Living life kosher - need some advice

Hopefully someone is around on the weekend to help out here a little!

We will have our first kosher guests in our home tomorrow for a light lunch and so far I've gotten their ok on buying items from Zan's Kosher deli that's closeby.

I've read that I should not mix dairy and meat but is it ok to have them both on the same surface? Just not together or touching? I thought we could make our own sandwiches to make sure it's ok with them.

Also, I will purchase disposable utensils, plates and cups for us. But what about drinks? They should also be from Zan's if they have them, I'm sure they probably do.

Lastly, I've read that I should have disposable utensils, plates and cups. Can I open them? Or should I leave them to the side for their use if/when they want them so they know they haven't been used?

Thanks to anyone who can help with any suggestions!

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Do not put meat and dairy on the same plate.Some beverages are Kosher, just check for the letter K o nit. P means Pareve it can be served w/ milk or meat.D is dairy and can only be served in a dairy meal. A word of caution, some margarines have milk in it, so if u r serving margarine make sure you do not mix it w/ milk and meat. HTH

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Instead of milk get Non dairy creamer which is in the frozen food kosher section of the supermarket. It might be sold in powder form near the coffee area in the suermarket. Or stay w/ cold beverages or hot tea.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

I should clarify - they aren't making me use disposable items, I read it online and thought I would jump the gun. They only mentioned bringing their own food and when I said I would get from Zan's, they agreed and offered to bring dessert. She did say no beef but that chicken and turkey are ok. If that's the case, can we then have dairy? I emailed her too but I don't know if I'll hear from her today.

I just want to make them as comfortable as possible. It sounds like if they are eating kosher, it would probably be easier for us to do the same to avoid any issues.

I am buying everything tomorrow morning first thing, Zans isn't even open today so we're ok there.

Thank you for helping, I am taking notes!!

Message edited 12/12/2009 10:04:03 AM.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Chicken and turkey are still considered meat dishes. So, no dairy. If on the other hand you did a fish, like salmon or tuna, then you could serve dairy.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Thank you so much, I truly appreciate it!

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

just wanted to say that this thread has taught me new details to the kosher life.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

I grew up in a Kosher home, so if you have other specific questions that haven't been answered I'd be happy to answer them.

This website might be helpful:

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



I copied the info about milk & meat, and the info about utensils:


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 (lox and cream cheese, for example). 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, the sponges with which they are cleaned and the towels with 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 after meat. 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 buttery taste. Animal fat is considered meat for purposes of kashrut. You should read the ingredients very carefully, even if the product is kosher-certified.



Utensils

Utensils (pots, pans, plates, flatware, etc., etc.) must also be kosher. A utensil picks up the kosher "status" (meat, dairy, pareve, or treif) 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 fleishik status of the pan is transmitted to the milk, and the milchik 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, (including hot spices) or prolonged contact, thus if you are eating cold food in a non-kosher establishment, the condition of the plates is not an issue. I knew an Orthodox rabbi who would eat ice cream at Friendly's, for example, because the ice cream was kosher and the utensils are irrelevant for such cold food. 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 for both meat and dairy 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.

Message edited 12/12/2009 11:57:08 AM.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

It's so hard to know what to do, b/c people often keep Kosher to different degrees. For example, DH and I have a kosher home (separate meat and dairy pots and dishes), but there are things that we permit that our more observant friends would not.

Some basic guidelines: Do not mix meat and dairy. I would not have the cheese out for your sandwiches next to the meat. Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if you each made your own sandwich and you and your DH added cheese, but I don't know how observant your friends are.

Using disposables is your best bet. If they are very observant, I would keep them sealed so that they know they haven't been used.

As far as drinks go, most things are Kosher. There are certain symbols to look for to indicate this. The most common ones around here are the O-U (a circle with a U in the middle of it), or a star with a K in it. There are a ton of other symbols, some which I find acceptable that my Orthodox friends to not.

We were at a non-kosher friend's home the other day for a holiday party. On the same table, they had one side with non-Kosher cold cuts, cheese, etc, and on the opposite side, paper plates with Kosher cold cuts. We have friends who are very Orthodox and follow all laws of kashrut, and they ate the food from the other side of the table without any problem. So, if you want to have cheese with your sandwich, I might just keep it on a separate counter, not near the kosher meat.

(DH just interjected: When it comes to meat and dairy, just say "no" )

There are a whole lot of Kosher laws, and it's hard to know to what extent someone follows them. For example, even though we have a kosher home, I eat nonkosher meat at restaurants, but my DH does not. He will only get fish or pasta. Our more observant friends wouldn't eat at a nonkosher restaurant, period. I'm sorry if my response is more confusing than helpful. If your friends are very observant, it likely that you will not hear from them until after sundown tonight, since it is the Sabbath, and observant Jews do not use electricity on Shabbat.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

I just wanted to agree with what the others have told you. The utensils I would definitely leave wrapped.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Thanks again everyone, I just got this from her (pasting for the sake of education for anyone else curious)

You are correct to go with all the stuff from there & disposables, and it is much appreciated. Critical aspect is really not to heat or reheat food in a non-kosher kitchen.

As for cheese, you are right. No cheese is allowed with any meat products, including poultry. I just didn't mention it, because a place like Zan's can't have cheese anyway! Kosher places that make meat don't actually have cheese (that's the difference between a kosher place and a kosher "style" place).


I learned a lot today. You guys rock!!

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

my cousins are very orthodox and they wouldnt even eat at the same table as me because i was eating a cheeseburger from mcdonalds.

Re: Living life kosher - need some advice

Message edited 12/13/2009 1:45:11 AM.