Kosher Cheese
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Background
- Cheese is made by acidifying the milk with bacterial cultures to produce a mixture of solid curds and liquid whey. After the whey is removed the curds are kept loose or molded into cheese. Hard cheeses have rennet added to help them set and solidify. Afterwards different cheeses are processed and aged differently. For kashrut purposes there's two main factors for cheese to be kosher. First all of the ingredients and utensils used to make it need to be kosher and secondly there is a need for a mashgiach to be watching the whole process to avoid the rabbinic enactment against non-Jewish cheese. [1]
- The rabbinic enactment against non-Jewish cheese (Gevinat Akum) applies even if it was made with completely kosher ingredients and even everyone in that locale uses only kosher ingredients.[2]
- The way in which the rabbinic enactment wouldn't apply is if either: 1) a Jew owns the company even if the workers are non-Jewish[3], 2) a Jew puts the rennet into the milk[4], or 3) some say, that it is sufficient to have a Jew watching the cheese making process.[5]
Soft Cheese
- There is a major dispute between the poskim whether or not soft cheese, such as cream cheese, cottage cheese and farmer's cheese, is subject to the prohibition of non-Jewish cheese. Some poskim hold that since soft cheese can be made without the use of rennet and is made with bacterial cultures, it shouldn't be considered a cheese for the purposes of this enactment and would be permitted without any Jewish involvement as long as all of the ingredients and utensils are kosher. However, others disagree and don't rely on that leniency.[6]
Sources
- ↑ Rabbi Avraham Gordimer in Jewish Action (Winter 2005) and Cheese Production on Wikipedia
- ↑ Mishna (Avoda Zara 29b) says that the reason that gevinat akum is forbidden is because the non-Jews would use the curdled milk from the stomach of an Avoda Zara animal to help curdle the milk into cheese. The Gemara (Avoda Zara 35a) provides another 5 reasons as to why the cheese of non-Jews is forbidden amongst them is the concern that they will use the stomach lining of animal that wasn't slaughtered by a Jew as rennet. Another two reasons are that they may mix in milk from a non-Kosher animal into the cow milk being used for the cheese or that they may smear the finished cheese with pig fat. Rambam (Machalot Asurot 3:13) only cites the reason of the concern that the non-Jews will use non-Kosher rennet. The Tur YD 115:2, however, also quotes the reason of non-kosher milk being mixed in and pig fat being smeared on the cheese.
- Completely kosher ingredients: Tosfot a”z 35a s.v. chada says that some said that there’s no gezerah of gevinat akum by cheese that was made with enzymes from flowers. Meiri avoda zara 35b s.v. Hachamishi even contends that if everyone in a certain locale used rennet made from flowers there would be no gezerah of gevinat akum. However, the Rambam (Machalot Asurot 3:14) quotes some geonim who said that the cheese that the non-Jews make from vegetable rennet is forbidden even though it is made with completely kosher ingredients. The Tur and Shulchan Aruch YD 115:2 codify the opinion of the Rambam. This is also the opinion of the Shach 115:19 and Kaf Hachaim 115:30.
- Rav Henkin (Edut L’Yisrael p. 176) says that irrelevant if cheese was made with kosher ingredients, it is forbidden because gevinat akum. See further in M’peninei Harav p. 153.
- ↑ Shach 115:20
- ↑ Shach 115:20
- ↑ Rambam Pirush Mishnayot a”z 2:5 says if a Jew is watching the gevinat akum is muter. Or Zaruah a”z no. 197 agrees. Rama YD 115:2 rules that if a Jew is watching the non-Jew make the cheese there is no rabbinic prohibition of gevinat akum. However, the Shach 115:20 argues.
- ↑ Rabbi Avraham Gordimer explained that the OU and other kashrut organization's policy was to rely on this leniency and to give a hechsher to cottage cheese as long as all ingredients and utensils in the factory are kosher even if a Jew isn't present all of the time.
- Igrot Moshe YD 1:50 says that we can rely on the Rama to have jews watching the cheese making process, but otherwise it is forbidden even if it all kosher ingredients. There he’s also strict on cottage cheese but says not to protest those who are lenient. In Igrot Moshe YD 2:48 he elaborates on the topic of cottage cheese and says that cottage cheese might not be considered gevinat akum since it could have been made without any rennet, so they never made a gezerat about it. He concludes that there’s a strong reason to be lenient but didn't want to establish any opinion as it being permitted or forbidden but wouldn’t protest those who are lenient. Aruch Hashulchan 115:16 implies clearly that cheese which doesn’t need rennet to become cheese is still forbidden. Chelkat Binyamin 115:60 writes that it is a unresolved question.
