Kashrut Questions
Here are the first set of questions from a discussion with Rabbi Shaffer, the mashgiach at Barnard's Hewitt Dining Hall. To ask Rabbi Shaffer more question, email Rebshaff@aol.com.
Rabbi Noam Friedman, our JLIC Rabbi is also available for answering questions at nf2346@columbia.edu
What’s kosher in Hewitt but not labeled kosher?
How should people kasher their suites when they first move in?
Checking for bugs?
Communal kitchen stuff?
Separate sponge for pareve and dairy? Not really necessary!
Rabbi Noam Friedman, our JLIC Rabbi is also available for answering questions at nf2346@columbia.edu
What’s kosher in Hewitt but not labeled kosher?
- Coffee, cappuccino, frozen yogurt, drinks, whole fruits—kosher
- Don’t take cut things because same knives used for cutting fruit are “mamash treif” (actually not kosher)
- Not the cake, yes the breads (labeled on the package)
- Not all the cereals are kosher, but there’s a list of which are and which are not
- Processed stuff in Liz’s place is probably not good because it’s not supervised
- The food on the second floor of the Diana center, unless specifically labeled with a hechsher (kosher symbol), is not kosher
- For the Starbucks stuff in Liz’s place, check kosherstarbucks.com
How should people kasher their suites when they first move in?
- Scrub and clean the oven very vigorously, leave it on full temperature UNDER SUPERVISION for a little while
- See Rabbi Shaffer if you want to hear a sad story about a student who once burned down her college dorm room because she left her oven on full temperature unsupervised.
- Pour boiling water over sinks, counters, etc. VERY CAREFULLY, stage by stage, not a ton of water over everything
- Have separate bins/sink inserts for dairy and meat stuff in the sink
Checking for bugs?
- Don’t need a light box
- Break up lettuce, wash off a few times, check it with a good light source… when get stuff from a farm or if it is not such good quality, or it looks damaged, be extra careful checking it
- Pre-packaged vegetables that have hechshers don’t need to be checked
Communal kitchen stuff?
- It is NOT okay to wash dishes in a treif sink, even with cold water, unless you make a separation between the sink and the dishes; definitely not l’chatchila (ideal scenario)
- To kasher a microwave, clean it out and then boil a cup of water and let it steam in the microwave every time before you use it (also can kasher a dishwasher by cleaning it and running a cycle)
- For ovens—suggested 24 hour cycle between meat and dairy because of ta’am (taste) absorption problems
- DON’T use the microwave in Hewitt
Separate sponge for pareve and dairy? Not really necessary!
