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I have a question for all you Gentiles -- have you ever bought kosher food -- on purpose? I used to buy a lot of kosher chicken because the process can make the chicken safer. The chickens are often hand-inspected, and the safety standards are higher than the USDA's. They're a smart buy for anyone. But I don't often choose other kosher foods.
That's because most other kosher foods are traditional Jewish foods -- and as a Gentile, I don't have many occasions for gefilte fish in jelled broth or Manischewitz wine. Not that there's anything wrong with gefilte fish! But that could change. Kosher foods are starting to go gourmet -- and they're tempting even people like me. Chili roasted carrots, anyone?
I've been reading about all the fancy, new, cross-over Kosher foods popping up recently, and it's making my mouth water. Jelly donuts filled with fig Cabernet preserves, honey-glazed apple challah, wasabi, and even gin -- yes, please! And now more kosher foods are made with "natural" ingredients, so that makes them even more appealing: it's clean AND healthy.
Living in New York City, I've seen plenty of cross-over kosher restaurants: Chinese and pizza especially. You can eat kosher Chinese food and be pretty confident that there are no bugs in your garlic broccoli. But what if we started seeing kosher Indian and Thai? It could work. And with the good reputation kosher meats have, they could be appealing to everyone. (Oooh, no shellfish, though. Bummer.)
Anyway, I know it's not all about me. But I still think if kosher foods take on more exciting flavors and natural ingredients, we all benefit. Maybe we could even have a kosher Christmas! imagine that.
Do you ever buy kosher foods? Have you noticed more variety lately?
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