are kosher foods especially prepared foods?

Question

does anyone know what the work kosher means. i know that jewish folks eat kosher foods. but, what does the word really mean? and why are they limited to only kosher food.

Answer 1

Kosher means "fit for ritual use." Kosher foods follow certain laws and rules; some of those rules have to do with the foods themselves; others have to do with the preparation.

We eat food that is kosher because we are trying to follow the laws of the Torah (the first five books of what a Christian calls the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). There are certain foods that are prohibited to us, and certain foods that are allowed. One of the best known is that Jews do not eat pork, but that's a narrow application of one law, which says that we may not eat any animal that does not have both cloven hooves AND chews its cud. Therefore, not only would pork be forbidden to us, but also something like horse meat, rodents, and many other animals. We also may not eat any fish that lacks either fins or scales, so shellfish, shrimp, oysters, lobster, etc., are all prohibited to us. We are also prohibited from consuming birds of prey such as hawks, falcons, etc.

Preparation entails seperating meat and milk, especially. We may not eat meat and milk together, because of a verse in the Torah (actually found in two places) where we are forbidden to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." By extension, we believe that we are not to eat meat and milk together. Many Jewish households that keep very strict kosher have two seperate sets of dishes, pans, utensils, etc., so that we can fully obey this law. Some even have two refrigerators and two dishwashers, although that's comparatively rare. Many synagogues have a "meat kitchen" and a "milk kitchen" so that nobody gets confused ;-)

The final area is in the blessing of food. Sometimes it's done when a food is prepared (for instance, there's a blessing for baking bread). Kosher slaughter is done after offering a blessing of thanks to God, and is done only by a very exactingly-trained butcher called a shochet; the process of ritual slaughter is "shechita." It is intended to cause the animal as little pain as possible when it is killed for food purposes. As with many other religions, we offer a blessing before meals, but we also offer one AFTER meals.

Kosher foods that you see in a grocery store (and they're not necessarily in the Kosher Foods aisle) have a mark from a governing authority that has certified that they were prepared in accordance with the laws of kashrut (the entire body of laws governing what is and is not kosher); you'll often see this mark, called a "hechsher," on all sort of products by many well-known manufacturers. They take a variety of forms; the best known are probably the "U" in a circle ("Orthodox Union"), the "K" in a triangle, and similar marks; I've included a web site below that will give you an idea of their variety. The laws that Jews follow for kashrut are VERY similar to those followed by Muslims for "halal," also.

These are just some of the basics; keeping a kosher kitchen, and "keeping kosher" is quite involved, but we do it because we believe that it's what is right for us.

Answer 2

The reasoning behind Jewish people eating kosher food is because of religious views. To fully understand them, I think you'd have to do a little more research. A few sentences couldn't really sum ALL of it up, but I will say it again: it's all religion.

"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. For an in-depth discussion of this tradition, see kashrut."

"ko·sher (kshr) also ka·sher (kä-)
adj.
1. Judaism
a. Conforming to dietary laws; ritually pure: kosher meat.
b. Selling or serving food prepared in accordance with dietary laws: a kosher restaurant.
2. Slang
a. Legitimate; permissible: "consolidating noneditorial functions of the papers, which is kosher" Christian Science Monitor.
b. Genuine; authentic.
tr.v. ko·shered, ko·sher·ing, ko·shers
To make proper or ritually pure."

Answer 3

kosher means the laws of god were followed in preparing the food. there is a special section of jewish law for food.

kosher has several different levels -- kind of like different protestant groups believe different things some people are really slack on the kosher.

sometimes kosher means it has been blessed by a rabbi -- especially like if its kosher for passover.

pork is not kosher. pigs are not wandering animals and the jews had to leave them behind when they went out to live as nomads in the desert.

processed food with chemicals isn't kosher. most sodas aren't kosher becasuse of high fructose corn syrup (made by a chemical process). you can get kosher coke with sugar and it tastes so much better!

a cheeseburger isn't kosher because beef and cheese should be separated. its kind of hard to explain but the cheese was milk which would nurture the cow so you don't eat them together out of respect or something? i was never clear on that. just don't ask for a cheeseburger at your jewish friends' house.

Answer 4

Yes. Kosher meats are from specially raised animals & butchered according to certain guidelines. Certain foods are forbidden. There are also rules as to how foods can be combined & rules for running a Kosher kitchen so as to avoid certain combinations.

Not all Jewish people "keep Kosher."

"kosher

Definition: [KOH-sher] Food that conforms to strict Jewish biblical laws pertaining not only to the type of food that may be eaten, but to the kinds of food that can be combined at one meal (for example, meat and dairy products may not be mixed). In order to meet kosher standards and receive the kosher seal, food must be prepared under a rabbi's supervision. In addition to the kinds of animals considered kosher (pigs and rabbits are among the nonkosher group), the laws also decree that animals be fed organically grown food and killed in the most humane manner possible. The word "kosher" is a derivation of the Hebrew kasher, meaning "proper" or "pure." Because kosher foods bear an inherent hallmark of wholesomeness and quality, they are rapidly becoming popular with a new market of health-conscious consumers. Kosher foods can be purchased in most supermarkets throughout the United States.

--Copyright (c) 1995 by Barron's Educational Series, from The New Food Lover's Companion, Second Edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst" http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/encyclopedia/termdetail/0,,3721,00.html

For more information: http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut

Answer 5

Kosher foods are foods that meet the special criteria of Jewsih 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.

Kashrut "keeping kosher" is actually the name of the Jewish peoples dietary law. Or in Hebrew, it is kashér. That means "fit."

Many varied reasons have been offered for these laws, ranging from philosophical and ritualistic, to practical and hygienic.

Answer 6

kosher foods are made in specific ways. if it involved an animal, they only use the front half of the animal. it's blessed by a rabbi, too. also, if someone keeps kosher, they don't eat meat with dairy. kosher kitchens are 2 complete kitchens with 2 sets of dishes and silverware and everything so that things that are used for meat aren't used for dairy.

Answer 7

yes

I used to work for a catering company, and we catered to a lot of jewish events. Most had to be Kosher, which is a type of cleanliness that they observe.

Your best bet is to read the Tora, Ask a jewish priest, or ask a catering comapany, for more info

Answer 8

i think it means that the food has to be blessed by a rabbi in order to be kosher

Answer 9

Kosher meats are special to Jews because of the way they are butchered. While the animal is being killed, prayers are being recited.

Answer 10

KEFELTA FISH, I would think. Motza Balls.

And don't forget " HEBREW NATIONAL " Hot Dogs.