KOSHER BASICS

A GUIDE FOR THE KOSHER HOME EMPLOYEE

Presented by Star-K Certification

Well over one million Jewish consumers

keep a kosher home--observing Jewish
dietary laws that have been passed down
over thousands of years.

Keeping kosher is an important part of the

daily life of a Jew. Understanding the
kosher basics will help you assure your
observant employers or clients that their
kosher practices will continue.

Kosher means fit and proper. It does not

mean food blessed by a rabbi. Although
kosher rules might seem very complicated
at first, putting them into practice is like
anything else that takes getting used to---such as learning to drive a car.

THE BIG THREE

Foods can be grouped into three broad categories:
Always acceptable as
kosher. Includes raw fruits &
vegetables that have not been further
processed.

Never kosher. The

Bible prohibits certain foods
for Jews, including: shellfish,
fish without both fins & scales,
& pork.

Kosher supervised. These foods

may be kosher when produced under
the authority of a rabbi or kosher
certification agency to ensure
ingredients & food processing
procedures meet kosher dietary
requirements.

In kosher products, all of the component

ingredients are certified kosher, including any
processing aids that contact the food. The
production equipment must be kosher, too.
Processed foods must be prepared under
rabbinical supervision. To help the kosher
consumer identify kosher foods, many
certification agencies have put their
trademarked symbols on their supervised
products. These symbols include:

THE BIG FOUR

All kosher foods can be grouped into four further
categories, as well.
MEAT: Meat, fowl, and their
byproducts (e.g. soup, bones,
or gravy) are referred to as
fleishig or basar. Kosher
fowl and meat (from animals
that chew their cud and have
split hooves), must come from
a kosher species, and be
slaughtered by specially
trained ritual slaughterers.
Cows, sheep, goats, and
chicken are in this category.

DAIRY: This includes all foods derived from or containing

milk, such as milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese. Even milk
derivatives, such as casein and whey, are considered dairy
when used in kosher foods. These foods are referred to as
milchig or chalav. All dairy products require reliable
kosher supervision.

FISH: Kosher fish must have fins

and easily removable scales.

PAREVE: These neutral foods contain neither

meat nor dairy, or their derivatives. They must also
not have been prepared or processed with meat or
dairy equipment. These include fresh fruits and
vegetables, grains, pasta, soft drinks, fish and eggs.

Speaking of eggs, eggs must be checked for blood

spots, prior to cooking them, by breaking them one
at a time, into a glass. According to kosher laws,
an egg containing a blood spot may not be eaten.
Only boiled eggs are allowed to be eaten without
checking for blood spots.

Certain fruits, vegetables and grains must also be checked

for the presence of small insects and larvae which would
render them non-kosher. These include: Strawberries,
raspberries, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower,
dill, and parsley. In addition, Israeli produce is subject to
special kosher rules.

More on the subject of pareve:

Pareve foods can generally be served with either meat or
dairy meals.
If a pareve food is cooked in a meat pot, it should only be
served on meat dishes with meat serving utensils & cutlery.
If a pareve food is cooked in a dairy pot, it should only be
served on dairy dishes with dairy serving utensils and
cutlery.
If you cut a sharp & spicy pareve food (e.g., onions, garlic,
lemons, and pickles) with a meat knife, it is considered as
having a meat status and may not be used with dairy foods,
and vice versa when it comes to cutting one of these pareve
foods with a dairy knife.

OTHER KOSHER RULES:

Dairy & meat cannot be
served together during
the same meal.

There is a waiting period

(between 1-6 hours,
according to custom)
after eating meat before
eating dairy, and after
eating hard cheese
before eating meat.

Even though fish is pareve & may be

eaten at both meat & dairy meals, at
a meat meal it must be prepared
and served with separate utensils.

Fish may be eaten either before or

after meat.

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

The kosher home has at
least 2 sets of dishes,
silverware, pots, pans,
and utensilsone for
meat, one for dairy.
They are kept in separate
cabinets & drawers,
marked meat and dairy.
There is often a color
scheme in the kosher
kitchene.g., red for
meat, blue for dairyto
more easily tell all the
meat & dairy items apart.

Since meat & dairy must be kept separate

throughout the kosher kitchen, this also applies
to the sink, tables, countertops, refrigerators
and freezers, the stove top, the oven and
broiler, portable electric broilers, small
appliances, and dishwashers. Many kosher
homes also have some separate pareve dishes,
silverware, pots, pans, and utensils.

THE KITCHEN SINK IN THE

KOSHER HOME

The ideal situation in the kosher

home is to have 2 separate sinks
one for meat, one for dairy
since these dishes & utensils
cannot be washed together.
If there is only one sink in which
both meat & dairy dishes are
washed, the inside of the sink is
considered treif (non-kosher).
Therefore, one set of dishes
should be washed at a time, using
separate dish pans atop slightly
elevated meat & dairy racks.
The sink should be scrubbed
clean between washing each set
of dishes.
NO FOOD OR DISHES SHOULD
BE PUT DIRECTLY INTO A SINK
THAT IS USED TO WASH BOTH
MEAT & DAIRY DISHES.

Additional kitchen rules:

Dishes & utensils must be
dried using separate
racks or dishtowels.
Separate meat & dairy
sponges, scouring pads
(which require
certification if they contain
soap), and draining
boards must be used.
Sponges & scouring pads
used to clean a single
sink must not be used on
the dishes, silverware,
pots, pans & utensils.

The Kosher Table

A table can be
used at different
times for meat
and dairy if
different meat and
dairy tablecloths
or placemats are
used.

The Kosher Countertop

Different
countertops or
work areas are
used for meat and
dairy. Separate
coverings must be
used, if one area
must be used for
both.

Refrigerators and Freezers

Both meat and dairy
foods may be kept in
refrigerators and freezers,
but care should be taken
to keep them in separate
areas to avoid spillage.
It is a good idea to mark
the food put in the freezer
to avoid meat-dairy mixups when it is defrosted.

The Stove Top

Burners can be used for
both meat and dairy,
however, it is wise to
avoid cooking meat and
dairy foods at the same
time since splattering can
occur and hot steam can
escape from one food to
the other causing serious
kashrus problems.

The Oven and Broiler

Meat & dairy foods are never

baked or broiled in the same
oven or broiler at the same
time.
The kosher oven is designated
for main usageeither meat or
dairyand the non-designated
food is covered, when
cooked/heated in it.
Separate meat & dairy
potholders are used to remove
the food from inside the oven.
Fish & meat also cannot be
prepared at the same time in
the oven or in pots.

Toaster Ovens
Toaster ovens
must be used
for either
meat or dairy,
exclusively.

Microwaves
The kosher
microwave is
designated for either
meat or dairy and the
non-designated type
is double-wrapped
before it is
cooked/heated in the
microwave.

Deep Fryers
The same deep
fryer cannot be
used for both fish
and meat.

Small Appliances
Small appliances are
designated for either
meat, dairy, or pareve
food preparation.

The Kosher Dishwasher

Dishwashers
must be used for
either washing
meat or dairy
dishes and
utensils,
exclusively.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A

QUESTION ABOUT A UTENSIL,
APPLIANCE, OR FOOD THAT MIGHT
HAVE BECOME TREIF (NON-KOSHER)?

DO NOT PUT IT BACK IN THE

CUPBOARD IF IT IS A DISH OR
UTENSIL.
DO NOT USE IT FURTHER IF IT
IS AN APPLIANCE.
DO NOT SERVE IT IF IT IS A
FOOD.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, DONT BE
AFRAID TO TELL YOUR
KOSHER EMPLOYERS OR
CLIENTS ABOUT A KOSHER
MIX-UPTHEY WILL
PROBABLY THANK YOU FOR
BRINGING IT TO THEIR
ATTENTION!

Examples of the types of mistakes

that can occur in a kosher kitchen:

If you stir a pot of chicken soup

with a dairy or pareve spoon.
If you cut a piece of cheese
with a meat or pareve knife.
If a drop of milk spills into a pot
of hot dogs cooking on the
stove.
If you topped a hamburger with
cheese.
If you heated up a piece of
chicken in a dairy toaster oven.

If a mistake is made, your employer/client will

need to consult a rabbi as soon as possible
about what action must be taken on the pots,
baking pans, and utensils, for advice about
clearing up the issue.

Put the questionable items aside,

& remember the circumstances &
details of the mistake:
What type(s) of food, utensils,
dishes or pots were involved?
How was the food prepared?
What was the approximate
temperature of the food &
utensils involved?
When was the utensil in question
last used prior to the mix-up?
What was the amount of food
involved?

REMEMBER: Although the ingredients may be entirely

kosher, if they are cooked in the wrong type of pots or
appliances, or stirred with the wrong type of utensils, they
lose their kosher status. Similarly, if they are cooked in nonkosher pots & pans or in a non-kosher oven, or produced on
machinery previously used for non-kosher food, the food
loses its kosher status.

Kosher cooking must be initiated by your

kosher employer/client. He or she must ignite the
flame or turn on the electricity used to cook or heat
up food you are preparing, whether it is through
boiling, baking, frying, deep frying, or roasting.
Microwaving is not included in this kosher law.

SPECIAL DAYS ON THE

JEWISH CALENDAR
THE SABBATH (a.k.a. Shabbos
or Shabbat)
The Jewish Sabbath begins at
sundown on Friday night & lasts
until one hour after sundown on
Saturday night.
All Sabbath cooking must be
done before Sabbath candle
lighting time.
These candles, over which
prayers are said, should be left
to burn out themselves.
A festive meal is served on the
Sabbath on a specially set table,
as on Jewish holidays.

PASSOVER
An 8-day Spring holiday
commemorating the Exodus of
the Jewish people from slavery
in ancient Egypt to freedom &
nationhood, that has unique
kosher laws.
Certain grain products & their
derivatives may not be eaten
on Passover, although they are
kosher year round.
Many communities do not eat
legumes or their derivatives on
Passover.

This means no bread or bread products, pizza,

pasta, cereal, etc. are eaten or brought into the
kosher house during the 8 days of Passover.
Actually, once the kosher
kitchen has changed over
to a Kosher for Passover
status (sometimes days
before the Passover
holiday), one should not
bring in or eat nonKosher for Passover food
in the house until the
kitchen has been
changed back to a nonPassover status after the
holiday.

ADDITIONAL KOSHER FOR

PASSOVER RULES
The equipment with
which Kosher for
Passover foods are
prepared must also be
Kosher for Passover, to
be considered acceptable
for eating on Passover.
All processed &
packaged foods must
bear a reputable kosher
symbol, as well as the
letter P following the
symbol, or the words,
Kosher for Passover.

THE KOSHER KITCHEN UNDERGOES AN

EXTREME (CLEANING & KOSHERING)
MAKEOVER TO PREPARE IT FOR KOSHER
FOR PASSOVER STATUS.
All dishes & utensils used
year round are stored
away.
Only special Passover
dishes, silverware, &
cookware, which were
stored away throughout
the rest of the year, are
used each year during the
holiday. They are stored in
cabinets that were emptied
& cleaned for Passover.

IN CONCLUSION, REMEMBER
THESE RULES:
If you are asked to shop for your employer/client, buy only in stores he
or she chooses, and only those products, brands, and kosher
certifications he or she prefers. Do not make changes without asking!
Keep the kitchen set up the way your employer/client has set it up.
Keep the kitchen utensils organized the way your employer/client has
them organized.
Kosher cooking must be initiated by your kosher employer/client. He or
she must ignite the flame/turn on the electricity used to cook or heat up
food you are preparing, whether it is through boiling, broiling, baking,
frying, deep frying, or roasting. Microwaving is not included in this
kosher law.
When you clean up after the meal, keep in mind meat and dairy
separation.
If you are unclear about any of the kosher rules, ask your
employer/client to explain them to you.
Dont be afraid to let your employer/client know if there has been a
kosher mix-up.