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Kosher Articles
Articles about Industrial Kosher Supervision.
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OU Kosher Kidz Video Reveals the Cold Facts about How to Make Kosher Ice Cream
All across North America this winter students and their teachers in Jewish schools have been entertained and enlightened by OU Kosher’s Kosher Kidz video, which takes them behind the scenes at an ice cream factory to learn what makes a product kosher and to see Jewish law put into practice in the manufacture of every kid’s’ favorite food.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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It’s Not Greek to Him
It’s Not Greek to Him: An OU RFR Hits the Road to See the Nuances of Olive Production in an Ancient Land One of the great pleasures of working for the OU is the opportunity to occasionally step away from my desk and travel into the field. While there is always a sense of thrill and adventure involved in seeing the world, these are far from pleasure jaunts. Most importantly, these journeys provide critical insight into the real world workings of kosher. As the saying goes, “Hearing (or reading) is nothing like seeing!”
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Tanks for the Memories: OU and Transport Companies Work Together to Make Sure that Kosher Products
A few weeks ago I was attending a wedding reception, sitting at a round table with a number of other guests. An older gentleman, an interested kosher consumer but not, himself, involved in the kosher industry, turned to me. He asked me what I do, and I told him I work at the OU. “Tell me what it is you do at the OU,” he said. I told him that, among some other things, I am involved in making sure that the transport of kosher commodities from one site to the next is on vehicles that are dedicated to kosher products. He seemed uncertain about what I meant.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Tanks for the Memories: OU and Transport Companies Work Together to Make Sure that Kosher Products
A few weeks ago I was attending a wedding reception, sitting at a round table with a number of other guests. An older gentleman, an interested kosher consumer but not, himself, involved in the kosher industry, turned to me. He asked me what I do, and I told him I work at the OU. “Tell me what it is you do at the OU,” he said. I told him that, among some other things, I am involved in making sure that the transport of kosher commodities from one site to the next is on vehicles that are dedicated to kosher products. He seemed uncertain about what I meant.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Passover 2008: A Blend of the Old and the New
When Jews sit down to the seder on April 19 and 20, chances are that the set table will have a very traditional look. There will be the seder plates, the cups for the wine, the elegant flatware and dishes and so forth. But when the meal begins, the foods that are served may be reflecting some of the new products that have been introduced in recent years. For example, even the Kedem grape juice could be a dietetic version that has far less sugar than the traditional grape juice. The matzos may be spelt or whole wheat, the gefilte fish without sugar, and, of course, Diet Coke.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Certification of Vodka
Dear Rabbi, What is involved in the OU certification of vodka? The Orthodox Union receives many inquiries about certification of vodka. This is a typical response, as written by Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Dear Rabbi, How Do You Make Kosher Wine?
The Orthodox Union receives many inquiries about certification of wine. This is a typical response, as written by Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Everything’s Popping! (With the OU and Popcorn)
According to www.popcorn.org, Americans consume in excess of 17 billion quarts of popped popcorn annually – or about 54 quarts for every man, woman and child. The world’s primary popcorn producing region is the Midwestern United States and an entire food industry has grown up around it. Why is popcorn so popular? Because it is nutritional, versatile and delicious! Popcorn is an easily prepared whole grain snack. Without butter or other additions, popcorn is about 31 – 55 calories per cup. It goes with almost anything, and can accept a wide variety of flavor enhancements. Today, you don’t have to do much work to enjoy this treat. While of course one can still purchase raw popcorn and either air or oil pop it, microwave popcorn has become ubiquitous. In fact, the first test of the microwave on food in the 1940’s was popcorn. By the 1990’s this product niche had over $240 million in sales. And while salt and butter remain the most popular flavors, today’s marketplace is full of gourmet popcorns -- and not only caramel. There are cheese flavors, chocolate covered, nut balls and new flavor trends like jalapeno, too.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Here’s Something to Chew On: How Granola Brings Benefits to Health-Conscious Consumers
Americans today are looking for alternatives. This trend has manifested itself in many different areas but is perhaps the most pronounced in the health sector. How often do we hear about alternative medicine? As a result, more and more Americans are electing to have a homeopath, chiropractor, or kinesiologist be their primary care physician in place of the more conventional medical doctor. In a word, Americans are looking to lead a more ‘natural’ lifestyle. After all, what can be better than what nature itself has to offer?
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Brandy Is Dandy, But Needs Special Attention to Be Kosher as Well
Brandy is short for brandywine and is derived from the Dutch brandewijn, meaning burnt, or distilled, wine. The alcohol for brandy is produced by fermenting fruits to produce wine. Because fermentation is a result of the action of microbes in yeast, there is a natural limit to the alcohol content of the fermented material. When the alcohol concentration reaches a level of about 12 percent, fermentation stops. The reason is that the alcohol kills any remaining yeast so that no more alcohol is produced; the limit of alcohol content in wine, therefore, is around 12 percent. There is, however, a type of bacteria, called acetobacter, which thrives on alcohol, turning it into vinegar, thereby souring the wine. Thus, wine is ordinarily subject to two drawbacks in quality: The one is a limit to its strength, the other, a limit to its shelf life.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Spray Dryers & the Koshering Process
Spray Drying is an effective mode of drying due to simultaneous mass and heat transfer. Spray dryers are used by the industry in chemical and food processing to manufacture dried eggs, powdered milk, animal feed, cake mixes, citrus juices, coffee, corn syrup, cream, creamers, fish and meat concentrates, infant formulas, potatoes, shortening, starch derivatives, tea, tomato puree, yeast, and yogurt. The substances are homogenous in nature and the powders are usually spherical in shape and approximately 10-140 microns.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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Here’s The Buzz On Certifying Veggies as Insect Free
Vegetables have forever been a basic staple of a person’s diet. Rich in fiber and vitamins, God’s gift to mankind is essential to maintaining one’s health. Unexpectedly, certain types of vegetables also provide a good source of protein. Vegetables rich in protein are those that provide a safe haven for insects, with the protein found in the insect itself. This trend has made the kosher certification of vegetables highly challenging. Insects are naturally found in the environment and in farm fields. However, kosher law strictly prohibits the consumption of insects.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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The New China: Booming Economy, Growing OU Presence
Approximately twenty-five years ago, the Chinese government decided to remake the country. China was up to that point a completely Stalinist-Maoist economy, wallowing in poverty, despite the fact that it is the world’s third largest country, blessed with various climates and abundant natural resources.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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The China Syndrome: Products Help to Fuel Giant Economic Growth
There is no doubt that anyone who has visited China in the last decade as a tourist or businessman has seen the unbelievable growth taking place in every phase of the Chinese economy, save for population. (As of this writing the population is holding at approximately 1.3 billion people.) Like any other industry in China, the food industry is hardly an exception. When numbers are spoken about in China they are not in terms of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, but rather in terms of millions and billions.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries
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When It’s Enzyme Time, Call on the OU
THE ENZYME INDUSTRY and its component, the food grade enzyme industry, are areas that have grown rapidly over the last forty to fifty years. Enzymes are currently used to create all sorts of different properties in foods, throughout food manufacturing. Examples include the starch industry, production of cheese and other dairy products, bakery products, the egg industry, juice and wine production – and we could go on and on. Enzymes have been found to do all sorts of interesting things such as liquefy solids, sweeten starch syrups, curdle milk for cheese production, act as a clarifier in juice production, de-sugar egg whites to prevent browning during drying – and again the list goes on and on. It can truly be said that the use of food grade enzymes is now "mainstream,” as their usage is found in all sorts of production situations, large, medium and small.
Category: The Certification of Specific Industries