Planning Kosher Meals

Rabbis do not bless the meal to make it kosher.  Kosher meal planning involves strict adherence to cultural laws enacted over 3000 years ago.  Kosher involves separation between meat and dairy.  Certain meat and fish is uneatable according to kashrut.  Planning a kosher meal requires understanding these laws.

• Forbidden meat.
  
  
  
  
  • According jewfaq.org/kashrut, Lev. 11 and Deut. 14, G-d defined what was food and what is not food.  Not all creatures are eatable, unless you are in a state of starvation and there are no culinary choices.
  
  
  • Forbidden meat includes pork, shellfish, scaleless fish, rodents, reptiles, camel, and most insects.
  
  
  
  


• Kosher meat.
  
  
  
  
  • Kosher meat includes beef, chicken, turkey, duck, buffalo, moose, deer, lamb, giraffe, and any mammal that chews the cud and has cloven hoof.
  
  
  
  


• Dairy.
  
  
  
  
  • Includes any kosher animal's milk products. Including milk, cheese, butter and derivatives.
  
  
  
  


• Parve.
  
  
  
  
  • Parve is any vegetable, fruit, herb, eggs, and scaled fish. Parve can be served with both meat and dairy.
  
  
  
  


• Traif.
  
  
  
  
  • Traif is any contamination of forbidden meat or mixture of meat and dairy including using dishes designated for either meat or dairy and putting the opposite on them.  When dishes are traifed, they must be ceremonially cleaned and toiveled.
  
  
  
  


• Separate meat and dairy. Meat is eaten within two hours of a dairy meal.
  
  
  
  
  • Dairy is eaten within two to six hours of a meat meal. 
  
  
  • Time in between is called Fleshig.
  
  
  • Dishes, cooking and eating utensils as well as preparation implements are separated into meat dishes and dairy.  Many kosher kitchens have separate refrigerators, ovens, cabinets, and pantries.
  
  
  
  


• Putting together a meal. Creating a kosher meal has to be planned around the other meals during the day. Making kosher meals involves thinking differently and planning meals substituting items to not traif the meal.
  
  
  
  
  • Use alternatives to dairy butter for meat meals.  Olive oil, coconut oil, Nucoa, are excellent choices both to cook with and offer flavorful options to butter.
  
  
  • When making biscuits, use coconut oil instead of lard or butter for a flaky biscuit.
  
  
  • Add garlic and fresh basil to olive oil or grapeseed oil. Allow to sit in a dark place or in the refrigerator.  Use in place of butter.  Try your favorite herbs for different effects.
  
  
  • Gravy, use alternative milk products such as coconut milk from SoDelicious, not the canned coconut milk. Other alternatives include Mocha Mix, rice dream, oat milk, and soy milk.  
  
  
  • When you prepare meals, remember that no dairy is to be prepared and served with a meat meal, that includes dessert.
  
  
  • Prepare pie crust with coconut oil, or nucoa.
  
  
  • Purchase dairy free kosher parve frosting, ice cream and other dairy substitutes available at any kosher market or can be ordered on line.