Halacha - Kashrut

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Kosher means "fit" or "proper".
The Laws of Kosher food (Kashrut) define the foods and processes that meet Gd's instructions, further shaped by decrees of our Sages, that we may eat. These guidelines are recorded in the Mishnah, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch.

Keeping Kosher is and has always been the hallmark of our loyalty. More than any other Mitzvah, Kashrus highlights that Judaism is a comprehensive way of life and not just a "religion" where we interact with Gd in special places and at special times.

Kosher Basics

• Kosher beasts have split hooves and chew their cud.
  
• The Torah lists 21 non-Kosher bird species, basically all predatory and scavenger birds.
• Water creatures are Kosher if they have fins and scales.
  Fresh, smoked and frozen fish may in general be eaten, provided they are identifiable or named on the package. Cut fish must be washed since it may be contaminated with non-K fish via equipment used for non-kosher fish. Tinned fish must specify vegetable or soya oil, or brine. OXFORD CHABAD
  
• Four types of locust are Kosher, however there are not many communities that maintain this tradition.
• All other living creatures are not Kosher.

• Meat, milk, roe & eggs of Kosher species are Kosher.
• Honey is not produced by bees but is made from the nectar they collect. It is therefore Kosher although bees are not Kosher.
  
• Strict laws govern how beasts and fowl are to be dispatched, Shechted, and which parts are Kosher.
• Fish do not require Kosher slaughter, Shechitah.
• After slaughter, the internal organs particularly the lungs, are examined for blemishes.
• Nikur ("porging") is the removal of various fats, veins and glands from the carcase.
• This is a time consuming process which is particularly complex for the hindquarters. Hindquarters are therefore not generally sold as Kosher.
• Blood of mammals and fowl is forbidden. It is removed through soaking and salting.
• Eggs must be free of blood spots.
  
• Meat and milk are never combined. Dedicated utensils, which are  washed separately, are used for preparing them. A waiting period is observed between eating them.  
• Meat & Milk ovens.
• Pareve foods are neither "meat" nor "dairy." Eggs are Pareve.
  
• Fruits, vegetables and grains are Kosher, but not the insects hitching a ride.
• Wine and grape juice, require Kosher certification.
• Chalav Yisrael is milk that has been supervised from its milking, an ancient decree of our Sages.
  
• Gevinat Yisrael is cheese that has been made by a Yisrael.
• Our Sages forbade the consumption of the wine, bread and cooked foods of a non-Jew.
• Produce grown in the Land of Israel has special Kashrut requirements.
  
• Even small traces (1.66 percent or more) of non-Kosher foods, and sometimes even less than that, will disqualify food from being Kosher.
• Bread, for example may contain such small percentages of non-Kosher oil; fruit juice may become non-Kosher when pasteurized in the same machinery as non-Kosher foods (wine or milk); a vegetarian dish heated in a non-Kosher pan or oven may be rendered non-Kosher.
• All processed foods and eating establishments require Kosher certification (however see and see).
• Utensils used directly for cooking, eating or storage of food must be immersed in a Mikveh if made of metal or glass. This is a Biblical obligation and requires a Beracha. Plastic utensils do not require immersion. China should be immersed but without a Bracha. SEE
  
  

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