Kosher Glossary - KCJ KOSHER

Glossary for Kosher

Term	Interpretation
Basar	Any meat or meat products. Often referred to as Fleishig in Yiddish.
Bishul Yisroel	Refers to any food cooked by a Jew.
Cholov Yisroel	Milk which is produced under constant rabbinical supervision and products made from such milk.
Chometz	Leavening or leavened bread, not permitted for Passover. Chometz may also be used to denote any product or utensil that is not kosher for Passover.
Fleishig	Derived from the Yiddish “fleish” (meat). Colloquially used to denote meat foods, dishes, and utensils.
Halacha	Jewish Law.
Hechsher	Written certification of kashruth signed by a Rabbi, Vaad HaKashruth (council for kashruth supervision) or seal of a recognized kashruth-certifying agency.
Kasher	To “make Kosher,” usually applied to the salting and soaking procedures used in the production of kosher meat and poultry. Also used to describe the procedure for preparing (cleaning) a non-kosher facility so that it may be used for preparing kosher food.
Kosher	Literally, “fit, proper or correct.” Describes food that is permissible to eat under Jewish dietary laws.
Kosher for Passover	In addition to meeting the year-round requirements for kosher, the food product also meets the Passover dietary laws, which prohibit the use of leavened grain products.
Mashgiach	Refers to the Rabbinical Inspector that inspects and supervises Kosher production.
Milichg	Yiddish for dairy products, utensils and equipment.
Pareve	A term indicating that a food does not contain either meat, poultry or dairy, and can therefore be eaten with all types of kosher ingredients. Pareve items include all fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, eggs and kosher fish, etc.
Pas Yisroel	Bread or cake that is baked by a Jewish person.
Shabbos/Shabbat	The Sabbath (Saturday). The seventh day of the week according to the Hebrew Calendar which is considered the day of rest.
Shechita	Torah prescribed manner of killing animals or fowl for consumption.
Shochet	A person authorized to slaughter kosher meat and poultry according to the Jewish tradition.