Top reasons cited for buying kosher

[Rmis32]

"For Some, ‘Kosher’ Equals Pure "

Only about 15 percent of people who buy kosher do it for religious reasons, according to Mintel, a research group that last year produced a report on the kosher food explosion. The top reasons cited for buying kosher? Quality, followed by general healthfulness.

read more - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/din...

[Marcharlan]

This sounds like a Family Feud question:
Richard Dawson: "100 people surveyed, top five answers on the board - why do you keep kosher?"

Contestant: "my wife makes me do it"

[cheesecake17]

This was a very interesting article.

Funny though, that a lot of my non-religious and non- jewish coworkers think that kosher packaged food and meat are better... but kosher restuarants are on a 'lower level'

[asf78]

I think the restaurant thing may have to do with a few factors. Ambience probably plays a role. I admit that I don't eat at the more expensive kosher restaurants (grad student budget = gotta' set limits), but at the ones that are more affordable, the ambience is lacking. Also, buying packaged food and meat does not equal a recipe, merely ingredients. For many who do not keep kosher, being able to add dairy (butter or cheese especially, but also cream and other dairy products) or seafood or some pork product (bacon, ham, prosciutto, etc) is a fundamental part of the cooking process. I watch a lot of cooking shows, and it's amazing how many dishes need bacon or prosciutto according to the chefs/cooks on the shows. I really don't get it, but I've also never eaten it. Anyway, since a kosher restaurant will never have pork products nor will have a combination of dairy and meat, that may contribute to their lower status relative to kosher packaged food and meat.

[cheesecake17]

I think the ambiance is one factor. I've been to non kosher places to pick up food for people in the office, and the service also seems much more efficient.

*<Also, buying packaged food and meat does not equal a recipe, merely ingredients.>*
Totally true. I watch tons of cooking shows as well... and there's usually some bacon/pork/treif item in lots of the dishes. But, I was thinking of packaged snack and meal type things. Coworkers buy Cheez-It's b/c they're kosher as opposed to buying a nonkosher cheese cracker. Several people I know buy Amy's frozen meal as opposed to Lean Cuisine b/c they have a hechsher. Not saying if it's right or wrong... but just saying.

Re upscale kosher restaurants- the service can be excellent (Mike's Bistro), obnoxious (Va Bene), or just indifferent (Le Marais). When I mentioned service in the above paragraph... I was thinking of the quick places for lunch... like Pax and Pret.

[asf78]

I so rarely go down the snack food aisles (if I don't have it in the house, it can't tempt me) that those types of things just didn't cross my mind. Most the people I know who look for kosher symbols but don't keep kosher themselves are either buying it for a kosher friend, trying to avoid allergens, or are strict vegetarians. I haven't heard anyone talk about how much better the snack foods with hechshers taste compared to the ones without. But, I also live in a place where people are really into the organic, uber-healthy (belong to CSAs, shop at farmer's markets as much as possible), uber-fresh food and try not to do much snacking - or they make their snacks themselves. So it may be a moot issue in my neck of the woods.

What kind of hechsher does Amy's products have? I'm always intrigued by the stuff, but I've never seen more than a K, so I haven't bought it. Not that I want to rely on frozen dinners, but in a pinch, it sure would be nice (especially since I currently live in a place with no kosher restaurants or kosher take-out - the kosher restaurant experience previously mentioned refers to my time living in NY, or when I visit my folks on the east coast).

[craigcep]

Amy's doesn't have a plain "K" but a stylized "K" from Staten Island. Be that as it may. When it comes to snack foods, Doritos still aren't kosher and that's still a shame.

[cheesecake17]

Not that the snack foods taste better- but they must be of a higher quality since they are kosher.

Amy's have a hechsher from staten island as craigcep mentioned. Not everyone agrees with the hechsher- just to let you know. I eat the stuff.. and I like it... but it is high in sodium... good in a pinch like you said.

I also have friends at work who try to buy kosher meat and fish when possible.. reasoning that it's higher quality

[GilaB]

I've actually noticed boxes of Amy's with a very large, plain K on them lately. I haven't examined them closely (I didn't eat them when they were under the Ner Tamid K), but it's definitely different from what was there previously.

[cheesecake17]

Could be- I haven't looked for them in a while.

[craigcep]

The Amy's K has a line above or below it. I can't remember off hand.

[arifree]

Not at all. The problem is that there is limited supply for limited demand of high quality kosher. Everything is just steakhouses, steakhouses.
There was an article in the WSJ several weeks ago by a Chinese person who complained that NY's Chinese food was terrible and couldn't compare to Toronto and other places that attracted wealthy Chinese people.
It is possible to make kosher prosciutto and bacon. In fact, lamb bacon and duck prosciutto are very popular in the non kosher world.

[GilaB]

I think a lot of people interpret 'kosher' as 'a saintly bearded grandfatherly rabbi personally supervises and blesses each item of food.' This makes them believe on some level that the rabbi won't let bad things go in the food, and therefore it must be safer.

[azna29]

Yeah, I also think the idea that there is a mashgiach and that someone is actually inspecting on a regular basis is comforting. Knowing what we now know about food production from Food Inc. & Fast Food Nation etc.. just knowing that someone is checking them (especially the saintly rabbi) is comforting. and I can't really argue with that.

[kosherculinary1]

I work in the business. In my experience, the mashgiach is usually a shomer Shabbos guy who can't make a living doing anything else. They spend the better part of the day sitting on their you know what and have a very limited understanding of food, food safety, halacha, or personal hygiene. Sorry if I'm breaking anybody's heart. The wise business owner is better served finding a young, motivated guy or girl looking to learn the business from the ground up, (who satisfies the requirements of their supervision of course) and combining his or her moshgiach duties with some sort of assistant management position. The profit margin in the food business is slim. There is no room for waste--be it food waste or money wasted on a person who can't produce or at the very least be kept occupied.

[MartyB]

re : "The wise business owner is better served finding a young, motivated guy or girl looking to learn the business from the ground up, (who satisfies the requirements of their supervision of course) and combining his or her moshgiach duties with some sort of assistant management position."

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The kashrus business, or is that the business of kashrus, has nixed that option. They maintain that the kasrus must be seperate from the business lest the masgiach certify something that is not kosher as kosher so the business won't lose money. Sigh!

[cheesecake17]

sort of unrelated, but still interesting- the owner of Max and David's (in philly) has several young women as mashgiachs..

[ferret]

Ironically, given the mashgichim I know, they're probably not the ones most people would associate with excellent hygiene.

[koshergourmetmart]

i am just hoping with this article that people stop thinking kosher food is kosher b/c it is blessed by the rabbi

[kashrutnews]

yes, at least they didn't perpetuate the "blessed by a rabbi" myth.

[brooklynkoshereater]

I'm just glad that the Times is able to acknowledge that Kosher is more than a Bubbe's chicken soup or a Tante's lukshen kugel (or kigel, depending on where you're from)