Food for Thought
Allow me to get a head start on my Yom Kippur atonement: It appears I may have misled some Cooking Light readers with the Spring Feast article that I wrote for our April 2011 issue.
The article that I wrote for the magazine detailed some of my favorite dishes for Passover—or Easter, and I kept it kosher-style. Kosher-style is a term used by restaurants to indicate that this isn't strictly kosher, but we're staying with the spirit of the law.
I am Jewish, and though I do not keep kosher, I enjoy celebrating Passover and making a kosher-style meal for my friends and family. Here is some clarification on kosher (and kosher-for-Passover) laws, and how I chose to interpret them for Spring Feast:
KOSHER LAW #1: DO NOT COMBINE MILK AND MEAT. In the article, I recommended serving a salad with cheese before the meat is served, as milk is allowed before meat (as long as you eat something parve, or neutral in between). But you must wait 6 hours before having milk after meat, much to the frustration of kosher ice cream lovers. Most folks keeping a strict kosher home wouldn't put milk and meat in the same meal, even with the milk-before-meat technicality. I'm not that strict.
ASHKENAZI KOSHER LAW #2: LEGUMES ARE NOT ALLOWED ON PASSOVER. In the beginning, the following five grains were not allowed on Passover: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye. And then there was a geographic split between the Sephardim and the Ashkenazi Jews and things got confusing. Ashkenazi Jews added a few more items to the "do not eat" list, including green beans (and other legumes, including, but not limited to, rice, corn, soy beans, peas, lentils) during Passover, so my Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts side dish is off limits. But Sephardic Jews are okay with legumes.
Though I am of Ashkenazi descent, I love the Moroccan, Spanish, and Indian flavors in Sephardic cooking. So when it comes to festive Jewish meals, I go with my Sephardic tribesman.
KOSHER FOR PASSOVER LAW #2: NO FERMENTED GRAINS. I can argue a Jewish rationale for dairy and green beans in this meal. But I did make one mistake that's hard to make a case for: I called for bourbon in one of the recipes.
Bourbon is required to be made of at least 51% corn. But that other 49% is usually a combination of wheat, rye, and/or barley. These ingredients are not permissible during Passover. However, there are 100% corn bourbons, like Hudson Baby Bourbon, that would, technically speaking, be permissible -- if you're following the Sephardic approach. (I said it was hard to make a case for bourbon, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.)
When I was growing up, a good friend of mine from grade school (who went on to become a rabbi) made a memorable comment when she came to my house. When she saw the wreaths that my mom used to decorate our home (inside and out), she said: "This is not a Jewish home. No Jew decorates with wreaths."
As it turns out, it was a Jewish home. And the woman at the helm was raised Protestant and spent a year with the rabbi in order to become Jewish. So although the wreaths weren't consistent with my friend's concept of Jewish decorating, that didn't make my mom (or the home) any less Jewish. Like many Jews, I'm comfortable keeping the traditions of Passover without keeping a kosher home. I tend to follow the most obvious kosher rules, like combining milk and meat and avoiding leavened bread during Passover, but there are other specific kosher rules that I do not choose to follow.
I am sorry if I have mislead any readers, and happy if I've helped others who take a similar approach feel like they've got a kindred spirit out there. I hope you enjoy these recipes on Passover if you're not keeping strictly Passover kosher, or afterwards if you are. My non-Jewish relatives tell me they just love that orange curd. Couldn't find matzoh meal where they live, but they slathered it between two layers of boxed cake mix and it was a hit.
Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday),
Allison
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If Cooking Light is going to publish articles about kosher food by someone who is not kosher, it should have the recipes approved by an outside authoritative source to prevent future errors like the one mentioned above. This is as if I wrote an article including diabetic recipes while saying that I am not an expert. All my recipes would (and SHOULD) then be suspect.
So amazing that dietary rules differ so much in other countries. So it appears that there are strict and moderate adherents and the meal intake will depend on the individual orientation. Timely post for the Easter. For many in the West, Kosher is just about one rule - of course they need to read about your explanations here.
Thanks for the wonderful post. We went to a community Seder last night, but enticed a young (23-year-old) surrogate grandchild over for a non-Seder on the first night of Passover that just happened to include matzos with Sephardic charoset and a few glasses of wine
Thank you for your wonderful recipes and the well voiced explanation of the varying traditions and understanding of Kosher! While not Jewish I do celebrate Passover and enjoyed a wonderful Seder with friends old and new this year. Next year I foresee one of your yummy recipes finding a home on the Seder table!! ;-) Chag Sameach!
There are those who prefer to dine on food that they are certain was prepared with cleanliness and health in mind. With kosher-style enthusiasts, they recognize the difficulty of the processes involved in preparing such meals but they also know that the efforts are all worth it (for instance http://www.towerdeli.com).
Ban on women driving should be considered world wide... :-) I would never allow my wife driving my car.. :-)
Each tradition brings a different combination of meals. It's up to you to choose which is the proper one to serve.
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Having a lovely and lively furniture while eating a delicious meal is one of the best things in life.
