WHAT IS KOSHER ?
Kosher in General.
The term kosher means "clean, fit or proper". The
purpose of these rituals was to assure safe and sanitary meats during Biblical times.
These rituals were so effective and highly regarded that they are still followed today,
thousands of years later. The exacting attention to preparation and unmatched flavor
explains why over two thirds of all kosher products are bought for their superior quality
and excellent taste, not just for religious reasons.
Kosher Meat
For meat to be kosher you must start at the very beginning. That means,
only healthy animals can be slaughtered for use in kosher foods. These animals must have
split hooves and chew their cud. Cattle and sheep are the primary animals used in the
koshering process. In the USA, only the front quarters of the animal are used for
koshering.
Hogs and pigs do not chew their cuds and are therefore not Kosher.
A kosher inspection starts while the animals are still alive and continues until the
finished product leaves the plant. This system operates under the diligent and watchful
supervision of kosher inspectors, who stringently control the process from the time the
meat is slaughtered until it is shipped.
Kosher Slaughter (Shechitah)
This is the first component of additional costs. The slaughter is
performed by a "shochet"
(a man of skill, piety and expertise).
1. Neck area is clean
2. Severing of the trachea and esophagus
3. Cut is within the proper area
4. No hesitation
5. No pressing
6. No tearing
Examination (B'dikah)
This is the second increase in costs and the first upgrade in quality.
After the slaughter, the internal organs and especially the lungs are searched inside the
animal to assure the animal was healthy and did not have any injuries or diseases. After
the lungs are removed from the animal, a second examination is made to make sure the lungs
have no adhesions or other defects. If the adhesions can be peeled away without
perforating the lung, and everything else has passed, the animal is accepted as kosher
killed.
For every animal passed by the USDA (Department of Agriculture) as fit for consumption,
only a little more than half are accepted for kosher.
Glatt
Glatt is a Yiddish term that means perfectly smooth and is used to refer to
animals who's lungs are free of any blemish or adhesion. Glatt is viewed by many people as
a higher form of kosher. Meat that has passed inspection, whether Glatt or not, is
accepted as kosher killed.
Washing
All kosher killed meat must be either kosher made (soaked and salted, or
broiled) or washed
within 72 hours of the slaughter.
Kosher Made
The meat is soaked in water for at least 30 minutes to prepare it for the
salting process.
The soaked meat is salted (under rabbinical supervision) by specially trained men. The
salt used is kosher salt that has been approved by our rabbis for this process. After
salting, the meat is left for one hour with the salt on it and allowed to drain. At the
end of 60 minutes, the meat is washed to remove the salt, and the meat is now considered
kosher.
Nikur/Traboring
This is the sixth increase in cost and the fourth upgrade in quality. These
terms mean to dig out and refers to the requirement for the removal of veins, blood clots,
arteries, and forbidden fats.
This process is performed by specially trained men called minikurs. The trimmings that are
removed during traboring are not used in kosher product, but are sold off to non-kosher
meat plants.
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