat is soaked
in water for
half an hour to rid it of any blood that may remain, and
then in salt;
after an hour, it is rinsed in cold water. Another method is
to roast it
over the fire. All veins should be removed.
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Vegetable dishes are treated as ritually
"neutral", or "pareve" [Hebrew, parve]; nevertheless, not
all
vegetable-based products are pareve. Although alcohol is
pareve, spirits
prepared for Pesach may not be prepared from grain. Wine
must be
kosher, which means it must be subjected to special ritual
treatment
during its production. This also applies to raisins.
All these complicated rules and principles are justified
by rabbis,
who point to the influence of what one eats on one's
spirituality and
ethics. Today, these rules are observed by Orthodox Jews.
All food
produced in or imported to Israel must be kosher. Most of
Israeli
society, living according to secular norms, treats these
kosher
principles more as their national culinary tradition than as
a religious
obligation. Kosher food has much in common with health food
and
vegetarianism. The Orthodox rules of kosher cooking are
being modified
as well: modern rabbis overseeing food production also pay
attention to
the chemical additives and preservatives used, as well as to
the
products' nutritional and health value.
(A.C./CM)
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