Explanation Of Kosher

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Thanks, everyone for your lovely compliments on my explanation to
Nancy Johnson. And Nancy, if you're reading this, everyone else has
done a super job of filling you in on what "kosher" means. However, I
don't think anyone mentioned the source of "kosher," and that is, of
couse, the Bible. The word kosher, or Kasher, to use a more correct
pronounciation, means "fit" or "proper."  In the Bible, we have laws
given to the Jews by God about what foods  we may and may not eat.
There has been much speculation down through  the ages about the reason
for these laws: health, cleanliness, etc.  But the true reason, our
Rabbis tell us, is because we were commanded  by God to follow these
laws, and to set us apart as a holy people. In  fact, Nancy, even
though only about 10 percent of all Jews observe  the dietary laws, it
is probably these same laws that have allowed  the Jews to survive as a
people for 4,000 years.  Kosher animals, as the others have mentioned,
include cows, lambs,  goats, sheep, deer. A kosher four-legged animal
is one that both  chews its cud and has a cloven hoof. Therefore, pig
is not a kosher  animal. In the category of fowl, chicken, goose, duck,
turkey (there  are a few others as well) are kosher. There is a list of
birds in the  Bible that we are forbidden to eat. No reason is given,
but the thing  they have in common is that they are birds of prey.  We
are permitted to eat fish that have fins and scales, therefore cod,
flounder, salmon, tuna, mahi mahi, mackerel, trout, etc are kosher.
Shrimp, lobster, eel, clam, crab, squid etc. are not. We are not
permitted to eat things that creep or crawl on their bellies, for
instance, reptiles (alligator or lizard or snake), or insects.  Fruits
and vegetables are all kosher, as are eggs of kosher animals.  It may
interest you to know that Adam and Eve were vegetarians, and  some
believe that man was meant to be a vegetarian, in the best of  all
possible worlds. It was only after they were thrown out of the  garden
of Eden that they were permitted to kill animals for their  food.
Speaking of killing animals, our kosher animals must be ritually
slaughtered in order to be fit for us to eat. It means slaughtering  in
a way that caused the animal the least pain; produces the quickest
death, and drains out as much blood as possible. We are not permitted
to eat the blood; it is the life of the animal. That's why kohser
butchers (and in the old days, housewives) soak and salt the meat to
drain out even more blood. Because of the requirements of slaughter,
observant Jews do not hunt, nor will they eat an animal that has been
shot, bludgeoned, or that has died a natural death. Kosher
slaughterhouses employ a Rabbi who oversees the slaughtering process
and who ascertains that it has been done properly. You might imagine
that kosher meat costs more, and it does! Looks like I'm out of room
again...Anne in Balt. MD 3:20 pm  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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