How do kosher foods work?

In this episode of BrainStuff, Marshall Brain gives a detailed explanation of the Jewish dietary laws and preparations that make foods "kosher" and "pareve."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Brain Staff front House, staff works dot com
where smart happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question,
how do kosher foods work? In the grocery store, you'll
find all sorts of foods labeled as kosher, but the

(00:22):
most common are kosher hot dogs and kosher pickles. You
will often find a you with a circle around it
on kosher products. There's also the word parava on many foods,
and this is a form of kosher labeling as well.
When a food is labeled as kosher, it means that
the food has been prepared in accordance with the rules

(00:43):
of food preparation that are set forth in the Old
Testament of the Bible and formalized in Jewish law. For example,
in chapter eleven of the Book of Leviticus, the Bible states,
and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, say to
the people of Israel, these are the living things which
you may eat among all the beasts that are on

(01:03):
the earth, whatever parts the hoof and is cloven footed,
and choose the cud among the animals you may eat. Nevertheless,
among those that chew the cud or part the hoof,
you shall not eat. These The camel because it choose
the cud but does not part the hoof is unclean
to you. And the rock badger because it choose the

(01:25):
cud but does not part the hoof is unclean to you.
And the hair because it choose the cud but does
not part the hoof is unclean to you. And the
swine because it parts the hoof and is cloven footed,
but does not chew the cud is unclean to you.
Of their flesh you shall not eat. And there are
carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.

(01:48):
These you may eat. Of all that are in the waters.
Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether
in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.
But anything in the seas or rivers that has not
ends and scales. Of the swarming creatures in the waters,
and of the living creatures that are in the waters,
is an abomination to you. The Bible goes on to

(02:09):
cover birds, insects, and so on in quite a bit
of detail. Other parts of the Bible indicate that the
mixing of meat and milk is forbidden, that animals should
be killed humanely according to certain rituals, and so on.
By following all these different rules under rabbinical supervision, of
food can be certified and labeled as kosher. Meat and

(02:31):
milk cannot be mixed, they cannot be eaten at the
same time, and even the utensils used to prepare meat
and dairy foods must be separated. On the other hand,
most vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts can be mixed with
either meat or milk. Therefore, these foods could be consumed
at any time. A food that can be eaten either

(02:52):
with meat or milk is labeled as parav a. You'll
see that label on the cover of a lot of
different foods. For moralness and thousands of other topics, visit
howstuff works dot com.