Holiday pot luck help...

lookingglass

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,090
Purraise
4
Location
On the 12th floor
This week we are doing a holiday pot luck at my office, and I have a friend on my team that keeps kosher. He's alwalys very kind about pot lucks, but because of religous reasons he can't eat anything we bring in. I've decided to try to bring in something for him, so he can eat with us. We have good selection of kosher items at the grocery store where I do most of my shopping, but I'd like some ideas of what to bring.
 

babyharley

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
25,708
Purraise
2
Location
Minnesota
I dont have any ideas, but I think its very VERY nice of you to do that for him!!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

lookingglass

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,090
Purraise
4
Location
On the 12th floor
Originally Posted by babyharley

I dont have any ideas, but I think its very VERY nice of you to do that for him!!
Awww thanks... I think part of any holiday is food. IMHO no matter what you should be able to eat SOMETHING!
 

natalie_ca

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
21,136
Purraise
223
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
That is very nice of you!!!

Cooking "Kosher" is very difficult. It involves more than just using Kosher food items. Chances are that if you don't practice this on a regular basis, that your kitchen is not equipped to prepar "Kosher" foods.

Here is a link I found along with a couple of the restrictions. There are more.

http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm

Utensils

Utensils (pots, pans, plates, flatware, etc., etc.) must also be kosher. A utensil picks up the kosher "status" (meat, dairy, pareve, or treyf) of the food that is cooked in it or eaten off of it, and transmits that status back to the next food that is cooked in it or eaten off of it. Thus, if you cook chicken soup in a saucepan, the pan becomes meat. If you thereafter use the same saucepan to heat up some warm milk, the fleishig status of the pan is transmitted to the milk, and the milchig status of the milk is transmitted to the pan, making both the pan and the milk a forbidden mixture.

Kosher status can be transmitted from the food to the utensil or from the utensil to the food only in the presence of heat, thus if you are eating cold food in a non-kosher establishment, the condition of the plates is not an issue. Likewise, you could use the same knife to slice cold cuts and cheese, as long as you clean it in between, but this is not really a recommended procedure, because it increases the likelihood of mistakes.

Stove tops and sinks routinely become non-kosher utensils, because they routinely come in contact with both meat and dairy in the presence of heat. It is necessary, therefore, to use dishpans when cleaning dishes (don't soak them directly in the sink) and to use separate spoon rests and trivets when putting things down on the stove top.

Dishwashers are a kashrut problem. If you are going to use a dishwasher in a kosher home, you either need to have separate dish racks or you need to run the dishwasher in between meat and dairy loads.

You should use separate towels and pot holders for meat and dairy. Routine laundering kashers such items, so you can simply launder them between using them for meat and dairy.

Certain kinds of utensils can be "kashered" if you make a mistake and use it with both meat and dairy. Consult a rabbi for guidance if this situation occurs.
Separation of Meat and Dairy

On three separate occasions, the Torah tells us not to "boil a kid in its mother's milk." (Ex. 23:19; Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21). The Oral Torah explains that this passage prohibits eating meat and dairy together. The rabbis extended this prohibition to include not eating milk and poultry together. In addition, the Talmud prohibits cooking meat and fish together or serving them on the same plates, because it is considered to be unhealthy. It is, however, permissible to eat fish and dairy together, and it is quite common. It is also permissible to eat dairy and eggs together.

This separation includes not only the foods themselves, but the utensils, pots and pans with which they are cooked, the plates and flatware from which they are eaten, the dishwashers or dishpans in which they are cleaned, and the towels on which they are dried. A kosher household will have at least two sets of pots, pans and dishes: one for meat and one for dairy. See Utensils below for more details.

One must wait a significant amount of time between eating meat and dairy. Opinions differ, and vary from three to six hours. This is because fatty residues and meat particles tend to cling to the mouth. From dairy to meat, however, one need only rinse one's mouth and eat a neutral solid like bread, unless the dairy product in question is also of a type that tends to stick in the mouth.

The Yiddish words fleishik (meat), milchik (dairy) and pareve (neutral) are commonly used to describe food or utensils that fall into one of those categories.

Note that even the smallest quantity of dairy (or meat) in something renders it entirely dairy (or meat) for purposes of kashrut. For example, most margarines are dairy for kosher purposes, because they contain a small quantity of whey or other dairy products to give it a dairy-like taste. Animal fat is considered meat for purposes of kashrut. You should read the ingredients very carefully, even if the product is kosher-certified.
Do you have a Jewish restaurant where you live? Perhaps you can order something for him specifically? Or take him out to lunch another day?

Here is a recipe for Potato Latkes which is pretty straight forward.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/framed...ercooking.com/

The challenge will come in making it in a Kosher environment and then packaging it up. Maybe you can call a Rabi at a Synagogue and ask him for advice and see what he advises you to do about the packaging.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

lookingglass

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,090
Purraise
4
Location
On the 12th floor
Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

That is very nice of you!!!

Cooking "Kosher" is very difficult. It involves more than just using Kosher food items. Chances are that if you don't practice this on a regular basis, that your kitchen is not equipped to prepar "Kosher" foods.

Here is a link I found along with a couple of the restrictions. There are more.

http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm





Do you have a Jewish restaurant where you live? Perhaps you can order something for him specifically? Or take him out to lunch another day?

Here is a recipe for Potato Latkes which is pretty straight forward.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/framed...ercooking.com/

The challenge will come in making it in a Kosher environment and then packaging it up. Maybe you can call a Rabi at a Synagogue and ask him for advice and see what he advises you to do about the packaging.
That's a great idea! There's a Synagogue near me that should be helpful!
 

gailuvscats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
2,283
Purraise
34
Location
philadelphia
Any of the items you buy at the grocery store that say Kosher should be fine. He will not eat anything made in your kitchen because your kitchen is not kosher. Make sure you take in packaged plastic eating utensils fro him and unopened plastic dish.
 

ckatz

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 16, 2005
Messages
794
Purraise
3
Location
A stones throw from Manhattan
My business partner also keeps Kosher. You can also use unopened paper plates. Just leave the food in the original packaging. It doesn't look pretty but that way he'll be sure it's still Kosher. It's wonderful of you to be so thoughtful of your co-worker.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10

lookingglass

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,090
Purraise
4
Location
On the 12th floor
Originally Posted by ckatz

My business partner also keeps Kosher. You can also use unopened paper plates. Just leave the food in the original packaging. It doesn't look pretty but that way he'll be sure it's still Kosher. It's wonderful of you to be so thoughtful of your co-worker.
I just don't want him to feel left out. He's such a nice guy, and will always bring in plates and stuff for potlucks but he'll never eat. I always feel bad about that.
 

natalie_ca

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
21,136
Purraise
223
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Originally Posted by lookingglass

I just don't want him to feel left out. He's such a nice guy, and will always bring in plates and stuff for potlucks but he'll never eat. I always feel bad about that.
I used to work in a law firm and one of the lawyers I worked with was like that too. However, he more than made up for it in the year because I would frequently bring in homemade chocolate chip cookies and keep them in my filing cabinet drawer and he was always in there getting cookies. lol
 

starryeyedtiger

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
22,317
Purraise
20
Location
USA
As Natalie mentioned above- if he is STRICT Kosher..then he won't eat anything you bring in because it is not prepared in a kosher way. They use seperate sinks, seperate utinsels, seperate cooking surfaces, seperate dishwashers, seperate plates- nothing can touch. (and the list goes on and on) it's extremely complicated to make an all-kosher meal for a very strick kosher jew if you don't have a kosher kitchen. So it's not just the actual food- a large chunk of why he won't eat what ya'll bring in has to do with the storage and preperation of the food. It's nothing personal
/ What i'd suggest instead is what some have already mentioned- go to your local Kosher deli or synagogue (some may have special hours during Hanukkah) and order a dish or two from there.
-Oh, and while you're there- definitely pick up some of the bread or pastries!!!! They're do die for
That way he can enjoy the pot luck too and rest assured that he is keeping Kosher
/ You are such an awesome person to do that!!! I would love to work with you
You are gonna make his day!
 

lunasmom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
Messages
8,801
Purraise
12
Location
Jersey Shore
Originally Posted by ckatz

My business partner also keeps Kosher. You can also use unopened paper plates. Just leave the food in the original packaging. It doesn't look pretty but that way he'll be sure it's still Kosher. It's wonderful of you to be so thoughtful of your co-worker.


Look for the symbol on the bottom of the package that has a K with a circle around it. I think there are others ways to indicate Kosher, but I definitely know this is one of them (PS, Godiva Chocolates are Kosher)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

lookingglass

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
May 24, 2006
Messages
11,090
Purraise
4
Location
On the 12th floor
Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

As Natalie mentioned above- if he is STRICT Kosher..then he won't eat anything you bring in because it is not prepared in a kosher way. They use seperate sinks, seperate utinsels, seperate cooking surfaces, seperate dishwashers, seperate plates- nothing can touch. (and the list goes on and on) it's extremely complicated to make an all-kosher meal for a very strick kosher jew if you don't have a kosher kitchen. So it's not just the actual food- a large chunk of why he won't eat what ya'll bring in has to do with the storage and preperation of the food. It's nothing personal
/ What i'd suggest instead is what some have already mentioned- go to your local Kosher deli or synagogue (some may have special hours during Hanukkah) and order a dish or two from there.
-Oh, and while you're there- definitely pick up some of the bread or pastries!!!! They're do die for
That way he can enjoy the pot luck too and rest assured that he is keeping Kosher
/ You are such an awesome person to do that!!! I would love to work with you
You are gonna make his day!
I asked him yesterday, and I found that he does keep a really strict Kosher diet. So I've decided to get some items from my grocery store. They are going to be prepackaged, so I hope he likes them.

Originally Posted by lunasmom



Look for the symbol on the bottom of the package that has a K with a circle around it. I think there are others ways to indicate Kosher, but I definitely know this is one of them (PS, Godiva Chocolates are Kosher)
That's good to know! I'll buy a box when I am out tonight for he and his family!
 
Top