Say Cheeeeese!
By Gayle Levine Schindler
When we talk about keeping kosher, we think about things that can never be kosher, meat that is kosher, and the prohibition of mixing meat with dairy. But what about dairy products themselves? Specifically, what makes cheese kosher? And which rules are still relevant?
The rules for kosher cheese are almost more complicated than those that define kosher slaughter and meat, in the same way that rules for grapes and wine are more complicated than rules for other produce. To simplify the discussion, I’ll broadly discuss three issues.
Milk: Of course, kosher milk can only come from a kosher animal. So, cow, goat, and sheep’s milk can be kosher. Pig and camel milk cannot. Simple, except before federal regulation, farmers might sometimes mix milk from two different types of animals, like goat and sheep, to come up with a large enough quantity to sell. Jews worried that milk from an unkosher animal might also be mixed with kosher-animal milk. Personally, I never heard of a farmer who milks pigs, but camel milk is routinely available in the middle East, so the concern might have been legitimate at that time in that place. But modern regulations on food production, certainly in the U.S. and Europe, prohibit selling milk that isn’t exactly what the farmer says it is. Cow milk is cow milk and goat milk is goat milk. Nevertheless, people who follow the most traditional kashrut will eat only cheese designated as chalav Yisroel, made from milk that has been supervised by a rabbi from the animal to the packaging.
Soft vs. hard cheese: The process to make soft cheese, such as cream or cottage, uses acid, like citrus, vinegar, or lactic acid to create curds. This process requires less supervision than hard cheese, which uses rennet, an enzyme often sourced from the lining of an animal’s stomach. Rennet raises two questions. Does it come from a kosher animal? But the prohibition of mixing meat and dairy is more problematic. Does adding rennet, sourced from an animal, amount to mixing? To the first question, the rabbis have said, yes, rennet must come from a kosher animal. But to the second question, they conveniently equivocated, ruling that rennet is so far removed from its source that it is no longer meat or even food, being “like a piece of wood.” So “kosher” rennet can be added to milk if it’s supervised by a rabbi. This reasoning was cited by the Conservative rabbinic authority, when it ruled that non-food doesn’t require supervision. So, if the rennet doesn’t need supervision AND we can trust that the milk is from a single type of animal, then uncertified, single-animal cheese can be considered kosher, unless there are other reasons to question it.
Constant supervision: Traditional kashrut requires a rabbi to supervise every step of the cheese-making process. Again, trusting modern federal regulations about food labelling, the Conservative movement takes the position that cheese is cheese. As long as a facility makes only cheese, without inclusions that could introduce non-kosher ingredients, it does not require constant supervision, in the same way that produce doesn’t.
I realize that some of you do not accept this conclusion. For you, I reported about meeting Brent Delman, The Cheese Guy, at Kosherfest in November. Brent became kosher as an adult, so he knew and loved non-kosher cheese. He realized that the available kosher cheese was not of the same quality he was used to, so he learned how to make his own. He invests in small, artisanal and family owned farms who make excellent cheese, installing his own kosher equipment on their premises, providing kosher enzymes, and paying for rabbinic supervision. Once the cheeses are made, he brings them to his own place in upstate New York for aging. He is producing some amazing cheeses, OU certified, of a quality matching any other cheeses I’ve tasted.
By Gayle Levine Schindler
When we talk about keeping kosher, we think about things that can never be kosher, meat that is kosher, and the prohibition of mixing meat with dairy. But what about dairy products themselves? Specifically, what makes cheese kosher? And which rules are still relevant?
The rules for kosher cheese are almost more complicated than those that define kosher slaughter and meat, in the same way that rules for grapes and wine are more complicated than rules for other produce. To simplify the discussion, I’ll broadly discuss three issues.
Milk: Of course, kosher milk can only come from a kosher animal. So, cow, goat, and sheep’s milk can be kosher. Pig and camel milk cannot. Simple, except before federal regulation, farmers might sometimes mix milk from two different types of animals, like goat and sheep, to come up with a large enough quantity to sell. Jews worried that milk from an unkosher animal might also be mixed with kosher-animal milk. Personally, I never heard of a farmer who milks pigs, but camel milk is routinely available in the middle East, so the concern might have been legitimate at that time in that place. But modern regulations on food production, certainly in the U.S. and Europe, prohibit selling milk that isn’t exactly what the farmer says it is. Cow milk is cow milk and goat milk is goat milk. Nevertheless, people who follow the most traditional kashrut will eat only cheese designated as chalav Yisroel, made from milk that has been supervised by a rabbi from the animal to the packaging.
Soft vs. hard cheese: The process to make soft cheese, such as cream or cottage, uses acid, like citrus, vinegar, or lactic acid to create curds. This process requires less supervision than hard cheese, which uses rennet, an enzyme often sourced from the lining of an animal’s stomach. Rennet raises two questions. Does it come from a kosher animal? But the prohibition of mixing meat and dairy is more problematic. Does adding rennet, sourced from an animal, amount to mixing? To the first question, the rabbis have said, yes, rennet must come from a kosher animal. But to the second question, they conveniently equivocated, ruling that rennet is so far removed from its source that it is no longer meat or even food, being “like a piece of wood.” So “kosher” rennet can be added to milk if it’s supervised by a rabbi. This reasoning was cited by the Conservative rabbinic authority, when it ruled that non-food doesn’t require supervision. So, if the rennet doesn’t need supervision AND we can trust that the milk is from a single type of animal, then uncertified, single-animal cheese can be considered kosher, unless there are other reasons to question it.
Constant supervision: Traditional kashrut requires a rabbi to supervise every step of the cheese-making process. Again, trusting modern federal regulations about food labelling, the Conservative movement takes the position that cheese is cheese. As long as a facility makes only cheese, without inclusions that could introduce non-kosher ingredients, it does not require constant supervision, in the same way that produce doesn’t.
I realize that some of you do not accept this conclusion. For you, I reported about meeting Brent Delman, The Cheese Guy, at Kosherfest in November. Brent became kosher as an adult, so he knew and loved non-kosher cheese. He realized that the available kosher cheese was not of the same quality he was used to, so he learned how to make his own. He invests in small, artisanal and family owned farms who make excellent cheese, installing his own kosher equipment on their premises, providing kosher enzymes, and paying for rabbinic supervision. Once the cheeses are made, he brings them to his own place in upstate New York for aging. He is producing some amazing cheeses, OU certified, of a quality matching any other cheeses I’ve tasted.
