Judaism
By Paul Vogee - International Cuisine - C Block
Overview of the Jewish Dietary Laws
Jewish dietary laws are called Kashrut. One of the words you might have heard of is Kosher food. Kosher means "pure" and is the everyday food restriction.
According to the laws of the Torah, meat may only be eaten, when the animal has cloven hooves and chews the cud. That means that pork for example can not be eaten, because pigs don't chew the cud. Additionally, pigs are known as dirty and that's why not tolerated in a Jewish meal.
All kosher milk products must be derive from kosher animals. Of course, these milk products are not allowed to include any non-kosher additives.
The Torah says: "You may not cook a young animal in the milk of its mother". From this derives, that meat and milk products may not be mixed together. Meat and milk products must be served on different plates, at a different time.
In the Jewish Dietary Restrictions, blood must be removed from the butcher, because blood is forbidden in any Jewish food.
Kosher fish must have fins and scales, for instance tuna and salmon. Seafood like shrimps, crabs or lobsters are forbidden.
To conclude, although Jewish dietary laws sound harsh, living kosher is doable.
Kosher Slaughtering
Symbol for Kosher food
Kosher McDonald's
Bibliography
Harej - Symbol Kosher - Digital Image - Wikimedia Commons - 27th July 2006
Ingsoc - Kosher McDonald's Restaurant - Digital Image - Wikimedia Commons - 2 July 2007