Passover food question

[Guest]

Around this time of year, I see Passover foods at the supermarket, often marked "Kosher for Passover and all year long." Just for my own information, isn't something kosher for Passover automatically kosher all year long, or are there certain food items which are kosher at Passover, but not at other times of the year?

[bostonman]

That's a great question, but I think your assumption is right. Only certain foods are specifically kosher for Passover, but kosher is kosher in general, so indeed I would think "...and all year long" is redundant. It probably just serves as an additional explanation for people who are not generally observant, and who may not understand the difference.

[+ beethoven]

Kosher for Passover (vs. "khoometz," which is NOT kosher for Passover) and the usual meaning of Kosher (vs. "trayf," which are foods like pork and shrimp), are not the same "kosher."

 

Kosher for Passover means that different utensils and dishes are used for the holiday, i.e., different from knives, forks, glasses, plates, etc. that are used at other times of the year. Kosher for Passover means that cupboards in the home are thoroughly cleaned to remove not dirt, but "Khoometz." i.e. traces of leavened bread, such as crumbs. Processed foods that are Kosher for Passover are processed in machinery or vats or containers that are either different from those used during the year, or thoroughly scrubbed to remove all traces of "khoometz."

 

Retailers can slap "Kosher for Passover" stickers on containers of milk, or anything else, but that doesn't make them any more kosher than Easter hams. "Kosher for Passover and all year long," if these stickers exist, are nonsense.

 

In answer to your question, then, "certain food items" may be kosher at all times, such as milk, but if the milk isn't processed in milking equipment that is thoroughly scrubbed, it isn't kosher for Passover. This has nothing to do with the kind of food, such as beef (and beef from certain parts of a cow can never be kosher) vs. pork. Or fish with scales vs. shellfish. Trout, flounder, etc. are kosher, but shrimp, oysters....never.

When I was young, and my father took me to Yankee Stadium, if it was during Passover, all I could eat there were peanuts, since they weren't processed. Hot dogs, soda, ice cream.....Sorry, not during Passover. Even if Harry M Stevens put "kosher for Passover" stickers all over the soda bottles!

[bostonman]

Kosher for Passover (vs. "khoometz," which is NOT kosher for Passover) and the usual meaning of Kosher (vs. "trayf," which are foods like pork and shrimp), are not the same "kosher."

 

Yes, there is a difference, but it seems to me the question was simply "if something is kosher for passover, is it also kosher the rest of the year?" - to which I think the logical answer is yes. But no, the reverse is not true.

 

 

 

Retailers can slap "Kosher for Passover" stickers on containers of milk, or anything else, but that doesn't make them any more kosher than Easter hams. "Kosher for Passover and all year long," if these stickers exist, are nonsense.

 

You know, it never occurred to me that retailers can slap such stickers on products indiscriminately - does anyone have any evidence of products falsely being sold as "kosher for Passover?" That would be awful.

 

And to quote the Gershwins, sort of, you say "khoometz" but I [was brought up to] say "chometz" (with a gutteral "ch," and no "oo" sound).

[+ Gar1eth]

When I was young' date=' and my father took me to Yankee Stadium, if it was during Passover, all I could eat there were peanuts, since they weren't processed. Hot dogs, soda, ice cream.....Sorry, not during Passover. Even if Harry M Stevens put "kosher for Passover" stickers all over the soda bottles![/quote']

 

You were lucky assuming you are Ashkenazi because some consider peanuts and other legumes to be verboten on Passover. It depends on the community. And most Sefardi don't follow that anyway.

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

Let me see if I can simplify- Doe a deer, a female deer- whoops wrong simplification. Let me try again. There are the normal kosher rules for food. Then for Passover there are more stringent rules on top of that. The Passover rules are concerning chametz (basically grain= wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and oats) or things that could be contaminated with chametz. These five grains were proclaimed by the rabbis of being able to become leavened (ie fermented) if they were in contact with moisture for too long a period. Because the Israelite slaves had no time to set out their bread before they got the heck out of Egypt - the bread did not rise (ie become leavened/fermented). To commemorate this we are commanded to eat unleavened bread and avoid the slightest amount of a grain that might have been in contact with moisture long enough to leaven.

 

 

So foods that are kosher l'pesach (kosher for Passover) have been monitored throughout the manufacturing process to make sure that if made of chametz (grains) they were fully baked within 18 minutes of coming into contact with moisture (I never remember how long- I had to look it up) and other food is monitored to make sure that it doesn't become contaminated by chametz that might have been in contact with moisture for longer than 18 minutes without being fully cooked. There are also supplemental rules for other foods that may or may not be permissible depending on the community. For example, some Groups are not supposed to eat corn as it is a grain- but it wasn't known in Biblical/Medieval times as it was discovered in America.

 

It seems to me that maybe I heard a long time ago that you shouldn't eat Passover kosher foodstuffs after Passover because then it's not special for Passover anymore. But maybe I dreamed that, and a quick look at Internet doesn't mention it. So assuming I'm wrong about that, Kosher for Passover is good all the year.(but regular Kosher is a no-no for Passover). But as there is more supervision/rules more stringent- it would cost companies more to make things kosher for Passover all year round.

 

Gman

[bobchitown]

Keeping this topical - is Cum Kosher??

[bostonman]

 

It seems to me that maybe I heard a long time ago that you shouldn't eat Passover kosher foodstuffs after Passover because then it's not special for Passover anymore.

 

That may not be the letter of the law, but thinking about it, that's indeed a nice way to keep Passover unique. (I suppose in the same way that one could use Passover dishes/utensils etc throughout the year, but that would then negate the idea of having a special set just for the holiday.)

 

Now, in full disclosure, I'm not observant enough to do the 2nd set of dishes, etc - though I do try to at least keep away from chometz for those 8 days.

[Rudynate]

That's a great question, but I think your assumption is right. Only certain foods are specifically kosher for Passover, but kosher is kosher in general, so indeed I would think "...and all year long" is redundant. It probably just serves as an additional explanation for people who are not generally observant, and who may not understand the difference.

 

I believe Kosher for Passover is extra-Kosher. In college, I worked for a Kosher caterer and we did most of our jobs in an absolutely enormous orthodox synagogue. They had completely separate meat and dairy kitchens, each as big as a good-sized restaurant kitchen. There was also a smaller, satellite kitchen where one side of the kitchen was meat and the other side was dairy. During Passover, the satellite kitchen couldn't be used because it wasn't Kosher enough.

 

They had separate china, glassware and silverware that were used only at Passover and were stored the rest of the year.

 

There was a synagogue official, not a Rabbi, but his title was some Hebrew word that I can't remember, who supervised everything and made certain that nobody broke Kosher. He knew all the fine points of Kosher inside and out.

 

Fascinating experience.

[+ beethoven]

The synagogue official was a meschiach, which you correctly define as one who supervises everything and makes certain that everything conforms with kashruth, or Kosher, procedure. (This word differs from mesheeach, which (I think) is the Angel of Death.)

[Sixty]

I believe the person is known as a mashgiach with a gimmel. And I think the meschiach is the savior observant Jews await to save us in truly bad times of

destruction.

[bostonman]

I believe the person is known as a mashgiach with a gimmel. And I think the meschiach is the savior observant Jews await to save us in truly bad times of

destruction.

 

Correct. Or in simpler terms for the 2nd definition, "Meschiach" translates to "Messiah." (Literally, "annointed one," but obviously one can see the similarity to "Messiah" in the word itself.)

[+ Funguy]

Keeping this topical - is Cum Kosher??

 

Only if you have been blessed….and specially processed to produce that cum.

[Rudynate]

I believe the person is known as a mashgiach with a gimmel. And I think the meschiach is the savior observant Jews await to save us in truly bad times of

destruction.

 

I think that's it, except the first syllable didn't sound like it contained a vowel - more like m'shgiach.