There are parts of mammals which Jews are unable to eat. They are the rear quarters and thigh sinew because this is where Jacob was injured. The fat on the entrails should also be cut off before eating as it was an important ingredient in sacrifices. The sciatic nerve and its blood vessels should not be eaten by Jews. In some countries, there are trained experts who can remove the prohibited flesh and this process is called porging. This was abolished in England, and these parts of the animal are sold to non kosher butchers. Fat known as chelev which surrounds the vital organs e.g. heart and the liver is also prohibited.
Flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. (Genesis 9:4)
Consumption of blood is prohibited in Judaism because it is an indication of human sacrifices which Jews believe are atrocious. According to Judaism, moreover life is in the blood, and so Jews do not eat it. To get rid of the blood, Jews should rinse it off and then bathe the meat in cold water for at least half an hour. They then should pour on koshering salt and leave it on a draining board for one hour. Finally it should be bathed in cold water. This is a long process so nowadays kosher butchers tend to do this before selling the meat. The blood from the liver should be removed carefully as liver has high blood content. The liver should be cut open and salted before being roasted or grilled to remove any excess blood. When cooking, eggs should be broken into a glass separately to check if there is a blood spot. If there is a spot, then the egg should be thrown away. A glass is used because it is transparent and it does not absorb its contents. If it did the glass would be unable to be used for cooking again.
Many Jews will only eat cattle if it is “glatt kosher” which is when the lungs are free from any irregularities. This is, however, only a custom.
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. (Exodus 34:26}
Jews should not mix milk food with meat. If food does not fall under either category
then it is deemed parve e.g. bread and therefore may be eaten with either. After eating meat, a Jew should wait six hours before consuming milk produce (in England it is three and in Hungary it is one). This is done because meat, particularly fatty residues, tends to stay in the mouth for a period of time. After eating milk, a Jew only has to wait half an hour before consuming meat as dairy products tend not to cling to the mouth as firmly as meat. Meat and fish should not be served in the same course.
To keep milk and meat separate, certain precautions should be taken. Cutlery and crockery for either milk or meat should be kept in different cupboards or drawers. Separate towels are used for washing and drying up. There should be two sets of pans and two assortments of cooking utensils. Some Jews believe that two independent dishwashers are necessary. Others believe that the dishwasher should be run in between cycles for milk and meat. If a mistake is made, for example, a fork which had only been used for meat, accidentally touched some yoghurt, then the Rabbi can have it “kashered”.
Cheese is made from curdled milk. The agent that makes the milk curdle is produced from the walls of a calf’s stomach and is called rennet. Technically, cheese is therefore a mixture of both milk and meat. That said, rennet is not regarded as “meat” because it is chemically altered whilst it being manufactured. However, the Talmud is particularly strict about the production of cheese so Jewish supervision is required. Unsupervised vegetarian cheese is therefore not kosher.
Fruit and vegetables are washed to make sure that there are no insects in them. Lettuce is cleaned particularly carefully by washing each leaf separately or leaving it in a bowl of salt water for a period of time. Fruit should be sliced open and stoned
Wine or grape juice may only be drunk if it is made and bottled under the supervision of a Jew. This is because wine is often used in many ceremonies in other religions e.g. Communion. Wine should not be touched by a non-Jew unless it has been certified as “boiled”. This is a Rabbinical commandment,
On Passover, Jews are forbidden to eat oats, wheat, barley, spelt and rye: the laws that apply at Passover are more stringent.
