Text 32624, 71 rader
Skriven 2009-12-26 06:33:04 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: Re: Hfcs
================
NB>> Is HFCS Kosher?  I thought that the Kosher for Passover Cokes
NB>> were the ones that had real sugar in them instead of the HFCS?
  
DSh> I believe that it is Kosher, but not Kosher for Passover.  The later
DSh> because it is based on a grain.  I've been told that flour is not
DSh> Kosher for Passover.

NB> That can't be right, about the flour, since Matzoh is made from flour,
NB> just unleavened.  It's the leavening that isn't allowed at Passover,
NB> so I'm guessing, now that I'm thinking a little more, that the problem
NB> at Passover with HFCS would be the fermentation that it goes through to
NB> cause the HF part of it.  So maybe it would otherwise be Kosher, other
NB> things being equal... ;)

You're correct about flour - it's Kosher.  The Passover restriction is
against leavening only and "based on a grain" is simply a 
misunderstanding.

Ordinarily, corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are considered 
Kosher.  The reason they aren't Kosher for Passover is complicated
and based as much on tradition as it is on strict Halakha.

As Dale mentioned, leavening is forbidden during Passover, and many
Jewish families have a completely separate set of dishes and flatware
and even cooking utensils that are used only during Passover, so
they are never corrupted by touching leavened foods even accidentally.
They also rigorously clean their homes just before the holiday
period to remove any trace of leavening even down to wild yeasts
which might lurk on surfaces or nooks and crannies.

Fermentation is considered an aspect of leavening.  So, any foods 
made from the traditional "five species" of grain (wheat, rye, spelt, 
oats, and barley) which might have been inadvertently moistened after
harvest (and started to ferment) are regarded by Orthodox Jews as
prohibited during Passover.  (That's why Dale's Orthodox friend would 
make the arrangement to "sell" and "buy back" his flour; when I was
in high school and had many Jewish friends, my family would sometimes
"buy" their flours for a few coins for Passover and then "sell" them
back for the same amount afterwards - the "payment" was simply a 
gesture that transferred ownership "officially."

So how does HFCS fit into this?  A majority of American Jews are
Ashkanazim - descended from medieval Jewish communities originally
along the Rhine in Germany but later emigrating to spread across
much of Eastern and Western Europe, especially in the north.  It
is customary among Ashkanazi Jews to further prohibit during
Passover the consumption of "kitnyot" foods.  "Kitnyot" literally
means "little things," and usually includes rice, peas, beans, and
especially corn.  

Because of this prohibition, corn syrup and HFCS are fine most
of the year, but not Kosher for Passover.  Many big companies
- including Coca-Cola - make non-corn-syrup-containing versions
of their products for economic and good-will reasons rather than
lose or isolate such a huge slice of their market.

I hope this clears up some of the "kosherness of corn syrup"
confusion here.



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