Big Brand names going kosher

[patriotsmass]

Seems like there has been a major slowdown in "big ticket" foods (like Oreos, Mars, etc) going kosher. I heard a rumor that Dorotios was considering making some lines kosher, and Wrigley's new ownership might rethink their status, but are there anything confirmed out there in terms of "blockbuster" items going kosher. How about chain restauarant locations a la Subways and the ill fated Nathan's in Flatbush from a few years back?

[koshergourmetmart]

as on each postings, gatorade and tootsie rolls are going kosher

[normat]

immaculate baking bisquits are available at whole foods.
and i've heard that ferraro rochere (sp?) is going kosher.
if that's just a rumor then that's just cruel....
those things look awesome!

[latke]

Ferrero Rocher is NOT a rumor- is IS OU-D KOSHER and the packaging already reflects it- I saw ROndnoir and Regular Rocher with an OU-D- you have to look on the back near where it says "made in Italy" or "Canada".

AND IT'S DELICIOUS!!!

[koshergourmetmart]

I already posted about kosher ferrero rocher-OUD. Includes the ferrero rondoir. I have heard there is kosher werther's caramels at shoprite. Has anyone seen kosher certified (with a symbol) ritter chocolate, droste or all varieties of Kinder chocolate?

[GilaB]

I don't think that candy with inedible items embedded in it can be legally sold in the US, so Kinder eggs, at least, are out.

I've been buying Droste cocoa powder for years - it has an OK.

[queenscook]

Droste make chocolate itself, and I'm assuming that's what koshergourmetmart is wanting, not the cocoa powder. BTW, to my knowledge, pure cocoa powder doesn't even need a hechsher.

[koshergourmetmart]

I am referring to the chocolate itself not cocoa powder. I have seen uncertified kinder eggs - the candy is in a separate compartment from the food. the egg separates into 2 parts-1/2 has foil and the chocolate spread and little candy;the other 1/'2 has under foil a toy you need to assemble. I am unsure about the inedibile item not being allowed b/c cracker jacks is sold in US and it is similar

[GilaB]

I think that crackerjack is OK because the inedible item isn't actually embedded in the candy, just mixed in with it. The Kinder Eggs I've had have a chocolate shell completely surrounding the egg containing parts of a little toy. Such items are banned by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which formed the modern Food and Drug Administration, and did a bunch of things like creating numbered labels for food colorings. That said, there's occasional importation of Kinder Eggs from abroad; Wikipedia talks about a 1997 CPSC crackdown on such imports, but they happen even though they're technically illegal.

[koshergourmetmart]

the toy is in a separate compartmnent covered with foil/ no chance someone could swallow it while eating the yummy chocolate and crunch candy on the other side. see this wikipedia listing for a photo of the ones I have noticed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinder_S...

[DeisCane]

And besides, Droste cocoa has a hechscher.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I...

[Lissy63]

I would also think that pure cocoa powder doesn't need a hechsher, but I have seen a couple of brands (in Trader Joe's and Whole Foods) that have hechshers (I don't recall the specific hechshers, but not one of the major ones),. Next to the hechsher was the dairy designation. The only ingredient listed was the cocoa.

[DeisCane]

Kinder eggs are sold at Fairway and other specialty stores in the NYC area.

[ferret]

Kinder eggs are widely available in the US (you can get them in gas stations near me). Although they seem to originate from various countries, none, as of yet, bear a hechsher.

[ferret]

And koshergourmetmart has Israeli Kinder eggs available:

http://www.koshergourmetmart.com/cata...

[Ilenem]

I would like to see Pillsbury's refrigerator rolls and the like become kosher. Why is it a problem? Some of their other products are kosher.

[DebbyT]

The only products that are kosher are the Holiday sugar cookies. I find it quite amusing that the Santa, reindeer, elf, jac-o-lantern, Easter Bunny, etc cookies are kosher and nothing else is!

[koshergourmetmart]

i have seen the following kosher pillsbury cookie doughs in the refrigerateed case:

chocolate chip refrigerated dough not in a chub (tube) but square..

Pillsbury® simply...™ cookies

nestles also makes it cookie dough.

other better quality refrigerated doughs are immaculate baking company, FatBoy Cookie Company, naijla (sp), Chippery Place, david's cookies, michael's cookies

As for refrigerator biscuits in the tin, immaculate baking company will be selling kosher certified buttermilk biscuits in the tube as well as scones.

[Prettypoodle]

Please do tell more about the refrigerated buscuits from the Immaculate Baking Company. Is this a national brand? I know these are not gormet treats, but they would be handy to have.

[koshergourmetmart]

it bakes 8 biscuits and is 190 per biscuit. ingredients are enriched white flour, water, palm oil flakes, palm oil shortening, leavening, buttermil powder, sugar, salt, wheat starch, canola oil, xanthan gum. 10 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 580mg sodium (24% dv), dietary fiber (1g), sugar (3g), protein (3g), calcium (2%) and iron (6%).

[Prettypoodle]

Thanks for the breakdown...where can I BUY them! I just made the faux Red Lobster cheesey ones tonight (yummy, yummy!) but some nights I need to be lazy! :)

[koshergourmetmart]

check with the company direct at http://www.immaculatebaking.com/

[koshergourmetmart]

immaculate baking has the scones for sale on their site--http://www.immaculatebaking.com/produ...

[cappucino]

I'm hoping for wrigley's spearmint gum.

[koshergourmetmart]

I'd like annie's, amy's kitchen (the stuff looks great), mac n cheese from kraft, annie chun and more gourmet stuff like Taza, knipschildt chocolatiers, Amano Artisan Chocolate, B.T. McElrath Chocolatier, Inc., all of Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolaties product line, Choclatique, Fran's, Chuao Chocolatier, Jacques torres, DeFluri's Fine Chocolates, Theo Chocolates, and Williams & Bennett Fine Foods.

[azcohen]

HMM, I see a common thread there in most of your choices...CHOCOLATE!!!

[zsero]

Q. Are Amy's products certified Kosher?

A. Yes, Amy's Kosher certification is from Rabbi Dov Hazdan of Ner Tamid K in Staten Island, NY. Amy's became certified in November of 2003.

With two exceptions, Amy's products are certified as Kosher Dairy or Kosher Parve as noted in our special diets section. Amy's Low Sodium Marinara and Amy’s Light in Sodium Vegetable Lasagna are the only Amy's Kitchen products that are not certified Kosher due to the presence of non-kosher red wine vinegar.

While shopping for Amy's products, you may not see the appropriate Kosher symbol on all certified products at this time. As packaging is regularly updated, the appropriate symbol will be added.

[koshergourmetmart]

amy's products are not under a hasgacha widely held by everyone

[websterhall1994]

I tried the teriyaki rice bowl. It came out of the oven looking delish- like I had freskly steamed the veggies and rice myself, but it was way oversauced and (thus) inedible.

[midasgold]

Thank you for pointing that out, Kosher Gourmet. We were told that the so-called hashgocha is totally unacceptable. The products come from a company that is on the opposite coast from Staten Island; that should tell you something right off the bat (although Celestial Teas have been certified forever by the Star-K, which is the local Va'ad of Baltimore!)

As always, check with your L.O.R.

[cwsilverberg]

The star K is based in Baltimore and more or less considered the go to hashgacha in baltimoe but is in fact a national hashgacha, probably the second or third biggest in the holy triumvirate of hashgachas ( ou,ok,stark)

[typo lad]

Well, if we're going to rule Haskachot out on the basis of distance, the OU certifies *lots* of stuff on the West Coast.

I mean, there may be really great reasons why this isn't acceptable, but in this day and age of subcontracting, it's hard to see distance as one.

[berel]

I'd like to see Mallomars go kosher

[bagelman01]

it isn't worth it............
I grew op eating them, but ever since they did away with the animal fats, they vare tasteless

[inky]

Twinkies, Pop tarts, and Tootsie Rolls (chocolate, not the multi-colored ones). I ate them as a child , before I became kosher. If they do become kosher, I wonder if they would taste the same as they way I remember them.

[craigcep]

Aren't twinkies kosher now? They were at some point (triangle K), though they may have gone back to the treif world.

[Marcharlan]

That is no longer the case. With the banishment of transfats - they went back to Lard.

[websterhall1994]

Topps' Ring Pops have gone under O-U supervision and will be on the shelves in August.

[shoelace]

im embarrassed that that news got me all excited

[berel]

should I be embarrassed that i have no clue what a Topp's Ring pop is?

[shoelace]

no no, youre situation is much better than mine, trust me

its a ring with a big candy placed in the jewel spot, pure garbage but i used to love that stuff in my non-hashgacha-ed days

[berel]

I guess the same kind of feeling I had when milky ways went kosher having eaten them in my non-hashgacha-ed days

[DebbyT]

I'm still waiting for Tootsie Rolls. It'll be the last of my childhood memories to come home!

[koshergourmetmart]

bequet chocolate caramels are close in taste to tootsie rolls

[azcohen]

I know that a national kashuruth agency was brought in to investigate the possibility of Tootsie Rolls gaining a certification, and the changes asked of Tootsie makes it a dead deal as far as I know. Wrigley's has a better chance now that it has been sold.

[Kosher Critic]

For me it's Pop Tarts. Though I have made several efforts to plead my case for certification of the unfrosted flavors, I have nothing to show for it. I suppose I can console myself with a Ring Pop.

[azcohen]

Me too. I tell people, that is what I want kosher more then anything. My wife who ate them as a kid says they are not worth it. But I remember as a kid always wanting Pop Tarts. To this day, I always look at the boxes at the store hoping against hope that they will change.

Also would like to see some of the microwave meals that are massed produced to become kosher so I can be like the people in my office who eat them for lunch, instead of paying 15 dollars for something from the kosher places.

[queenscook]

I can't remember back far enough to when I ate Pop Tarts, so I can't say if these are as good, but there is a brand with hashgacha: Nature's Path. I bought a number of the flavors; they even have ones with frosting, and they're OK, but for me, not really worth the calories.

As far as the microwave meals, there are some kosher brands that make some of this stuff, so you don't absolutely have to spend $15 for lunch. The packaged meals are not as cheap as the treif ones, but they're not $15 either. I just posted in another thread about the new Luck Chen meals which are really good, that are only $3.50, and I also like some veggie Chinese food, but can't recall the brand (the packaging is green and orange, I think.) Mon Cuisine stuff is also fine, and I've had some pretty good filo-wraps (there are many flavors available, but again, I can't recall the brand). Oh, there are also pretty good burritos, maybe the brand is Jerusalem Cafe? So, there's definitely stuff available; no one needs to spend $15 for lunch out unless they want to.

[Luckydog]

hehe, shoelace, the same happened here! We're in the same boat!

[elmoz]

A kosher Subway just opened at the JCC in Rockville, MD.

[DeisCane]

I think we won't see too many more Subways for awhile. I think we've crossed a threshold in terms of big brand names so much that there are now so few that even qualify as non-kosher big names.