Kosher, Halal, Both or Neither? Quiz

Answer: Kosher

Also spelled "haroset," this fruit paste is traditionally served during the Passover seder to represent the mortar the Israelite slaves used to lay bricks in Egypt. The word relates to the Hebrew for "clay". Everyone has their own recipe, but apples, figs, dates, and raisins are common fruits, and cinnamon or other spices are frequently added. This dish is not halal because of the sweet wine - Islam completely forbids alcohol and other intoxicating/inebriating substances.

Player pusdoc pasted this question into the quiz.

Answer: Kosher

Coq au vin is a traditional French recipe, which in its original form includes lardons or pancetta - however, kosher variations definitely exist which omit these "treif" (Yiddish term for non-kosher) items. Coq au vin is a dish consisting of chicken and vegetables braised in Burgundy wine. Kosher rules allow for the consumption of alcohol (specifically kosher wine for this recipe) but there are rules about the consumption of chicken. The chicken must have been slaughtered according to kosher law, which involves cutting the bird's neck and draining it of blood. The internal organs are inspected to exclude the presence of disease. The chicken meat must be brined in salt within 72 hours, to ensure all blood is removed from the flesh. All utensils used in the process of slaughtering and preparation of chicken, cannot have been in contact with pork or other non-Kosher food nor with dairy. The chicken should also have been raised on a kosher diet.

Coq au vin is not permissible in a Halal diet, as alcohol is strictly forbidden, although exceptions may be made if the wine is certified 100% alcohol-free.

This question was prepared Phoenix Rising's leith90, who doesn't mind a bit of coq au vin from time to time.

Answer: Halal

Halachic law (halacha = Talmudic law) forbids Jews from eating items from the sea unless it has fins and scales. This rules out any crustacean such as shrimp, prawns, lobster, crab or squid, so a paella made using such seafood would not be allowable.

Due to innovation in food, there are 'prawns' being produced that would be acceptable. Made from red algae to create a plant-based protein powder and formed into a shellfish shape, this could allow people eating kosher to add something different to their diet.

Prawns, shrimp and other crustaceans are generally considered to be halal, as long as they are fresh and have been caught in a fishing net that has left the carapace unbroken.

Shrimp, prawn or seafood paella is a dish that is Spanish in origin, it is rice based and can contain chicken or rabbit, vegetables and flavoured with saffron, rosemary and tomato. Other variants exist that do not contain seafood.

Phoenix Rising Red Crew member smdpit netted this question for the quiz.

Answer: Halal

Meat from the cow is considered kosher if properly slaughtered and handled. While milk from a kosher animal is allowable, cheese is tricky. Cheese has strict certifications due to the rennet sometimes used from animals. In this example of a basic cheeseburger, we are assuming the cheese is kosher and the beef is kosher. Still, the cheeseburger does not meet kosher standards. At no time can you mix meat and dairy; separate utensils and equipment must be used in their preparation. Following Jewish dietary law, one cannot eat meat and milk or milk products, such as cheese, at the same time.

A basic cheeseburger does meet the halal dietary guidelines, as there is no restriction on the combination of meat and dairy. The beef must be slaughtered and prepared in accordance with halal standards.

Jaknginger of Phoenix Rising added this question to the Red Crew's team quiz.

Answer: Both

Often mentioned as the national dish of Palestine, musakhan (Arabic for "something that is heated") is a dish of roasted meat baked with onions, fried pine nuts, sumac (a tart-tasting spice made by grinding the dried fruits of Rhus coriaria) and other spices, served over taboon, a traditional Levantine flatbread. Because of the presence of the reddish-tinted sumac, the dish is also known as "muhammar" ("reddish). Although musakhan is generally made with chicken, other meats can also be used - such as lamb or goat, both popular choices in the Middle East. Goat, however, tends to be considerably tougher than chicken, so it needs to be cooked slowly for a longer time.

A simple, yet very satisfying dish, goat musakhan is kosher: goats are ruminants (i.e. they chew their cud) and artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates), meaning they have split hooves. They are explicitly mentioned in the Torah (Deuteronomy 14:4-8) as "clean" animals. The dish is also kosher because it does not involve mixing meat with dairy - or, as the Torah puts it, "seething a kid (young goat) in its mother's milk". Goat musakhan is also halal, as goats (or chickens, for that matter) are among the animals that followers of Islam are allowed to eat - as long as they are slaughtered according to "dhabihah", the prescribed method in Islamic law.

This question was written by LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew, who is fascinated by the intricacies of religious dietary laws.

Answer: Both

Though "kugel" means "ball" in Yiddish (a likely reference to the puffed-up shape of the dish after baking), nowadays noodle kugel is baked mostly in square or rectangular pans. This interesting dish, of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, probably evolved from the ball of dough that was placed in the middle of the pot of "cholent" (the traditional, slow-cooked Shabbat stew), and is believed to date from the 13th century in its present form. It is basically a baked casserole/pudding of egg noodles (called "lokshen" in Yiddish) mixed with eggs, milk, and cottage cheese; sweet versions often have raisins and cinnamon added, while the savoury ones contain spinach or other vegetables. Various toppings can be added to the kugel - cornflakes or cookie crumbs being especially popular in the US. Noodle kugel is typically served as a side dish on Jewish holidays, though it can be enjoyed as a dessert or a breakfast dish.

Noodle kugel does not contain any kind of meat, so it is fully kosher. In Kashrut (Jewish dietary law), there are no prohibitions regarding the mixing of eggs and dairy - without which this dish would not exist. The dish is also halal, as all its ingredients and their combination are permitted by Islamic dietary laws. The only thing that would make noodle kugel "haram" would be the addition of something alcoholic, or if unsalted butter (which may contain forbidden ingredients such as gelatin or lard).

LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew wrote this question, thinking that noodle kugel sounds like something truly up her alley.

Answer: Both

Flounder amandine is a simple dish of flounder, butter and almonds. According to the divine decrees of the Torah and the Talmud, a fish can be declared kosher, if it has have scales and fins. Scales are further defined as "visible to the eye, present in the adult form, and can be easily removed from the skin either by hand or scaling knife", as defined by Aryeh Citron in "All About Kosher Fish". A fish cannot be eaten whilst alive. All dairy products, like milk, butter, yogurt, and cheese, must come from a kosher animal to be considered kosher. A cow is kosher. There was contention that dairy and fish cannot be in the same dish. However, rabbinic authorities have ruled this was a "scribal error". Nuts and seeds are deemed kosher in their raw unprocessed state, but if they have been processed in any way, they must be certified kosher. Therefore Flounder amandine can be considered kosher.

Flounder, having scales, is considered halal in Sunni, Hanafi and Shia Islam. Dairy such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter can all be eaten. However butter must be salted, as unsalted butter may contain products that are not halal: pork gelatin, whey butter, lard, and alcohol. With nuts, all fruit, vegetables, grains, and legumes are automatically halal, as long as they do not come into contact with foods that are not halal. Therefore Flounder amandine can be considered halal.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising Team member 1nn1.

Answer: Both

Per Leviticus 11:22, "you may eat any kind of locust" (NIV translation). Locusts are also considered halal. They are treated like fish in kashrut law, so they may be prepared along with dairy and do not require special forms of slaughter. Seems that turnabout is fair play - locusts notoriously swarm and destroy crops, so eating them after the crops have failed ensures nutritious food will still be available. Of note, in New Testament times John the Baptist is described as eating locusts (Matthew 3:4). Jews in Yemen and Morocco continued to eat locusts, but it has been less popular in Israel.

There has been much discussion about which specific species of locust are kosher. Concern about the environmental impact of raising traditional meat animals has revived some interest in raising locusts for food. They reportedly are crunchy and reminiscent in flavor of sunflower seeds. Schnitzel is prepared by dipping them in liquid, generally milk, and rolling in crumbs before frying.

Player pusdoc of Phoenix Rising is unlikely to follow John the Baptist's lead - she'll stick to the wild honey he also ate.

Answer: Neither

Entomophagy (insects as food items) is neither halal nor kosher. Although some species of Acrididae are allowed as foodstuffs in both religions, all other insect species are forbidden. They are classified as "haram" or unlawful in Islam, though they can be eaten in very specific situations under Islamic law, for instance, for survival. Jews following kosher requirements need to take especial care they are not consuming insects unbeknownst. Some dyes and food additives are derived from insects and should be avoided, and they must be vigilant in seeking out and removing the presence of bugs in salads and vegetables.

Mealworm arancini involves initially making a risotto laced with the mealworms, a larva of the yellow mealworm beetle. Once cooked, it is cooled and shaped into balls, coated in breadcrumbs, and fried as a snack.

Red Crew's smpdit takes a very dim view of insects as food. She doubts she would be able to consume them under any circumstances.

Answer: Neither

Pork is strictly forbidden in both kosher and halal diets.
The Koran instructs Muslims that Allah has " forbidden you to eat carrion, blood, swine" (Quran Al-Baqarah 2:173). Likewise, the Jewish Torah (Leviticus 11:3) allows only cloven hoofed animals or animals that chew their cud to be consumed, and pigs, since they are neither, are forbidden. This ban includes any meat from the pig, including (but not limited to) pork chops, ham and bacon.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 corralled this question into the quiz.