Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כשרות or כַּשְׁרוּת) is the set of Jewish dietary laws.
6
votes
2answers
937 views
At a non-kosher restaurant, is sliced raw fish kosher?
At a non-kosher restaurant, is thinly-sliced raw fish kosher?
Let's assume one sees the preparer clean the knife and cut from the whole fish.
Also, let's assume this raw fish is sashimi — ...
6
votes
2answers
194 views
Is there anywhere in the world I can still get a hot chocolate without a hechsher?
~150 years ago in Eastern Europe, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch wrote that you could usually go buy a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate without having to worry about its kosher ingredients (or bishul akum). ...
6
votes
2answers
363 views
A restroom in a formerly-kosher eatery vs. one in a never-kosher eatery: which is preferable?
Say I'm on the road traveling, and I need to use a restroom. Which of the following two restrooms is preferable?
One in a restaurant that used to be kosher, but is now non-kosher.
One in a ...
6
votes
3answers
186 views
Can Whole Fruits or Vegetables Have Non-Kosher Additives?
Many (perhaps all?) fruits and vegetables grown these days contain various "other stuff" such as pesticides and protective coatings.
I suppose that fruits whose peels are removed do not pose a ...
6
votes
2answers
153 views
Hagala for a new pot
I know that there is a halakhic necessity to tovel a new pot. However, has anyone ever heard of the halakhic necessity to do hagala on a new pot?
Reason for asking was this.
6
votes
1answer
96 views
Pharmaceuticals and Kashrut
To what degree does medicine need to be kosher (not regarding pesach)? Most medicines are a random series of active ingredients with little meaning to the non medical professional - but what about ...
6
votes
2answers
268 views
Is the cat figurine thing a problem at kosher Chinese restaurants?
It seems like all kosher Chinese restaurants have this cat-statue thingy in the front:
Is there any Halachic problem with that? I assume not, if they're all kosher-certified; but why not?
6
votes
1answer
205 views
Forms of Kashering a knife
I remember hearing that a knife can be kashered (from being treif) by sticking it in the ground. But I also know you can use the traditional kashering methods - Hag'ala and Libun.
I have 2 ...
6
votes
1answer
439 views
6
votes
2answers
167 views
Need to kasher a knife after sticking oneself
If I poked myself with a knife and possibly got blood on it; does it have to be kashered.
6
votes
2answers
62 views
Can someone swear off something that is already prohibited to them by halacha?
Can someone swear off something that is already prohibited to them?
For instance: "I swear I won't eat non-kosher."
6
votes
1answer
120 views
6
votes
1answer
235 views
Eating in less-religious homes
May one eat a meal in the home of one who attended yeshiva and who one considers trustworthy vis-a-vis making sure everything is kosher for their guests, however, one is reasonably certain they do not ...
6
votes
1answer
94 views
What is “blood that moved from one place to another”?
I'm learning laws of salting in the Shulchan Aruch. One concept I'm battling to understand is "דם שפירש ממקום למקום" - blood that moved from one place to another. Here's a good example of my ...
6
votes
1answer
206 views
Working in a non kosher yogurt store
I was asked a question this afternoon and I don't know a good answer (yet) so I'm posting it.
I have been asked in the past whether a Jewish person may work in a non-Kosher restaurant that serves ...
6
votes
0answers
79 views
Can one trust the Kashrut of Alcoholic Beverages in bars?
Kosher Organizations, like the CRC (Chicago Rabbinical Council, supply lists of alcohol recommended for purchase and consumption.
May one purchase these alcoholic beverages from a bar (where the ...
6
votes
0answers
127 views
The stolen maple syrup and kashrus
Does anyone know if there is going to be a kashrus problem with maple syrup next year?
A rather large amount of maple syrup was stolen last year. The thieves did not keep it in the original casks, ...
6
votes
0answers
292 views
Does bagged lettuce need a hechsher?
Does one need a hechsher on commercially available bagged lettuce? Or is the standard washing process used by the producers sufficient to remove all insects of halachic significance?
Anecdotally, ...
6
votes
2answers
276 views
Invitation to nonkosher restaurant
The question "Keeping Kosher at a secular company" asks about food issues on the job in general. This question is focused more narrowly on "unbalanced" situations: situations where there's an ...
5
votes
2answers
351 views
Is Halal Meat Kosher?
Muslims slaughter a Cow by saying "Bismillah, Allahu Akbar" meaning : "In the name of Allah , Allah is Great"" and follow the Zabiha (shechita) procedure to make it Halal.
Some salient point of the ...
5
votes
2answers
299 views
Does instant coffee (regular - not decaffeinated) need a Hashgacha?
There are certain raw ingredients that do not require a Hashgacha (salt, water, eggs, etc.). Does instant coffee (regular - not decaffeinated) need a Hashgacha? If yes, why?
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Which hechsheirim are reliable?
How can I find out which hechsheirim are reliable and which ones aren't?
5
votes
2answers
195 views
Where is the story of the medieval rabbi who ruled a fish was non-kosher because of his dream?
If I recall correctly there's some fish whose kosher status is questionable; a medieval rabbi (Rishon) ruled it was okay, then had a dream that night where all his students were sitting around and ...
5
votes
5answers
391 views
5
votes
2answers
219 views
Can an immersion heater be used to kasher a sink? Does anyone have experience with this?
Normally, to "kasher" or "kosherize" a metal sink (from non-kosher to kosher, or before Passover), you clean it out well, make sure it's used for nothing hot for 24 hours, then pour boiling water all ...
5
votes
4answers
446 views
Is Extra virgin olive oil kosher by default?
I was given extra virgin olive oil as a gift from Italy (picture below), and I wanted to see if that type of olive oil is treated like fruits and vegetables, or does it needs to have certification on ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Why isn't eating milk with chicken kosher?
I remember learning that the reason you don't eat milk with beef is because you shouldn't cook a calf in its mother's milk. However, when you are dealing with two different species, this same logic ...
5
votes
2answers
246 views
Is human blood treif?
OK, I know it isn't kosher, but what is the shiur? And do we hold "chetzi shiur assur min haTorah"?
For an application, what if you get a cut while hiking in the woods; is it assur to clean the wound ...
5
votes
1answer
148 views
Milk and Meat of Non-Kosher Animals
Is cooking milk with non-kosher animals the same problem as cooking meat with kosher animals?
In other words: can a Jew cook milk with a non-kosher animal (and not eat it)? Can a Jew obtain benefit ...
5
votes
3answers
428 views
Is there a kashrus issue with paper towels?
Is there any concern about using paper towels with hot food? I know there are some who advise against using the first few and last few sheets during Pesach, due to the presence of starch-based glue ...
5
votes
1answer
157 views
Is it permitted to lick the adhesive on an envelope?
While most stamps are now self-adhesive, most envelopes still require moistening the adhesive in order to seal it. Is it a kashrus problem to lick the envelope's adhesive?
5
votes
2answers
120 views
What possible Kashrus concerns may exist with these vitamins?
Recently my child's Doctor prescribed vitamin drops for my infant son. When I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription the pharmacist said that the vitamin drops prescribed are Treif, and the ...
5
votes
4answers
652 views
Powdered Milk - Chalav Yisroel
I have a child with a milk allergy. He will be undergoing a "baked milk" food challenge shortly. For this I need to bake him muffins with powdered milk.
I have found several brands of kosher powdered ...
5
votes
1answer
97 views
Timing of the Commandment of Gid Hanashe
The Torah mentions, after the story of Yaakov getting injured in Parshas Vayishlach,
that we do not eat the Gid Hanashe for this reason.
The Meforshim seem to concur that this mitzvah was included in ...
5
votes
2answers
243 views
Can you kasher earthenware or porcelain utensils?
I read in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch of the Yalkut Yosef that if one cooked dairy in a earthenware meat vessel, and if the vessel is valuable, then one can perform hagalah on the vessel three times ...
5
votes
2answers
245 views
tuna wrap in non-kosher restaurant
Is there any way to eat a tuna wrap from a non-kosher restaurant, if I have full access to see their ingredients and packaging?
5
votes
1answer
59 views
Confectioners glaze - non alcoholic
Recently I read an article by Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff regarding confectioners glaze.
Confectioners glaze is manufactured from shellac, "a glandular secretion of the lac insect, Kerria lacca, a ...
5
votes
4answers
182 views
Unsupervised meat and closed restaurants/butchers
How does Basar SheNith'alem Min Ha'Ayin (meat that has disappeared from view) apply vis a vis restaurants/delis/supermarkets/butchers that have closed for the night/weekend/holiday? I was just ...
5
votes
1answer
142 views
Must a flambé be ignited by a Jew to remain kosher?
Because of the halacha of Bishul Akum (or Bishul Yisrael, call it what you will), even if a food's ingredients are all kosher, it needs to have a Jew involved in the cooking process for it to be ...
5
votes
1answer
157 views
How to identify Yashan
I would like to serve food to a friend who observes the restrictions against eating Chadash grain products, but I don't have access to a guide on identifying Yashan. However I have heard, for ...
5
votes
1answer
183 views
Must I warn people about an untrustworthy restaurant?
What is my obligation to warn fellow kosher observant people about a Restraurant that is claiming to be "Glatt" Kosher, when in fact it has no Rabbinic Supervision at all and the owner's religious ...
5
votes
1answer
128 views
How to prevent holes when double wrapping food?
When cooking milk in a meat oven (or kosher food in a treif one) I often find that when one wraps using aluminum foil, small holes appear (probably from the heat). I was wondering if anyone knows a ...
5
votes
1answer
87 views
fruit-flavored tobacco Kashrut
Do the fruit-flavored tobaccos that are widely used in hookahs require a Kashrut certification similar to foodstuffs? If yes, why; if not, why not?
5
votes
1answer
99 views
What are the kashrut standards of the various nationwide (and regional) kashrut agencies?
I'd like to see a resource developed which transparently compares the standards of the various kashrut agencies. Just like I can retrieve an incredibly in-depth comparison chart from Wikipedia ...
5
votes
1answer
90 views
Permissibility of making Matzah by frying
Does anyone know of an opinion permitting Matzah to be cooked in a skillet(instead of being baked in an oven), and if so under what circumstances?
5
votes
1answer
73 views
Kashrus Book in Hebrew like Shemiras Shabbos k'Hilchasa
Does anyone know of a good book on kashrus (in Hebrew) that accomplishes for kashrus something similar to what Shemiras Shabbos k'hilchasa does for Shabbos?
5
votes
1answer
169 views
Eating in someone's home who eats in non kosher restraurants
Can one eat at a friend's home who keeps a kosher home but eats at non kosher restraurants?
5
votes
2answers
82 views
At what point was it recommended to have a separate kosher certifier (mashgiach) for local Jewish businesses?
If I understand correctly, you can generally walk into an observant Jew's house (upon invitation) and if he says the food is kosher, you assume the food is kosher. Now if the same fellow has a kosher ...
5
votes
0answers
199 views
Fresh fish need hechsher
Does fresh fish from a supermarket or fish market require a hechsher? I would be tempted to believe that a fish known to be of a kosher variety would not need certification since there is no shechita ...
5
votes
0answers
2k views
Is Rum Kosher for Passover?
Specifically, is Bacardi Superior Original Premium Rum kosher for Passover? The label doesn't say so, nor does it say that it's kosher in general for that matter, but since it has a sugar base, ...
