Cultural Food Project
Kosher Foods & Israel
Samantha Feinberg & Huba Nasir
**Disclaimer: not all Israeli food is kosher, nor
is all kosher food from Israel or prepared using
traditionally Israeli foods
Kosher adjective 1.(Judaism) ⧫ word that references the
Jewish Dietary laws and means ‘fit’ or ‘proper’
What it is…
An item(s) suitable for ritual
use
*Regarding food items:
● A principle guiding dietary
choices
○ Clean (tahor) foods
And what it is not…
Necessarily a food product
An ethnic way of cooking
food
Israeli Cuisine
●Various elements of Jewish cuisine
○ Historically
■ Sephardic
○ Modern influence
■ Ashkenazi
●Using foods that are:
○ Available to their geographic location
○ Sustainable food sources
VS.
Traditional Foods & Eating Customs
The Forbidden Foods
● Meats
○ Must possess dual characteristics of:
■ (1) cloven hoofs
■ (2) chewing cud
○ ⊘ pork
● Fish
○ Must possess dual characteristics of:
■ (1) fins
■ (2) scales
○ ⊘ shellfish (and some seafood)
● Poultry
○ ⊘ birds of prey
● Most amphibians and insects
Kosher Food Shopping & Preparation
Purchasing kosher proteins and products
Ritual slaughter (by a shohet)
Drained of blood, soaked and salted
Identified with appropriate symbols on packaging
Big four: UO, Kof-K, OK, Star-K
Preparation of kosher proteins
Broiling or grilling
Complete separation of meats and dairy
Traditional Holiday Meals
Shabbat (meat)
Shabbat (dairy)
❏ Chicken matzo ball soup
❏ Kosher prepared brisket
❏ w/ any numerous vegetables
❏ & kosher-marked barley/grain
❏ Salad w/ various fixings
❏
❏ Jewish apple cake
❏ A non dairy cake = no butter!
❏
❏ Dressing by preference; may
contain milk
Kasha & Bowties (Can also
accompany kosher meats if cooked with
schmaltz (animal fat))
❏ w/ any numerous vegetables
Rugelach (cream cheese based pastry)
**A staple of the shabbat meal is challah
Ex: Passover Haroset
A: chopped apples and walnuts spiced with cinnamon and kosher wine
S: chopped raisins or dates with various nuts and flavored with honey, wine
and spices
Nutrient Intakes in Kosher Israeli Foods
Based in the ‘seven species’ of the ancient Israelites
Breakfast: quick grains
A small snack to sustain labor before larger mid-day breakfast
Brunch: ‘Israeli breakfast’
Communal style with platters of eggs, ‘Israeli salad’, breads, cheeses, Kefir, smoked or
fishes and various spreads
pickled
Lunch: on-the-go pita pocket
Nutrient dense grain with legumes, ‘Israeli salad’, spices and seed spreads in pita bread
Dinner: sit-down family-style meal
Protein- often grilled whole fish; if meat or poultry is the protein source, all dairy is excluded
Plate often saturated with fruits and vegetables
Grains garnished with nuts or seeds, dried fruits and/or spices
Dietary Risk & Benefits
Foods Today…
Balanced macronutrients +
phytochemicals
Fewer intakes of saturated fats
Substitute ‘good’ fats
Avoid meats and sweets
Avoid processed foods
Lifestyle…
Meals are lighter and not rushed
Maintain some form of physical
activity throughout the day
Influence on the American Diet
Spread of Jewish delis
Not entirely ‘kosher’
Bidirectional influence
Food type ↔ Portion size
➟
How Kosher Relates to Islamic Culture
“Halal Meat”
Similar to Kosher
Specific combinations
of food
THE END
Resources
Donin, Rabbi Hayim Halevy. To Be a Jew. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1972. Print.
"The LAND: Geography and Climate." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. N.p., 2013. Web. 1 June 2015.
<http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/land/pages/the%20land-%20geography%20and%20climate.aspx>.
My Jewish Learning Staff. "Israeli Food." My Jewish Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2015.
<http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/israeli-food/>.
Rich, Tracey R. "Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws." Judiaism 101. N.p., 2011. Web. 1 June 2015.
<http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm>.
Rotkovitz, Miri. "Kosher Symbols 101: Making Sense of Different Types of Hechshers." About Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 3
June 2015. <http://kosherfood.about.com/od/guidetokosherfoodlabels/tp/Kosher-Symbols-101.htm>.
Sizer, Francis, and Ellie Whitney. "Good Fats, Bad Fats-- U.S. Guidelines and the Mediterranean Diet." Nutrition:
Concepts & Controversies. 13th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. 191-96. Print.