Touristic Kosher Market

Kosher is the term used to describe a very strict diet ruled by the Jewish religion (originated in the Bible, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 17), and I bring this article to your attention, because the Kosher market is huge, both in number as in profitability, but for sure an under estimated profitable market. 5% of all hotels and restaurants around the globe do know how to serve and handle this particular Clientele, and the rest, well; they are leaving precious money on the table.


Through this article, I will explain the basic rules of Kashrut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut) and how you can make serious business with a well thought investment that will have a massive and prompt return. Remember that there are various levels of Kashrut, depending on education and principles, and the processes are slightly different.



Which ingredients are non-kosher?

Birds of prey, fish with neither fins nor scales, all flying and earth creeping things (insects, lizards and snakes), land animals that only chew the cud or have cloven hooves are considered unclean (only 4 animals considered in the texts, hare, hyrax (shrewmouse), camel and pig), blood, fat (some fatty parts of the approved animal, because that was offered by burning it at the altar), thigh meat (the Bible attributes this tradition to the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh during a wrestle with an angel of God), any produce from a non-approved animal is prohibited, mixing meat with dairy produce (forbids seething a young goat in its mother's milk), eggs that contain blood next to the yolk, gelatin from animals (as this is usually made with connective tissue and can contain tissue from an unapproved animal, however, gelatin from fish with fins and scales is permitted), shellfish (which have an exoskeleton), any fruit or vegetable that is harvested if the tree is not at least 3 years of age, any fruit or vegetable that is not thoroughly inspected for bugs or worms is forbidden, processed products that can contain unapproved ingredients (that’s why all processed ingredients or food has to be supervised by a literate person that oversees the machinery and process, adding a mark of rabbinical inspection), while in the slaughter, the Rabbi checks the lungs and heart to detect a specific disease (in the case of beef or goat) and the animal gets slaughtered with a special blade (sharp as you can imagine) and it is done with one fast and precise cut through the jugular (if the cut is not precise, the animal cannot be Kosher), when slaughtering chicken, the modern way is to stun the animal with an electric shock, however, this makes the chicken non-Kosher, so a straight cut is made to let it bleed to death and the plucking process is made without dipping in boiling water (as it starts a cooking process); after slaughtering, the animals then go to a heavy salting process (that allows to drain all remaining blood), then is washed to remove all salt excess and ready for packaging or maturing the meat.



There are also very strict rules about the equipment used to cook, preparing and serving Kosher food:

++Every single piece of equipment that touches the food has to be blessed and washed thoroughly.

++Different set of equipment is used to prepare meat and milk related food.

++A different set of chinaware and silverware is used for the same as above.

++A well studied person has to supervise the process of preparation (even turning on a flame), even though a non-Jewish cooks the dishes.

++Many hotels and restaurants have two separate kitchens for the same reason, and have to be opened and closed by an authorized person and sealed whenever not in use.



Many countries have a well sized Jewish community, and Kosher food and ingredients are very easy to locate, and if you serve to this specific market, you can make piles of money if you plan accordingly.



If you are interested in pitching to the Jewish Kosher market, I can assist you to achieve your goals, feel free to send me an e-mail.