Kashrut is a set of Jewish dietary laws dealing with eating habits of Jewish people such as what food they can eat and what they cannot and on how these food should be prepared and taken.
In an earlier article, we discussed the laws on which all the animals are considered kosher (permitted to be taken as a food) and the animals that are forbidden. These dietary laws not only imply on what animals to eat and but also on the process of slaughtering. In this article, we will discuss the same that is process of slaughtering the kosher animals.
Kosher Slaughter: According to the Jewish dietary laws, kosher animals are to be slaughtered as per the law. Ritual slaughter in this context is known as “Shechitah.” The person who does the slaughter is called “Shochet.”
Slaughter process: Slaughter process should be painless. Hence, they quickly cut the throat deeply with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This causes unconsciousness within two seconds. Generally, slaughter process is done by a well-trained person.
Restrictions on slaughtering:
- Animals that died in natural causes.
- Animals that are killed by other animals.
- Animals that have diseases or flaws in their organs.
However, these restriction are not applicable to fish. Its applicable to the flocks and herds.
Draining of blood: According to the dietary laws, it prohibits on consumption of blood that is blood should be completely removed from the flesh of kosher animals. This is because the law explains that life of animal contains in the blood.
After the slaughtering process, the immediate step is rapidly removing or draining of the blood. The left out blood should be removed by broiling or soaking or salting. This blood removal processes should be done within seventy two hours after the slaughter and before it is sent for freezing.
There is prohibition on:
- Fats and Nerves: The fat (Chelev) that surrounds the vital organs and the liver and the sciatic nerve and its adjoining blood vessels are forbidden to eat.
- An egg that contains blood spot should not be eaten. Therefore, it is advisable not to break an egg into a glass bowl to check.