what is kosher food? is it healthier?

Question

i watched Hogan Knows Best the other day. they moved into a neighborhood that had a lot of Jewish people. they wouldn't eat anything, unless it was "Kosher Foods". i know they explained that the foods had to be raised a certain way, and the animal meat had to be prepped in a certain way.

so what is Kosher food, and is it healthier then what non-kosher food?

Answer 1

Kosher food is food prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary guidelines or "Kahrut" which means "proper." Any food can be called kosher food if it follows the proper guidelines. Conversely, foods typically labeled as "Jewish" aren't necessarily kosher. The word "kosher" isn't used for only food, however. Kosher basically means something follows all the Jewish legal guidelines.

What are some of the laws governing kosher food?

According to the Torah, the five books of Moses, cloven hoofed, cud-chewing mammals are kosher. Deer, sheep and goats are all considered kosher foods.
Only certain birds are considered kosher in the United States. Chicken, duck, goose and turkey.
Lobster lovers might be dismayed to find that for a fish to be kosher, it must have fins and easily removable scales. In most cases, scales must be present on the fish in order to be purchased by the consumer. There's more. If a fish monger isn't kosher, that means his cutting implements and machines aren't kosher either. If it is to be considered kosher food, it must be prepared with kosher equipment.
Fish and meat cannot be served together.
Milk and meat cannot be served together.
Processed food must be prepared in the presence of a rabbi.
Poultry and meat must be slaughtered under strict guidelines called "shechita." This means the animals are slaughtered without pain. Only those who are trained and qualified are allowed to slaughter kosher animals. Once the animal is no longer alive, another team of experts will examine the animal to be sure the animal is without illness, abnormalities or anything else that can be considered unsanitary. The lungs in particular must be pure. In addition, all blood and most fat must be removed.
Families who eat only kosher food must use two separate sets of utensils, pots, pans and dishes. One set is for poultry or meat, and another is set for everything else. In addition, these dishes and utensils can't be washed together. If a kitchen has two sinks, it is an ideal setup for a kosher family. If not, one set of dishes must be washed; the water emptied and sink scrubbed before the other set can be cleaned. Dishes and utensils must be dried using separate racks or dishtowels.
There are many other rules to be followed for anything to be considered kosher food. Suffice it to say that if one is purchasing prepared food, one must examine the packaging to be sure the food is labeled kosher.
And no....kosher food isn't necessarily healthier than non-kosher though there is no question that some of the dietary laws have some beneficial health effects. For example, the laws regarding kosher slaughter are so sanitary that kosher butchers and slaughterhouses have been exempted from many USDA regulations.

Answer 2

Kosher food is food that is prepared according to Jewish religious law. It also excludes certain food which are inheritly not kosher (e.g. pork products).

The idea that kosher food is healthier is a different matter. The answer is generally "no".
What you may have though is that since there is a additional level of supervision (i.e. kosher in addition to general food inspection) it may assure that a manafactuer will not employee tricks.

Case in point: A kosher hot dog is guarenteed to be all beef and the maker would not have included some other products on the side. Nevertheless, the kosher hot dog is not really healthy.

Answer 3

It is the Jewish law dealing with what foods can and cannot be eaten and how those foods must be prepared and eaten.
Fish and meat cannot be served together.
Milk and meat cannot be served together.
Processed food must be prepared in the presence of a rabbi.
Poultry and meat must be slaughtered under strict guidelines called "shechita." This means the animals are slaughtered without pain. Only those who are trained and qualified are allowed to slaughter kosher animals. Once the animal is no longer alive, another team of experts will examine the animal to be sure the animal is without illness, abnormalities or anything else that can be considered unsanitary. The lungs in particular must be pure. In addition, all blood and most fat must be removed.
Families who eat only kosher food must use two separate sets of utensils, pots, pans and dishes. One set is for poultry or meat, and another is set for everything else. In addition, these dishes and utensils can't be washed together. If a kitchen has two sinks, it is an ideal setup for a kosher family. If not, one set of dishes must be washed; the water emptied and sink scrubbed before the other set can be cleaned. Dishes and utensils must be dried using separate racks or dishtowels.
They are weird!!!

Answer 4

I couldn't put it better than Wikipedia, so I won't add anything to their excellent explanation of what kosher food is. It's not any more or less healthy than any other food, since what makes food kosher is religious laws, not nutritional ones. The only thing that might make kosher food "healthier" is that you can't eat meat with milk, and you also can't eat pork so no bacon. That means no super artery-clogging combos like the bacon cheeseburger.

Answer 5

Kosher is a certain way the food is prepared or watched or raised, as you said. I guess it is healthier because it is checked and cleaned so it wouldn't have bad stuff in it. Like lettuce would be cleaned a lot so there wouldn't be pesticides in/on it. Meat would not have weird chemicals in it.

Oh and food isn't "blessed by a Rabbi". I have no idea where that comes from. It's watched by a Rabbi if made with grain.

Answer 6

Kosher foods are those that meet certain criteria of Jewish law. Invalidating characteristics may range from the presence of a mixture of meat and milk, to the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed properly, or even the use of cooking utensils which had previously been used for non-kosher food. It's the same food we all eat.

Answer 7

Kashrut or Kashruth, Kashrus or "keeping kosher" is the name of the 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 the rules of traditional Judaism).

Foods are kosher when they meet all criteria that Jewish law applies to food and drinks. Invalidating characteristics may range from the presence of a mixture of meat and milk, to the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed properly, or even the use of cooking utensils which had previously been used for non-kosher food.

Answer 8

From the Hebrew kasher. When talking about food, to prepare it at every stage in strict observance of the Jewish dietary laws. When talking about salt, kosher salt is a coarse salt that does not contain magnesium carbonate.

Answer 9

Kosher food is food that is prepared and kept in a manner approved by Jewish rules.

Answer 10

By kosher, it means that the food is Biblically clean.