Kosher 101

[image source: http://pinterest.com/pin/18198179/]

The other day, a friend was asking me about keeping kosher. While it was on my mind, I figured I'd give you all a little explanation as to what keeping kosher entails--complete with fun photo assistance!

Kosher Rule Numero Uno: Eat the right animals.

In the Torah, certain animals are listed as kosher and some are not. To qualify as a kosher animal, an animal has to have split hooves and chew its cud.

Here are some classic kosher animals:

[image source: http://cow.gallery.sytes.org]

[image source: www.google.co.nz]

And a very classic NOT kosher animal? Pigs!

We don't eat any pig products, from ham to bacon to pork. Even though I didn't grow up keeping kosher, I never ate pig, so I don't know what I'm missing.

And to tell you the truth, ever since I watched Charlotte's Web back in the day I'm not sure I could eat a pig. They're so cute!

[image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45562778@N02/5304355986/in/faves-kristyns/]

And just to emphasize my point:

[image source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pixdaus.com/pics/]
But I digress.

Kosher Rule Number Two: If you're eating meat (just wrote "meating" my accident--ha!), it has to be killed the kosher way.

What does that mean, you ask? Well, it's a complicated answer, but the basic idea is that the animal has to be killed as quickly and humanely as possible--any animals not killed according to the specific kosher method aren't kosher (even if they're cows).

Kosher meat is specially marked in the grocery store:

[image source: http://www.google.com/imgres?]

A classic Empire Kosher. You can also tell if meat is kosher by the price tag:) Given all of the supervision and transportation that goes into kosher meat, it's more expensive.

Kosher Rule Numero Tres: No meat and milk together.

You can't munch a piece of cheese and a piece of steak at the same time.

And none of these bad boys:


[image source: blog.heritage.org]

But, you can always get your cheeseburger fix this way:


[image source: http://pinterest.com/pin/6134464/]

Couldn't resist!

In addition to not eating meat and milk in the same sandwich, we also don't eat them in the same meal (ie, no hamburger + chocolate milk). We have two sets of dishes and pots and pans for milk and meat. We also wait 6 hours after eating meat before eating dairy (which is why I'm not a fan of weeknight meat meals--no time to eat your chocolate!).

Some Final Odds and Ends: Mind your Ps and Qs

When we go grocery shopping, we only buy products that have kosher symbols on them (except for fresh fruits and veggies).

Here are some common kosher symbols:



[image source: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://web.mit.edu/burton2
/kosher_symbols%255E1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://web.mit.edu/burton2/studybreak.html&usg=]
We also clean vegetables for bugs, and do a few other little things. But since this is a quick summary, I won't give you ALL the details!

After reading this, you're probably like, "WHAT??? So many rules? And you can't eat anything!" But the truth is, when you live kosher, you don't think about the rules--it's pretty seamless. And that's coming from someone who did not grow up this way!

So there you have it--a short and (hopefully) sweet description of keeping kosher. Any questions?

And since this post has made me kind of hungry, what's YOUR favorite food? (And to feed my curiosity, are YOU familiar with kosher stuff at all?)