Kosher food is a tradition of the Jewish people or a new fashion for a healthy diet?

Nowadays, many people who are not Jews by nationality, but care about their health, have become addicted to the food system, which uses only kosher food. The main reason for this for many of them is not religious beliefs at all, but that such products are environmentally friendly and more useful.

Such food is based on the laws of the kosher, or kashrut, according to the rules and norms of Judaism. Of course, people who are striving for a healthy diet are not particularly interested in these rules, because for them the quality of products subject to compulsory certification is more important . After all, the word "kosher" means, in Hebrew, "fit." A special sign on all products is put as a confirmation of high environmental friendliness and usefulness. Naturally, the cost of products from which kosher food is prepared is much higher.

Main principles of kosher

1. Meat used for food should be only certain species of artiodactyl ruminants. Lamb, beef, goat, venison, elk are allowed. The most famous of the banned (unclean) animals is the pig. According to these rules, the rabbit is also a non-kosher animal.
2. "Pure" are all domestic birds - turkey, chicken, duck, goose. The list of forbidden birds is listed in the Torah in the book "Vaikra", among which are all predatory species.
3. Animal slaughter is carried out using a special technology, and then the meat used to prepare kosher food is pretreated in accordance with certain rules.
4. The permitted fish should be non-nutritious, with scales and fins. Mollusks and crustaceans are forbidden. Unlike meat, fish do not undergo special pretreatment when preparing dishes.
5. Products of "unclean" animals are also prohibited, for example, camel milk, since a camel is a non-kosher animal. The only exception is honey, although it is the result of the life of bees that are insects.
6. You can not mix meat and dairy food. For this reason, even the dishes should be separately designed for these categories of products. There is no ban on fish and milk dishes.
7. According to the Jewish tradition, you can not use insects, reptiles and amphibians.
8. All fruits, vegetables, berries, mushrooms are kosher products.
9. You can not consume milk until three to five hours after the meat, so it takes a certain amount of time to digest. At the same time, meat dishes can be eaten immediately after dairy, just rinse your mouth. Kosher food should not consist simultaneously of fish and meat.

Features of slaughtering of animals, birds and pretreatment of meat

Not all kosher meat is allowed. Prohibited:

- the meat of the deceased by natural death or sick before slaughter;

- Animals killed on the hunt or other animals;

- parts of the carcass, where there is sciatic nerve and greasy fat;

- meat in which there is blood.

Slaughtering of animals, processing of carcasses, check by experts, which guarantees "cleanliness" of meat.

Summing up, we can say that kosher food is a mandatory observance of certain rules and order of cooking. Jewish traditions in cooking are the strictest of all, therefore kosher products are mainly sold in the markets of Israel. But, strangely enough, the inhabitants of other nationalities and religions also eat dishes made from "pure" goods. After all, proper nutrition is the guarantee of the health of all people.