Community Magazine April 2014

NISSAN 5774 APRIL 2014 95 Exception: Lipton Decaf may be used without an OU-P Instant Tea: Nestea Instant unflavored only. Regular & Decaf. No KP needed. Herbal Teas: Need to be marked: OU-P: Bigelow, Sweet-Touch-Nee: Herbal and Wissotzky- many varieties. Melaluca may be used without a Passover marking. G’Day: Star-K P Tomato Paste and Sauce: Passover supervision required. Due to flavored varieties of paste and sauce now being produced, the OK laboratories inform us that tomato products must have proper Pesach supervision. Mishpacha, Gefen, Glick’s , Haddar, Lieber’s and Unger’s - all with KFP certification. Note: Throughout the year, Tomato products should only be used with a known reliable supervision, it has been discovered that certain packers of tomato products were producing tomato with (non-kosher) romano cheese sauce and then producing the crushed tomatoes, with no cleaning in between! Understandably this is not acceptable Tuna : See Fish Vegetables: Dried Beans: May be used according to custom. Must be checked Three times before Pesach. Also check for insects, especially in black eyed peas. Frozen: Several years ago, a new lighter cuisine heralded the introduction of frozen pasta and vegetable mixtures. Vegetable companies blanch veggies and pasta blends together, and then use the same equipment for plain vegetables. Some companies purchase processed vegetables from another source and put their own label on the package. Codes provided by the companies proved inaccurate, and the information was confusing. We highly recommend the use of fresh vegetables, despite the convenience of the frozen. The most important of all, peas and beans will again be available for the Sephardic Community. Star S-P: Yerek Brand Peas, Green Beans, Mixed Vegetables, Lima Beans, Cut Corn. There are several Israeli brands that are also marked Kosher for Passover for Ochlei Kitniyot. Several companies made other frozen vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, which are properly checked for insects and for Pesach. Within the Sephardic Community, there are varied customs as to the use of dried beans, chick peas techina and corn. Consult your Rabbi for further information. If you are certain that it is your custom, these should be checked to insure that no grains are mixed in. Dried Eggplant: These are imported from Turkey, where they are collected from different villages. The importer informed us that the local women scoop them out, hang them to dry, and then tie them in string. In the event that there is a rush to get them dried out, flour is put inside to draw out the moisture! Understandably, we can not recommend these for Passover. Japanese eggplant are a fine alternative, they are very long and slender, and can be easily cut in half and scooped out. Pre-washed salad : Some brands use citric acid in the rinse water to balance the ph (to prevent wilting), and are not recommended. ALL STAR K marked brands may be used without a Passover mark. Several Brands from Israel provides insect free lettuce and herbs, rinse before using. Bodek, Pos’tiv and Fresh Express must be used with Passover certification. All fresh Packaged salad from Dole bearing a Star-K are Kosher for Passover without the additional Passover symbol. Note: we received information about a bad batches of California and Mexican grown produce that was infested! Buyer beware! Buy only top quality looking produce and even if it is marked – All Romaine must be washed and checked for insects! Small flies are attracted to lettuce, even if it is grown hydroponically. (The ones from Israel state clearly that the produce does not need inspection, but it must be rinsed.) If you are using the unsupervised lettuce, please contact your Rabbi for direction how to properly check for insects. Alternatively, our article: The fruit & vegetable inspection guide can be found at www.jsor.org. Other websites also contain clips of how to inspect different produce and what the different insects look like. (sta r-K.org , crcweb.org ) CannedVegetables :Needsupervision: the following companies produce reliably supervised products: California Delight, Glick’s,. Gefen, Haddar, Mishpacha, Season and Shoprite, Unger’s: KP only for all! Star S-P for Sephardim: California Delight baby corn, Whole kernel corn. Whipped Topping: Kinnert certified OU-P. Ungar brand Star-KP. Whiskeys and Beers and many liqueurs are Hames and may not be consumed on Passover. They must be sold to a non-Jew through the Rabbi before Pesach. See the www.crcweb. org alert section for some important information regarding bourbons and Whiskies that are manufactured at Jewish own factories who do not sell their hames! Wine: Please note some varieties of Manischewitz wine are not kosher for Passover. Check all wines- Be certain that all are certified Kosher for Passover. Two other issues with wine are: Non Mevushal Wines Although preferable to use for the four cups, care must be taken that opened bottles are not touched by non- Jews. In a place that this is difficult, it may be preferable to use Y ayin Mevushal, literally cooked wine. Consult your Rabbi. Fruit Wines :Wine varieties that are made from other fruits, such as peaches, may have a question if the Beracha is Hagefen, making them unacceptable for the Seder. Usually, the proper blessing will be stated on the back of the bottle. Have a Joyous and Kosher Pesach Holiday! Rabbi Isaac Farhi, Kashrut Coordinator 2014 Recommended Passover Product List For Sephardic Communities By the J.S.O.R. This Sephardic Passover List is applicable for 2014 only.