Kosher Trends
Gluten-Free Chickpea Pasta
The gluten-free market is growing. A primary driver of this expansion is the rising number of people adopting a protein-rich plant-based diet. Flour substitutes that are plant-based and protein-rich, like chickpea flour, are being used to make pasta. This is just another wonderful development for gluten-free consumers who also have the option to benefit from […]
Yemenite Breads
Not so long ago, we traversed the area of cholent. One could say that a “close sister” to cholent is Yemenite breads, especially kubaneh and jachnun, as they are heated from Friday night until the next day. I had the privilege to speak with Doreet Jehassi, owner of The Ma’lawah Bar in Northern California, who […]
Vegetarian Casings
In an exciting development, certain vegetarian casings from Europe are now OU kosher-certified. This will allow kosher-producing hot dog companies and consumers to avoid casings that are usually made of collagen, which are proteins extracted from cow hides that weren’t slaughtered properly. If slaughtered properly, then the collagen from the cow hides would be kosher, […]
Nutritious and Savory Kosher Honey
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, honey takes center stage. Incredibly, kosher honey comes from the bee, a non-kosher animal. The Talmud’s explanation for why it is permissible to eat reveals a deeper message relevant to the Jewish New Year. The journey into the world of honey is vast and involved, but important, as it brings to […]
What Kosher, Vegan and Plant-Based Label Claims Really Mean
“Dairy-free”, “non-dairy”, “plant-based”, “kosher”, and “Vegan” labeling are all voluntary label claims, and while the FDA has no meaningful regulation for these meaningful marketing claims, OU kosher and BeVeg Vegan certification standards exist to clear consumer confusion. It would seem that dairy-free and non-dairy, Vegan, and kosher pareve mean a product has no dairy, right? […]
How Chickpeas Went From a Dream to Pareve Yogurt
Noam Sharon was a corporate and securities lawyer in Israel before he began working on the idea that would become CHKP Foods, a company that makes OU kosher pareve yogurt from chickpeas. It wasn’t as radical a move as it may sound, given that hummus was an essential part of his diet growing up […]
Biodiesel and Kosher Glycerin: A look at this important fuel and its valuable byproduct
Kosher Glycerin in Demand About 350,000 tons of glycerin are produced in the United States each year. In part because of decreased government subsidies, and certain other economic factors, kosher glycerin is harder to come by than it was previously. Along with using plant-based feedstock, making the refineries kosher, under rabbinic supervision, makes it possible […]
The Enduring Cholent
As a child, I remember being invited with my class to our rebbe’s house for Shabbos. What stood out to me about that Shabbos was the hot dogs in the cholent. It was my first introduction to this staple Jewish dish. In high school, I would eat the cholent my mother made which had all […]
Creating a Kosher for Passover Certified Product
What Is Kosher for Passover? Every year, OU Kosher certifies thousands of products with a special OU-P (P for Passover). The OU-P symbol indicates that all the ingredients have been investigated for their Passover status, the production equipment has been judged to be Passover-compliant, and an OU inspector was present for a special Passover production. […]
The World of Chocolate
Did you know white chocolate is not really chocolate, chocolate was once used as a currency, and Benjamin Franklin sold chocolate in his print shop? These are just some of the quirky facts surrounding chocolate. Today, we are focusing on the chic OU kosher-certified company that produces kosher chocolate bars, “HU,” short for human, that […]