For Jewish only: how do you......?

Question

I was watching a cookery programme where a male cook went to cook and have ameal in ajEwish family home. I noticed how you have seperate utencils/cook pots etc for dairy-non meat and sepeate for meat.

This family even had a seperate wash sink for non meat and meat. I thought Kosher was just like Halal where food is permissable to eat, but Kosher is quite different as its not just food wise but how you cook and where or in what.

Muslims have Halal diet where meat is prayed and then cut. No pork etc. But in places like an nhs hospital, Mcdonalds or restaurant how would you keep to a Kosher diet?

Muslims often find it difficult to find Halal food like burgers, but it must be difficult for Jewish to find Kosher in places like this.

I am just interested and find it a little strict. I am interested and not here to offend anyone.
thank you

Answer 1

I'm not Jewish but I have lived around Jews for half a century, so if nobody responds, this is my bit.
There are many forbidden foods listed in the Bible, one being the command not to "seethe the kid in its mother's milk", i.e. don't cook. To make sure that this can't happen, a Jew cannot cook or prepare meat (any meat) in the presence of milk. To make sure that milk and meat aren't contaminated by each other, Orthodox Jews use cutlery, crockery, cooking utensils which have been used for either/or
To make sure there is no cross contamination, the wealthy would have separate kitchens, others will use separate dishwashers or sinks/bowls to wash dishes and keep meat and milk in separate fridges.
An Orthodox Jew would not eat in a restaurant which did not adhere to the food laws - they are inspected and given a Certificate to operate.
It doesn't just stop there - animals must be raised correctly, must be slaughtered using a knife blade which has no blemish (if there is a nick in the blade which might mean not a clean cut, the animal is not kosher). An animal must only be slaughtered by a Certified butcher.
Because there is a commandment about not taking in blood, meat is well washed and salted to remove as much blood as possible. Parts of a beef animal cannot be eaten unless it has been properly prepared (rump steak is out unless the nerve has been removed).
You will find that an Orthodox Jewish family have 4 sets of crockery - one only used for meat, one just for milk. For Passover they have another two sets which have not had leavened foods on them.
Kosher foods do not stop at pig. All animals must have a cloven hoof and chew the cud, all fish must have fins and scales (so no shell fish, no eel), Jews cannot eat anything which "has died of itself", they cannot eat birds of prey or carnivores. The list seems endless.
Of course there are many degrees of adherence to the laws, I play safe when I have Jewish Visitors (the ultra Orthodox would not eat in my house) and do a vegetarian or fish meal on disposable plates.

Answer 2

The two sets of cuttlery and non glass plates is to keep the dairy meals seperate from the meat meals. If they mix, the untensils become unclean and have to be cleansed. Now, you never eat meat and milk at the same meal. Ruben Sandwiches are never Kosher. The cheese just can't co-exist with the pastromi.
Kosher requires what to eat, how it is prepared and how it is eaten. Lobster is never Kosher, nor pork nor fish without scales like catfish. G-d said this. It is a law. I am friends with a Rabbi that makes sure the local bottler of Tree Top Apple Juice is repaired on properly maintained machines.
You can tell if the product has a k in a circle or a U. Both say that they are Kosher as prepared. It goes on and on. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

A beit din (panel of three Orthodox rabbis) is the FORMAL way for anyone to be determined Jewish or not. Yes, even those who were BORN Jewish must be able to PROVE it if they ever want to be married or buried in ISRAEL. Anyone can get on an anonymous internet board and SAY that they are JEWISH, but I assure you if Shuckles (whatever his name), ever went to Jerusalem, Rechovot, Ashdod, Petach Tikva, or any other kosher beit din, spouting his drivel, I assure you he would be thrown back out the door. How do you prove you are Jewish? You must prove at the least that your mother and your mother's mother are both Jewish (or that your mother, or you, have converted). You can show a ketubah, signed by an Orthodox Rabbi/ Witnesses, along with your birth certificate, or if they converted their conversion documents, signed by a recognized Orthodox court. If your father was your mother's second husband then you MUST provide a Get signed by an Orthodox Rabbi (otherwise you could be a mamzer). What if you don't have these documents? You can show records of a burial in a Jewish cemetery; donations or dedications they made to a synagogue. All hearings are conducted in Hebrew; you and your witnesses are interviewed in Hebrew (you can bring a translator to help); all documents must be in Hebrew. The court will contact people that know you and will confirm the information that you provide. They are very thorough and it is getting stricter with each passing year. Edit to Sylvia C. [This is your whole friggin' problem; you place being Jewish on some freaky pedestal (is it because you worship a Jew instead of G-d?) Why are there no Xtians for Allah?? Mohammedan Xtians? Jewish is just a fact, or for some, a choice. Either way you do not HAVE to be Jewish/ Bnei Israel/ or anything else. If you really believe that Jesus/ Yeshua/ Yosel is the Messiah and 'died for your sins' then be a proud unadulterated Xtian].

Answer 4

I agree with the other answers; however, serving on glass plates can be done with any foods, meat or dairy.

Keeping to a kosher diet, for some means not eating meat outside of the home. Some Jews of the Modern Orthodox stream will eat non-kosher fish when dining in public places.

Answer 5

Yes, and there are many, many more dos and don'ts like that in Judaism. They have Kosher delis and supermarkets. Pop into places like Sheperds Bush or Preswich and you will be fascinated by it. Try a glatt Jewish restaurant for Kosher food, but be careful, as some Frommers (very religious types) may object with a gentile eating there. Oh, and read Leviticus if you want to know where it came from.

Answer 6

Only Jews who keep kosher eat that way. Many observant Jews do not keep kosher, and only have one set of dishes, utensils, etc.