The kosher companion

The Kosher Companion is the first consumer guide to the ever-growing world of kosher food and kosher products. It explains the origin and meaning of kosher dietary laws and tells how to identify kosher products by the symbols used to designate them. Buying kosher meats and poultry, and identifying kosher products for vegetarians and for those who are lactose intolerant or allergic to other dairy ingredients, becomes easy using the information given here. There are tips on how to buy foods that are both healthful and kosher and a selection of scrumptious, easy-to-prepare kosher recipes, as well as information on kosher wines, and on mail-ordering kosher foods. Also included are lists of hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and caterers that meet kosher requirements. Today, only twenty-five percent of the purchasers of kosher food are Jews. Why has kosher become so popular? One reason is that a growing number of health-conscious consumers accept kosher certification (with its strict labeling laws and stringent meat inspection) as a kind of "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." Other religious groups besides Jews have turned to kosher foods because of their beliefs. Some five-and-a-half million American Muslims follow dietary laws similar to those of Orthodox Jews, and the 800,000 American Seventh-Day Adventists are encouraged to follow the dietary guidelines given in the Old Testament - the basis of kosher.