Kosher Trends
Approaching a Kosher Mediterranean Diet
For the seventh year in a row, U.S News and World Report rated the Mediterranean diet as the best. Considering that February is American Heart Month and National Self-Check Month, exploring a diet that is both preventative and active in ensuring good health is aptly relevant. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes such foods as legumes, whole […]
2024: A Flavorful Return to Nature
Last year, we highlighted cookie butter as a trending flavor. For 2024, Senior Staff Food Editor for the New York Times, Tanya Sichynsky, sees a new trend, as evidenced by her article, “The Year of the Vegetable.” This is because consumers are returning to incorporate vegetable-based flavors into their diet. In regard to laws of […]
Celebrity Bars
In a recent webinar, Food Business News discussed new developments in the plant-based market. One OU kosher-certified company mentioned in the forum was MOSH PBC that produces a wide array of protein bars, some exclusively plant-based. The name stands for Maria Owings Shriver Health, as Maria Shriver and her son, Patrick Schwarzenegger are co-founders. Though […]
OU Kosher Adds Two New Options to Consumer Product Search Website
Dairy Equipment and Yoshon Categories Offered in Response to Community Requests Of the hundreds of weekly queries OU (Orthodox Union) Kosher fields from consumers via its Kosher Hotline and Webbe Rebbe forum, the most popular centers on Oreo cookies. “The most frequently asked shaila in America is whether Oreos are dairy, pareve, or simply made with […]
Sustainable and Smart Packaging Solutions
In a green and smart economy, food and beverage companies are looking for sustainable and technology-based solutions for packaging. Nestle and Mars, two OU kosher-certified companies, are heavily invested in sustainability, especially in using recycled plastic and biodegradables in the packaging process. This is reducing a carbon footprint. Smart packaging has entered the market as well. […]
The Cottage Cheese Comeback
People have reimagined how cottage cheese can be used. Always a celebrated food, now it’s being blended into its creamy form and standing as the core ingredient to transform other known foods. Popular examples include cottage cheese bagels, cottage cheese pancakes, cottage cheese cookie dough and cottage cheese ice cream. Kosherization of soft cheeses, like […]
Rabbi Menachem Genack Talks OU Kosher and More
OU Kosher is a leading nonprofit organization that certifies over one million products with more than 13,000 plants worldwide. It also views educating the public in kashrut as vital. Rabbi Menachem Genack is the CEO of OU Kosher, standing at the helm of the operation. We had a chance to sit down with him to discuss […]
Rabbi Kalman Scheiner Talks Kosher Chocolate
When you think chocolate, you think Hershey’s. We sat down with Rabbi Kalman Scheiner, the Rabbinical Coordinator (RC) who manages OU kosher certification for Hershey’s. We probed the comprehensive meaning of the word confectionary, discussed new dairy-free Hershey’s chocolate products, arrived at a clear conclusion of what to learn from the philanthropic life of Milton […]
The Growing Impact of AI on Food Production
AI is revolutionizing the food industry, and OU kosher-certified companies are at the forefront of this transformation. Two such companies have recently adopted AI to enhance their products and streamline their operations. Coca-Cola, for example, leveraged AI-driven data analysis on consumer behavior at fountain soda machines. They found that customers frequently mixed cherry soda with […]
Rabbi Dovid Jenkins Speaks in the Kosher Sports Drink Arena
Spring and sports drinks are inextricably linked. It’s a time of more outdoor exercise calling for additional body replenishment. In North America, the sports drink market is burgeoning. One of the more well-known of them is OU kosher–certified Gatorade, an account managed by Rabbi Dovid Jenkins. We talked to him about the greatest kashrut concern […]