Overview of Jewish Kosher Food, Part 1

Why choose Jewish Kosher cuisine?

Wherever Jews have lived, from the ancient Middle East to the modern Americas, they have eaten local food. So what exactly is Jewish cuisine? It is food permitted by Jewish law, in some cases developed or adapted to meet Jewish needs. Jewish cuisine is not only Eastern European food. Every Jewish community—Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Yemenis, Italians and other groups—meets the requirements of Judaism in their own way and with their own dishes.

In addition to Jewish dietary law, Jewish cuisine includes:

1. The Sabbath: there are two rules of the Sabbath that have particularly influenced the development of Jewish food. One is the prohibition against removing the unwanted part of a mixture, such as fish bones. This led to the development of gefilte fish, which (at least in theory) has no bones.

More widely known is the rule prohibiting cooking things on the Sabbath. Because stews and other long-cooking items could be prepared before the Sabbath, a series of such dishes developed. The most famous of these is 'cholent' (called 'hamin' by Sephardic Jews).

2. Holidays: Passover's influence on Jewish food may fundamentally have its own common issues, but other holidays also have their own influence.

The Jewish New Year, which emphasizes sweet things, prompted the development of honey cake and 'taigelech.' In Yiddish, the word for carrot has a special pun also meaning 'increase,' giving rise to carrot tzimmes. Shavuot, characterized by dairy products, led to the popularity of blintzes and cheesecake.

What constitutes Jewish Kosher food?

When judging whether a recipe you want to publish is Kosher, remember the basic concepts of Kosher food: no mixing of dairy products and meat, no pork or pork products, and no aquatic shellfish.

This also applies to products containing such ingredients. For example, food coloring derived from shellfish would be considered non-Kosher and could contaminate the food using it. Similarly, using ingredients such as animal fat and dairy products will contaminate a product as non-Kosher, and even contaminate the production equipment.

If a recipe does not meet these basic requirements, consider whether some ingredients can be substituted to adjust it to be 'compliant with dietary law' (for example, in a meat recipe, replacing butter with plant-based margarine). If you are unsure how to make such a substitution, publish the recipe and then seek advice on how to substitute. Please clearly note that the recipe is not inherently kosher (Jewish).

For more of an overview of Jewish Kosher food, please refer to the document 'Overview of Jewish Kosher Food, Part 2,' or contact SINOQUAL to learn more about Jewish K certification knowledge.