Re: eating insects by accident!

[Guest guest]

>

> > Yuck

> > But, I'm sure I read a " in your lifetime useless facts " thing

> > somewhere that says in your lifetime you will eat x number of

> spiders

> > (presumably when you are asleep). Making me shiver all over.

> >

> > Todman

>

> Surely it would be in something like lettuce?

> Aren't even money spiders, those teensy weensy ones, OK?

Judaism comes down very strictly against eating insects, even by

accident, (it's considered worse than eating pork) although I imagine

if you can't help it when asleep that doesn't count! But the checking

of fruit and vegetables for infestation is a very important part of

our kosher food preparations. Some tightly packed leaves, like curly

parsley or broccoli, are so difficult to check that we don't even eat

them unless, as this is increasingly the case, we can buy kosher

" pre-checked and certified insect-free " vegetables, fresh or frozen.

Our kosher food stores have imported frozen (and expensive!) frozen

vegetables which are guaranteed insect free. You can also buy fresh

iceberg lettuce and coleslaw mix which has been checked.

In Israel, as it is a hot country, the problem of insect infestation

in dry goods like rice, flour, and barley is a problem too. My

daughters who live there either have to sieve everything carefully,

buy imported goods, or they bring rice and barley from England when

they come back. Nearly every time I go to Israel, I take packets of

barley and Mr. Bens rice for the kids out there.

Fruit too. Do you know that tiny insects often infest strawberries

just under the green leaf at the top? When we eat strawberries we

don't just pull the leaf off, we cut a slice off the top of the berry

and examine it for insects before it " passes " . Some dried fruit, like

dates and figs, are almost impossible to check, so we avoid them,

unless they are kosher certified as having been pre-checked.

Kosher eating is complicated!

Ruthie

>

>

> (ducks)

>

> {love Caro}