Kosher meal

[MSX555]

Hi everybody!

Sorry for this, but I have a curiosity with Kosher meals. Can you please be so kind to enlighten me with the subject?

How are they?

Is there any special preparation?

Prohibited foods?

How should I prepare them?

How can I serve them?

Is there any special catering company?

Thanks a lot

and safe flights!

[Dinger154]

Catering company named 'Hermolis' based in London supply most airlines.

[Little_Red_Hat]

They are prepared by a certified kosher kitchen... the meal is sealed and wrapped. Most airlines I know of ask you to show it to the passenger so they can see that it is sealed and certified, once they have seen it you may then remove any components which need heating.

I'm not entirely sure but of course pork products are definitely not allowed, also I think shellfish and any kind of fish without scales and any meat from animals with split hooves (I think it's split hooves anyway!!!)

I looked at one closely once, it had a piece of paper in it stating which kitchen it was made in and that it had been inspected and approved (I think a rabbi does this) also the milk had special labels on it as did most of the snack components. The whole tray is encased in sealed plastic, not cling wrap.

Just some that I have dealt with, I would guess would be similar elsewhere. Your airline should have a procedure somewhere for dealing with this, I would think it would be similar to what I described.

[Heliplane]

Same method of slaughtering an animal I believe for Hallal meat.

General rules as follows:

- Prepared in a Kosher kitchen according to strict standards.
- Animal has to be slaughtered in the "kosher" way.
- Beef and lamb ok - pork, etc forbidden.
- Fish with scales ok - no shellfish or sea creatures without scales.
- Dairy products ok but cannot mix dairy with milk.
- Various others....

Only the more religiously observant will require the kosher certification.

[LH2]

The laws of kashrut are many and complicated, they also differ between communities, and of course people have different levels of observance (as said above, only the most observant will usually ask for a kosher meal). Having said that, if you go with an established Kosher catering company you can't go too far wrong.

Or for more details, feel free to visit your local rabbi.

[Rotorhead1026]

Hawkins: Ordinary meat is not allowed in a Kosher meal as the animals are usually stunned before being killed. Stunning is not allowed for Kosher meat. The animal must have its throat cut whilst fully-concious and then bleed to death.

Errr, that's technically correct but a mite harshly put. The deed is done to the jugular vein with a VERY sharp instrument, very quickly. The experts say death comes quickly and relatively painlessly. (Never tried it myself).

Heliplane: Dairy products ok but cannot mix dairy with milk.

Quite a trick. Actually you can't mix meat with milk. There's kosher cheese and kosher beef, but no such thing as a kosher cheeseburger, unless the cheese is "fake".

Really, the best advice is to ring up a nearby synagogue (Conservative or Reform would be my choice, but I'm not trying to start a fight ); they'd be able to give more specific answers. A lot of people order kosher on airlines just because it's better food.

[No_Speed_Restriction]

P.s..... שבת שלום

[MSX555]

Thanks a lot!

Thanks to everybody, you really helped me with this. It's not a normal procedure in my company, but the other day a colleague asked me for it. Now I can give her a far better answer.

Thanks once again. Have a nice weekend

[Rotorhead1026]

Furthermore, a separate study of brain response after Shechita slaughter of cattle compared to that after captive-bolt stunning indicated responses for up to 60 seconds in the former and no response in the latter

Thanks for the clarification. We'd have to get into a discussion of what a calf's brain is actually doing with near zero blood pressure, but whatever ... And I love this:

For political reasons the government has not acted on this advice.

Probably a wise move. In any case thanks again for the information. The things you learn on an aviation forum. Ouch!

Thanks to everybody, you really helped me with this. It's not a normal procedure in my company

But now your bosses have a couple of new methods of dealing with recalcitrant employees!

[LH2]

Xisco,

do you fly for a Palma-based airline? If so I'm a bit surprised your company hasn't published a procedure for this. At least I would have expected a certain amount of tourism from the Middle East.

In any event, if you do as explained by some of the other people above you should be allright. Essentially, show it to the passenger before you open it, then explain you are going to open it in order to remove the cutlery before you cook it. If they complain (and they shouldn't, by your simply removing the bits that don't go in the oven the meal is still kosher, as long as your hands are clean, but some people are ignorant), ask them if they would like to open it themselves. In general, ask the passenger for advice if in any doubt, most people will be willing to help--the rest can bring their own sandwich next time.

Caveat: Not cabin crew and not religious. Take what I say with a pinch of salt.

Apa, espero que aixo te sigui d'ajuda. Bons vols


Edward,

It's only Thursday today

Don't shoot him down, man. At least he managed to spell it right, must have taken him... well, six days?