Traditional Jewish cooking

Abstract

Because of the obligation to observe the ritual and dietary laws, the Jewish diet is very complex. Ritual diet includes (1) regulations about foods that may be consumed, (2) regulations concerning shehitah - the ritual slaughtering - and the preparation of meat meals, (3) regulations about the consumption of meat and milk products, and (4) regulations about cooking and running a kasher household. The Jewish diet was strictly defined by-laws listed in the Bible and later codified in the Talmud. These laws about ritually fit or unfit foods are known as kosher diet, according to the Hebrew word kasher, meaning pure. (The word kosher, broadly used today, is, in fact, the Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew word kasher.) The dietary laws specify the foods which can be consumed, the manner in which they must be consumed, as well as which foods can be prepared or consumed together.