Converting the Ingredients to Kosher
I had a call from a customer who had reviewed my products online, then asked if my recipes were Kosher. The answer is they can be.
After speaking with Chef Nicole Weisman, previously of Catering by Nicole from Southern New Jersey, who cooks kosher for events and parties, my recipes can be adapted. It will take just a little work. She has kindly reviewed the recipe substitutions below and made recommendations. My recipes are not for a specific holiday, they were recipes I picked because my family likes them, and they could be made to serve for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner.
The first thing I did was research. Cooking kosher is more than separating ingredients of dairy and meat at home. There are rules on how meat is prepared, how the food must be prepared.
“Two separate sets of utensils must be provided for the preparation, serving, and storing of milk and meat dishes. The utensils must be washed separately. Traditional Jews may have two sinks and two sets of sponges, mixing bowls, and dishes, or two sets of blades and bowls for mixers and food processors. Between milk and a meat meal, one must merely rinse out the mouth or eat a morsel of bread. For this, there is no waiting requirement. Between the meat and a milk meal, however, where digestion is more difficult, Jews wait anywhere from one to six hours.”
“Neutral or pareve foods, such as fish, eggs, and vegetables, may be used with either milk or meat. Some Jews will not eat pareve foods outside the home for fear that they may have been cooked in a forbidden fat (lard, or butter during a meat meal).”
“Ingredients are marked with the K or U (with the circle around the K or U) and/or the word pareve on the packages. They (and you) will be surprised at how universal the markings have become.”
The next step is understanding the substitutions to make a recipe pareve. Using specific ingredients that are pareve will allow you to change a recipe from meat and dairy to meat or dairy. I am not giving instructions on how to prepare and cook kosher. That is a technique for another day.
I am suggesting substitutions for every recipe listed in the cooking kit. However, I am not listing brand names because that can vary by geographic region. When in doubt, please contact the vendor of the product you are wanting to purchase and ask them. Many ingredients I personally use on these recipes are produced in a kosher-certified facility.
The recipes are detailed below.
