How do you know if a food is Kosher??

Question

I heard it has to be blessed by a Rabbi....But how is it possible....so you can't eat from your own garden?...Or does your Rabbi come and bless your garden..What about going to a restaurant??....I'm confused on how this all works!....Thanks!

Answer 1

no blessing from a rabbi is need that is an urban legend

all food you grow in a garden is automatically kosher as long as you do not cut it with a non kosher knife (long explanation is needed)

as for a restaurant it needs a valid kosher certification. By doing a quick Internet search for kosher restaurants in your area you can find out which ones have them.

as for processed items such as chips or candies these should be marked with the appropriate kosher symbols. If you want any more information feel free to email me

Answer 2

Kosher is a certain way that jewish people make their foods. It can't touch other foods, all the meats have to stay seperate, and none of the juices from foods can mix. A lot of the weddings in the jewish custom MUST be kosher, otherwise the food will not be eaten. If anything gets contaminated by another food that food goes into the garbage and you start all other again. The Rabbi watches over the preparation of the food, and says when the food is kosher. Also you only work with the food for a certain amount of time and you don't work with the foods on Sunday. And once the Rabbi has stated that the food is Kosher, then you are allowed to feast.

Answer 3

There are Kosher restaurants, Kosher sections in grocery stores, and most canned and boxed foods will say "Kosher" if it is.

I'm not Jewish, but grew up in school with many Jewish people. As far as the garden goes, call a Rabbi and ask if he needs to bless it.

You do know about never mixing dairy products with meats - and about having separate dishes for those foods?

I'm sure you could check a Kosher cookbook out of the library to get some ideas - or do a search.

Answer 4

most issues for kosher observant Jews comes from resrictions on animals. only certain types of animals are eaten, and most have to be slaughtered in specific ways. there are Jews trained in the rules regarding this, (not necessarily rabbis), and they use especially sharp knives to cut the animals throat in a very specific way, even if the trained individual misses, or somehow botches the cut, the animal cannot be used, so the typical slaughterhouse way of killing cows and chickens also renders the animal unkosher. the meat is made bloodless, with soaking and salt, but still, certain parts of an animal arent eaten.

(theres a recent Hebrew National commercial that talks about the meat being from the best part of the cow, no butts, they say. this is misleading because that part of the animal is kosher, there is only a small part in the leg of the animal that isnt eaten. but in America, the practice in the meat industry is to not use the entire back half of the cow, because its easier than surgically removing specific parts.)

and about your question, no, food is not blessed by a rabbi. you can keep kosher yourself, without a rabbi for miles. there are blessings that are said before the slaughtering of animals, but thats for the deed, not the food, and some Jews say personal blessings on their own foods, as a sort of thanks. a blessing comes from anyone, not always a rabbi.

being that vegetables are not animals, they are kosher by default, unless theyve been sprayed with lard or something, which usually doesnt happen. many common supermarket foods do use animal byproducts where you wouldnt expect it, so sometimes even some teas and juices are considered not to be kosher. or sometimes the company just doesnt go through the trouble of getting a symbol placed on their package. people who are careful about kashrut (kosher) also dont eat at restaurants without a similar symbol, given out by certain kashrut organizations.

that was long winded, but its good that you ask, alot of people, including some Jews, all have different ideas of what goes into it. being kosher is hard, because you know the food court smells good, i know plenty of kids from religious families that go behind their parents backs, its a personal choice really.

Answer 5

If you but it in a store it will have a Kosher label usually a U inside a circle or a K. Some foods are always Kosher (Vegetables and the like). The main responsibility of the Rabbi being present is to supervise it was made in a Kosher fashion (I.E. No non-Kosher ingredients and no meat and dairy together). Obviously if you make it yourself you will know whether it is Kosher or not.

Answer 6

It doesn't have to be 'blessed' by a rabbi, but if it is processed in any way, it has to be supervised to ensure that no non-kosher ingredients or utensils were used.

But just a rundown...fresh fruits and vegetables are always kosher...assuming one can remove all the bugs.

Meat and poultry must come from a kosher species. For the 4-legged variety, it must have a split hoof and chew its cud. For birds, there are other signs...but chicken, turkey, duck, quail, doves, etc are kosher species. The animal or bird must be slaughtered properly and must have been healthy at the time of slaughter. Then all the blood must be removed and certain fats.

Seafood must have fins and scales to be kosher...no other requirements.

And as above, processed foods have to be supervised by a knowledgable authority

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

No, no, no. Technically, it just has to be made from kosher animals (certain species), ritually slaughtered if it's an animal or bird, not involve milk products and meat products, and a Jew has to oversee the process to make sure everything is done correctly. Raw, whole fruits are OK, as is anything from an observant Jew's home. Most commercial products that are kosher have a national kosher agency come and inspect, and then put their symbol, certifying that this food is kosher. Restaurants are supervised by the local rabbinical council.

Answer 8

I fit is manufactured in a plant or shop, a Rabbi comes and verifies the cleaniness. Usually there will be a little U or a K in a circle or it will say Pareve on the bottle/jar/packaging.
The Rabbi is there to attest to the cleanliness and the fact that meat and dairy are in seperate areas. So if you keep your house kosher, you're fine.

Answer 9

The law of clean and unclean meats can be found in the book of Leviticus 11:. Yah gave us meats that are clean or healthy for us to eat, this is what the term clean meats refer to. Jews have created a word that many think is the proper Hebrew term for clean meats. This word as you may know is Kosher. Kosher is not the Hebrew word for clean meats, it doesn't refer to the laws of clean and unclean meats. Kosher refers to the way the animal is slaughtered, and how to drain a majority of it's blood. They have Kosher pigs, in fact the state of Israel has one of the largest pig farms in the world.

Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

Any animal can be Kosher as long as it's slaughtered according to the Jewish law. Kosher comes from the Jewish Talmud. Just because you see Kosher on a food label does not mean that product contains 100% clean meat. All it means it that the animal used for that product was slaughter in a certain way that the rabbi's approved of.

Answer 10

Kosher foods are usually packaged or processed foods such as meats, cheeses, pasta mixes etc.

It will have a "K" in an circle or the work "parve" on the package, usually near the lower right corner.

As far as meats go, yes a rabbi would be present at the slaughter house to make sure the animals were slaughtered in a human hebrew fashion.
All meats sold at a jewish deli will be parve. (kosher)
ASK your butcher if the meats they sell are kosher. They sould know.
Most commercially sold "Certified Angus beef" has been checked as kosher.

The rule of thumb when cooking is a phrase my jewish friend taught me, "Never drown the animal in the milk of it's mother."

Meaning NO CHEESE BURGERS
No meat on your pizza, but veggies are fine.
No alfredo sauce on your chicken.
Anything with milk, cream, cheese..any kind of dairy must NEVER touch meats of anykind
Also Jews cannot eat shellfish or pork as they are deemed unclean.
Also birds of prey are concidered unclean.