# kosher **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675 "2003-04-10T00:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/21 "2003-04-10T21:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\* > These kosher restaurants…are they advertised as kosher, or is that just known amongst Jews? \*\* They are advertised as kosher. > [@](#): > > \*\* > What kind of fat is forbidden fat? \*\* Some of the fats of domesticated cattle are called _chailev_ and are forbidden. Not being a butcher (and not having ever seen them since they are not sold at meat stores that I frequent) I really couldn’t tell you which fats are _cheilev_ and which ones aren’t > [@](#): > > \*\* > Is it expensive for a restaurant to be kosher? I would think they’d want to include the huge number of kosher people as their clientele, but is it financially do-able? \*\* It is an added expense. But there are a fair number of kosher resturaunts that have been around for quite a while, so it is possible for a kosher resturaunt to survive in an area with a large enough Orthodox Jewish population. As for how much it costs, I really don’t know. You’d want to speak to someone who owns/runs such an establishment. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/22 "2003-04-10T21:05:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*Is a kosher butcher allowed to butcher non-kosher animals? In real life? \*\* Is he allowed to? Yes. But in practice he probably wouldn’t. People would no doubt wonder if they saw a bunch of pigs go into a Jewish slaughterhouse and a bunch of hams come out. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/23 "2003-04-10T21:06:42Z")
Another joke, about the Great Heretic of Chelm\* discussing his latest outrage: “On Yom Kippur I took some ham and mixed it with cheese, made a blessing and ate it … and purposely without a yarmulka, too…” \*[sub]Celebrated town of fools, in Jewish folklore[/sub] In general, fats that are intermixed with the meats are not forbidden - the large freestanding ones are. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/24 "2003-04-10T21:09:26Z")
Thanks for all the answers, Zev. If you are at a company picnic or some kind of holiday gathering, how do you do the food thing? Have you ever told an employer that you are kosher? I worked for a hard-core catholic family once. They ordered a ham for the holiday party. They refused to provide a kosher alternative for the Jewish employees. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/25 "2003-04-10T21:10:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > Is he allowed to? Yes. But in practice he probably wouldn’t. People would no doubt wonder if they saw a bunch of pigs go into a Jewish slaughterhouse and a bunch of hams come out. This is incorrect. Generally it is forbidden to deal in unkosher items. (There are some exceptions, including most unkosher wine). ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/26 "2003-04-10T21:10:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*Thanks for all the answers, Zev. If you are at a company picnic or some kind of holiday gathering, how do you do the food thing? Have you ever told an employer that you are kosher? I worked for a hard-core catholic family once. They ordered a ham for the holiday party. They refused to provide a kosher alternative for the Jewish employees. \*\* Well, if the only food available is non-kosher, I would either bring my own or (far more likely), make sure I ate beforehand and not eat anything. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/27 "2003-04-10T21:13:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > \*\*This is incorrect. Generally it is forbidden to deal in unkosher items. \*\* This is generally true. I was actually thinking of a case where the _shochet_ was given the pigs to slaughter on behalf of someone else (i.e. he was not the owner of the pigs in question). It didn’t even occur to me that he might own the pigs. 🙂 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/28 "2003-04-10T21:17:25Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\* > Some of the fats of domesticated cattle are called chailev and are forbidden. Not being a butcher (and not having ever seen them since they are not sold at meat stores that I frequent) I really couldn’t tell you which fats are cheilev and which ones aren’t_\* Disclaimer: I am not a shochet. I believe it’s the fat around the stomach and kidneys. ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/29 "2003-04-10T21:24:32Z")
Just to put it in perspective, while it is quite important to Orthodox Jews to keep kosher, it isn’t to Conservative or Reform Jews. I’ve actually only met a handful Conservative of Reform Jews who has ever seriously kept kosher, and these would be rabbis and others deeply tied to the Jewish community (And I know many, many, many, many Jews). Many Conservs/Reforms don’t eat leavened foods during Passover and the like, but as far as not eating pork or milk with meat or shellfish it just isn’t happening. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/30 "2003-04-10T21:30:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Splanky \* > \*\*Just to put it in perspective, while it is quite important to Orthodox Jews to keep kosher, it isn’t to Conservative or Reform Jews. \*\* Well, the official line on Conservatism is that _kashrus_ still applies and it’s observance is mandatory. How many “Conservative” Jews actually hold to the position is another question. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/31 "2003-04-10T23:11:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\*This is generally true. I was actually thinking of a case where the _shochet_ was given the pigs to slaughter on behalf of someone else (i.e. he was not the owner of the pigs in question). It didn’t even occur to me that he might own the pigs. 🙂 > > Zev Steinhardt \*\* I would think that slaughtering a pigs in a jewish slaughterhouse woud render the whole place unclean even if they were taking no profit from it. That’s just my WAG based on the posts you’ve made about a proper kosher kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675/32 "2003-04-11T02:01:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Padeye \* > \*\*I would think that slaughtering a pigs in a jewish slaughterhouse woud render the whole place unclean even if they were taking no profit from it. That’s just my WAG based on the posts you’ve made about a proper kosher kitchen. \*\* Not really. For example, if you took your _cold_ piece of pork and put it on my plate, it would not render my plate non-kosher. All I would need to do is to wash off the plate very well to make sure that no pork remains, and I could use the plate. The same would apply to the raw pork in the slaughterhouse. (Note: The above does not apply to hot foods. If you put a _hot_ piece of pork on the plate, the plate would become non-kosher and have to be _kashered_ before it could be used again.) Zev Steinhardt [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kosher/167675.md?page=1)