Consumer Kosher Articles
General Technical Issues In Vinegar Plants
A vinegar plant appears to be a mass of gigantic, non-descript tanks, each one indistinguishable from one another. That’s the first problem that mashgichim face when visiting vinegar companies. Production is hidden within the tanks, and until mashgichim develop an understanding of how the vinegar is made, it is not at all easy to follow […]
Not By Bread Alone Does Man Live: Potato Products
A discussion of many of the issues involved in producing Kosher potato products.
Peeled Eggs, Onion Or Garlic Overnight
There are companies which sell peeled hard-boiled eggs and deviled eggs. This article examines the general issue of certification of hard-boiled eggs and similar items.
Which Foods Are Chametz?
An overview of the issues in determining what is chometz.
Ever Hear Of Pasta Ice Cream?
Why Dairy Products Must Be Kosher for Passover
The Modern Passover Marketing Story
Rabbis travel half way around the globe for special production runs that may last no more than a day, although preparation may take as much as a week. Major national brands remove ingredients from their products, often replacing them with such popular Passover ingredients as apple cider and potato starch, all in deference to the […]
Behind the Chametz-Free Certification
For industrial products, the familiar OU-P (kosher for Passover) can sometimes be replaced by a “chametz-free” certification. What does this mean? To find out, studying some terminology will be in order. CHAMETZ: Fermented grains (wheat, oats, barley, rye and spelt), all proscribed–that is, forbidden—on Passover; KITNIYOT: Legume products, also not for Passover use, but of […]
A Chemical Reaction At Passover
TO A LARGE EXTENT, the chemical industry is free from Passover issues because so many food chemicals are exclusively mineral-based, as are the processing aids. However, it would be inaccurate to say that the regulations of Passover do not impact at all. We will focus on two critical areas: flocculants and alcohols. A flocculant is […]
Meeting The Challenge Of Certifying Flavors For Passover
FLAVORS—THE MYSTERIOUS ingredients added to almost all processed foods that completes the gastronomic experience create unique challenges for Passover certification. Due to the nature of flavor chemicals and the complexity of their manufacture, every chemical in flavors requires individual investigation to determine its Passover status. No master list is available for the raw materials that […]
The Kosher For Passover Snack: A Rarity No More
Passover is a holiday steeped in great tradition. Our ancestors, living in a world without manufacturing processes, prepared all the food used for Passover from scratch, involving great time and painstaking effort. Producing any more than the bare minimum that was needed for the holiday was out of the question. “You will survive without snacks […]