sacredclay on mon 22 jan 07
Hi, all
It really depends on what branch of Judiasm you belong to. Meat and
dairy iskept separate because it would be unkosher to mix them. If a
kosher turkey was put on a non-kosher plate, it becomse non-kosher,
therefor, unclean to eat. But that is for the orthodox branch. the
whole thing has something to do with not insulting the mother's animal
with the baby's milk. therefore, you don't einsult the meat by mixing
it with the milk of the baby. Kosher is also another way of
slaughtering animals but with a clean knife, not rusty or with nicks.
Otherwise it's unclean. Not only for health reasons, but out of respect
for the animal itself. Any suffering on the animal's part, it's
unclean. all this from working at a community center with all three
branches of Judiasm reprpesented. Kathryn in NC
Eleanor on tue 23 jan 07
(my Jewish mother would not have a salt pig in her kitchen --Jews
don't eat pork) ;-)
When my mother married in 1918 she acquired what she called a "cereal
set", a group of canisters for many of the ingredients used in
cooking: flour, sugar, rice, tea, farina........these would be kept
in the tall, larger canisters, and cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,
pepper.....these would be kept in the shorter, smaller ones.
The canisters were porcelain, made in Germany (I think -- the mark is
faded), glazed with a beautiful iridescent glaze, elaborately
decorated with gold, and with the ingredient name in big gold letters
on the front.
There were oil and vinegar cruets and..........a salt container.
I think my mother realized early on that these canisters were not
airtight, and therefore unsuitable for storing these ingredients. So
the canisters wound up empty, displayed on a shelf, except for the
salt container.
The salt container was kept within reach, filled with kosher salt.
For many years I watched my mother kosher chicken pieces. She would
salt each side, let the pieces sit awhile, wash off the salt, and cook.
My mother was unschooled in the "why" of Jewish ritual, only the
"how", she was not particularly observant and she was practical. She
gave up the salting process, even stopped buying kosher meat and
poultry -- non-kosher is cheaper and just as good. Porterhouse yes,
but no pork, no seafood. Some old habits die hard. (Porterhouse, from
the rear end of the animal, is forbidden in Jewish law) The salt
container remained in use until it (probably) broke. After my mother
died, I couldn't find it.
The salt container was a beautiful thing. It was low, capacious, wide
enough to admit a hand and IT HAD A LID. The lid was made of wood and
overhung the opening. So you could push it up with the back of your
hand or your wrist, reach in for salt and the lid would fall back
into place when you removed your hand. The attachment was simple: a
little hole on each side of the container, a little wooden peg on
each side of the lid which fit loosely into the holes.
I have a salt canister from another set. It's more elaborate, has a
wooden back and the wooden lid was attached to the back with a metal
hinge. The hinge has long since broken; if my mother's container had
survived, it might still be working.
Salt canisters with lids might be a 21st century potting idea. Coarse
salt appears in a number of recipes I've seen and is used in brining
meat and poultry, a process gaining in popularity as fast as meats
are losing their taste, due to increasing "healthy" fatless processing.
And what about that gorgeous iridescent glaze? Any recipes?
Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY
Blizzard last night -- deposited a whopping quarter inch of snow.
| |
|
