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Download on Google Play Or the App Store Facebook.Com/Okkosher ב”ה כסלו תשע”ח KISLEV 5778 CERTIFIED SOUL NUTRITION 3 HEALTHY SPIRIT 4 QUESTIONS FOR THE ~ 5 YOU BE THE MASHGIACH OVEN CLARIFICATION 6 by Rabbi Levi Schapiro WHAT IS WHITE VINEGAR 7 by Rabbi Sholom Ber Hendel YOUR KOSHER KITCHEN – Dear Reader, 8 THE DISHWASHER Chanukah is all about the “kosher spirit” of Yiddishkeit. It by Rabbi Yakov Teichman is well known that the Greeks didn’t object to the Torah or the CHANUKAH RECIPE – mitzvos per se; it was the “kosher spirit”, the G-dliness behind 9 ASIAN MOCK CRAB RED the Torah and mitzvos, that they were intent on quashing. POTATO LATKES Here at the ~ we put special emphasis on the spirit of kosher and its ramifications. Mitzvos should be done with WHAT’S THE DEAL joy and cannot be sustained if there is a constant feeling 10 WITH DAIRY of hardship. At the ~ we are very aware of this and work by Rabbi Yoni Rappaport diligently to set up companies and factories with kosher systems that can be adhered to happily. KEEPING KOSHER IN This holds true not only for our customers, but for our 13 A HURRICANE own wonderful staff as well. We just experienced our annual by Duby Litvin Mashgiach Conference with rabbis attending from all corners 206 WAYS ~ KOSHERED of the globe, gathering to learn, grow and bond together over 16 YOUR WORLD IN 2017 their common goal of making the world a more kosher place. A vegetable checking seminar headed by the ~ Tolaim KOSHERFEST IN Committee followed the conference, with the goal of 18 PICTURES reviewing and explaining the latest findings in cleaning and checking techniques. This seminar was open to all WHO’S BEHIND THE ~ mashgichim, both those who use these techniques in their 20 Interview With Rabbi Yakov Teichman work and those who wanted to learn for their own homes and communities. CHASSIDIC INSIGHTS – 22 WHY DEFILE THE OIL We all witnessed the horrible devastation of the last few months caused by hurricanes and earthquakes, but we got a SOUL NUTRITION chance to see the wonderful spirit of humanity as well. Read 23 by Rabbi Chaim Fogelman about how the Houston kosher community managed to retain their kosher standards even in such difficult situations, while providing physical and spiritual assista nce to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. KOSHER SPIRIT Chanukah 5778 In this issue, you’ll read about sweet dairy products and EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: sour vinegar, explore all the new companies that have joined Rabbi Chaim Fogelman the kosher spirit by getting their products certified by ~ EDITOR: kosher and catch an inside look at the famed Kosherfest trade Dina Fraenkel show. DESIGN: Let our spirits soar during the Festival of Light and join me Spotlight Design in wishing all a freilichen Chanukah. We welcome your comments, Rabbi Chaim Fogelman submissions and letters to the editor. Editor in Chief Mail: 391 Troy Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11213 Email: [email protected] © 2017. No portion of this publication may be reprinted without written consent from the publisher. 2 www.OK.org We all know about the Chanukah miracle when a tiny jar of pure, sealed olive oil lasted for 8 days, even though it was only enough for one. While olive oil was the oil of choice in the Beis HaMikdash, there are many other oils available today to optimize your healthy cooking. 3 2 Canola1 Coconut Peanut oil has a neutral taste, is low in saturated oil makes a great body cream and oil has a strong taste and a high fat, and has a high smoke point its texture makes it a perfect pareve smoke point (450° F), so it’s great (400° F), making it ideal for frying. alternative to butter for baking. for making Asian stir-fry dishes. Avocado4 Safflower5 Sesame6 oil is full of heart-healthy oil is high in omega-9 fatty acids and has a oil has a potent flavor and is an monounsaturated fats and has a relatively high smoke point (510° F). It has a neutral excellent alternative to peanut oil high smoke point (520° F). It’s neutral flavor and is low in saturated fats. (for those with allergies). It is great flavor and minimal processing makes it in salads and in Asian cooking. great all-around cooking oil. 8 Flaxseed7 Olive oil has multiple grades – from extra virgin to “pure”. Extra oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids and virgin has the most intense flavor and is cold-pressed. is great for those who don’t consume Other types of olive oil are more chemically processed, or a lot of fish. It should NOT be used in mixed with other oils to reduce cost. Extra virgin olive oil is cooking, just drizzled on salads, over the best oil to use for lighting the Chanukah menorah. hummus, or added to smoothies. *OILS (OTHER THAN EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL) REQUIRE A RELIABLE KOSHER SUPERVISION. www.KosherSpirit.com 3 CONSUMER FOR THE ~ Dear Kosher Spirit, I’m confused about why certain products WeQuestions at the ~ are are certified “D” or “DE” when I don’t see happy to receive your kosher any dairy ingredients in the product. Why questions... do some pareve products say, “May contain traces of milk.”? Can you please explain? The ~ responds: therefore makes the end product certified 1. Dairy equipment (DE) means that the dairy. equipment is also used for dairy with no kosher 5. A pareve product may say, “May contain cleaning protocol between the runs – almost traces of milk,” on the label because some always chalav stam. People who are stringent people are allergic to dairy on such a severe about Cholov Yisroel keilim should not use level that they will have a reaction from DE products. Some DE products bear the dairy airborne particles of dairy being present symbol, because the manufacturer wants to during production. Airborne particles do not be able to switch to a dairy ingredient without pose any kashrus issue, so this is merely an having to print new labels. Consumers are allergen warning. welcome to call the ~ to verify status. 6. In addition, from an allergen perspective 2. Sometimes the entire plant is certified as the main concern is lactose. If dairy (often because the company does not the lactose is removed then want to stop production for koshering or extra ingredient can be called monitoring required for pareve products) “non-dairy”, although and there are no kosher safeguards the ingredient is a in place preventing a change to milk derivative. The an actual dairy ingredient. common example is 3. Sometimes the product may non-dairy creamer that contain actual dairy, even has sodium caseinate, though it isn’t written on the which is a milk label, because the machinery derived ingredient still discharges some dairy but without product at the beginning of lactose. a new run (like some very famous chocolate chips). 4. Sometimes an ingredient used in the product came from an all dairy facility and 4 www.OK.org YOU Be The MashgiachCan you find the ”8“ differences in these pictures? If you found 15 perhaps YOU can be a mashgiach! www.KosherSpirit.com 5 Oven Question By Rabbi Levi Schapiro ClarificationRabbinic Coordinator at Kosher ~ Thank you to all of our readers who called and emailed asking for clarification about the oven chart in the Tishrei issue. It is our hope that this written explanation will clear up any confusion. I cooked a pareve If a milchig pan was used, the answer de- cake in a fleishig pends on many different factors: oven. Can I eat it Uncovered Liquid Batter with milk? Pan Ben Yomo (used within last 24 hours) Clean oven (ben yomo) – pan and cake not If a fleishig pan was kosher, oven and pan needs to be kashered used, according to Clean oven (eino ben yomo) – bidieved kosher, can be eaten with milk Ashkenazic custom one may not eat it Not clean oven – pan and cake not kosher, oven and pan needs to be kashered with milk, but does not need to wait 6 hours to Pan Eino Ben Yomo (not used within last 24 hours) eat dairy. If a new, or Not clean oven, or oven ben yomo – cake pareve, pan was used bidieved kosher, pan not kosher, cake cannot and the oven was clean, be eaten with milk, oven is kosher there is room to allow it. Clean oven (eino ben yomo) – bidieved kosher, can be eaten with milk Dry Batter or Covered Pan – bidieved kosher and can be eaten with milk 6 www.OK.org a closer look What is White Vinegar? Rabbi Sholom Ber Hendel The word vinegar is a world, vinegar can be a kosher combination of two French words, In this fermentation process, concern, since the alcohol can be vin (wine) and aigre (sour). White yeast breaks down the derived from a grape source (Stam vinegar, the most commonly carbohydrates into alcohol and Yainom), dairy source, or from used form, is a clear liquid with carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide chometz sources such as, wheat a sour taste, which is used to add gas bubbles out of the fermenting and barley, which pose a real issue taste in cooking, pickling, and solution into the air leaving a for Passover. salad dressings. It is also used mixture of alcohol and water. The as a preservative, and to help mixture is distilled to separate the Since vinegar can be made with cleaning and for medical water from the alcohol. from anything with sugar, there purposes. The main ingredient is are many types of vinegar, acetic acid which is diluted with The next step is to ferment the depending on their ingredient water.
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