A work colleague’s husband is in the hospital with leukemia, recently diagnosed. The family is small, consisting of father, mother, and a recent-college-graduate daughter who’s living at home while she starts her career. There’s also a son who’s a freshman in college a few hours away, so he may come for visits. Some of us wanted to support them by offering (among other helps) the traditional thing where people prepare some meals to take to the family to save them the trouble of cooking or the expense of eating out. However, no one else on the staff is Jewish, so none of us have kosher kitchens in which to prepare the meals.
I think it’s fairly simple to find RECIPES that will meet kosher dietary requirements, but as a child I had a best friend whose family was so Orthodox that the only way she could eat at our house was to have parve foods that didn’t require any of our utensils or cookware, served with a set of plastic dishes and utensils that we set apart for that purpose so they weren’t in danger of contact with non-kosher food. I would hate to put our colleague in a spot where she’s accepting food people think she can eat, but that in reality she can’t trust to be kosher. Certainly one can give gift cards for kosher restaurants or grocery stores, but I wondered if there’s still a way we could properly prepare food ourselves. I’d ask her, but with all that she’s got on her mind, it could turn our attempt at lifting her burden into yet another burden. 
I thought about getting inexpensive wooden spoons and aluminum pans to mix together something that didn’t involve other utensils. Suggestions.
6 Responses to “How can we properly prepare kosher meals to take to a Jewish family.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
its a nice thought, but its a real hassle if they are orthodox, but not so difficult if they arent.
it really depends on how ‘jewish’ they are. to be honest, you can probably make a reasonable estimate. Obviously i dont know them at all, so i couldnt say.
if they are ultra orthodox, then i would just buy them something from a deli or something non food. the number of rules involved is immense.
This link may help you a little. Good luck.
Save yourself some time and effort and just go to a Jewish deli. Kosher laws are too complex to comply with if you are not familiar with all the nuances.
Given the complexity of Kosher, you probably cannot really do a kosher meal. The rules for washing, dish and pan and pot separation alone would necessiate you remodeling your kitchen to accomodate. and then you would have to hire a Rabbi to bless the meal and give it his seal of approval.
You got some good advice, go to the grocery store or a deli and get something that has a cirlce K on it and send it to them.
i am Jewish , you consult a certified kosher caterer. There are different levels of observance with kosher food(Glatt,ect.) , depending on the families’ belief
The simple answer is that if they are Orthodox you cannot prepare a meal that would be kosher for them. To start with- anything cooked in an unkosher kitchen is unkosher. Regardless of the utensils, your stove is unkosher and cannot be utilised to prepare a kosher meal. If you wish to take them food you will need to buy it at a Kosher deli or take away place and take it them.