| | Jewish people who do not keep kosher often complain that keeping kosher is difficult.<ref name="difficult">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Difficult</ref> Actually, keeping kosher is not particularly difficult in and of itself; what makes it difficult to keep kosher is the fact that the rest of the world does not do so.<ref name="difficult"/> In fact, the basic underlying rules are fairly simple.<ref name="difficult"/> If you buy only kosher certified products at the market, the only thing you need to think about is the separation of meat and dairy.<ref name="difficult"/> Keeping kosher only becomes difficult when you try to eat in a non-kosher restaurant, or at the home of a person who does not keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> In those situations, your lack of knowledge about your host's ingredients and food preparation techniques make it very difficult to keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> Some commentators have pointed out, however, that this may well have been part of what God had in mind: to make it more difficult for us to socialize with those who do not share our religion.<ref name="difficult"/> Products that have been certified as kosher are labeled with a mark called a hekhsher.<ref name="certify">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Certification</ref> Approximately 3/4 of all prepackaged foods have some kind of kosher certification, and most major brands have reliable Orthodox certification.<ref name="certify"/> The total number of certified kosher packaged food products in the United States has reached close to 100,000.<ref name="crc"/> The most controversial certification is the K, a plain letter K found on products asserted to be kosher.<ref name="certify"/> A letter of the alphabet cannot be trademarked, so any manufacturer can put a K on a product, even without any supervision at all.<ref name="certify"/> For example, Jell-O brand gelatin puts a K on its product, even though every reliable Orthodox authority agrees that Jell-O is not kosher.<ref name="certify"/> | | Jewish people who do not keep kosher often complain that keeping kosher is difficult.<ref name="difficult">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Difficult</ref> Actually, keeping kosher is not particularly difficult in and of itself; what makes it difficult to keep kosher is the fact that the rest of the world does not do so.<ref name="difficult"/> In fact, the basic underlying rules are fairly simple.<ref name="difficult"/> If you buy only kosher certified products at the market, the only thing you need to think about is the separation of meat and dairy.<ref name="difficult"/> Keeping kosher only becomes difficult when you try to eat in a non-kosher restaurant, or at the home of a person who does not keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> In those situations, your lack of knowledge about your host's ingredients and food preparation techniques make it very difficult to keep kosher.<ref name="difficult"/> Some commentators have pointed out, however, that this may well have been part of what God had in mind: to make it more difficult for us to socialize with those who do not share our religion.<ref name="difficult"/> Products that have been certified as kosher are labeled with a mark called a hekhsher.<ref name="certify">http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Certification</ref> Approximately 3/4 of all prepackaged foods have some kind of kosher certification, and most major brands have reliable Orthodox certification.<ref name="certify"/> The total number of certified kosher packaged food products in the United States has reached close to 100,000.<ref name="crc"/> The most controversial certification is the K, a plain letter K found on products asserted to be kosher.<ref name="certify"/> A letter of the alphabet cannot be trademarked, so any manufacturer can put a K on a product, even without any supervision at all.<ref name="certify"/> For example, Jell-O brand gelatin puts a K on its product, even though every reliable Orthodox authority agrees that Jell-O is not kosher.<ref name="certify"/> |
| − | Another misconception about Kosher is that a rabbi is required to bless food, which is false.<ref>http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/industry/whatkosher.html</ref> | + | Another misconception about Kosher is that a rabbi is required to bless food, which is false.<ref>http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/industry/whatkosher.html</ref> However, the Jewish organizations that allow a food manufacturer to use their logos, do in fact have Rabbi's that periodically inspect the production facility. The Jewish organizations that that lease their logo get paid by the food manufacturer a small fee. |