Kosher Sushi
The principles of keeping kosher and enjoying sushi often seem to clash. The laws of kashrut are extensive and require constant mindfulness of ingredients, preparation methods, storage, utensils and more. It is not often clear how this translates into the world of sushi, which in a sense has its very own deep-rooted traditions of constant mindfulness of ingredients, preparation methods, storage methods, and utensils. But bridging the gap between these worlds is not impossible. With a little knowledge from both sides, you can keep kosher and enjoy sushi.
Please note that the following tips and suggestions are intended for those with a basic knowledge of kashrut. It is my hope to provide ideas and information for creating creative homemade sushi options for those keeping kosher. Any recipes given assume that the basics such as utilizing the acceptable parve or meat dishes and utensils, checking produce extensively for bugs, using packaged products that have an approved hescher, etc will be executed by the individual as necessary.
Good Afternoon.
I own a kosher sushi store in Toronto, Canada. I found your articles quite imformative, but there are a few areas that I will have to disagree with you on a few points.
There is no opion, based on Kashrut, that says anything about not being able to eat raw fish. over 50% of my business is raw fish.
As for being twice the price. I will disagree with that. First of all that is just not the fact. The wide range of pricing in “Treif” sushi places is just as large. The price places charge for their sushi, are largely based on the quality (or lack there off) of the ingredients. Most of the “all you can eat” place are using second grade fish, poor quality rice ect…
I would love to hear back from you and to discuss this matter further.
http://www.umamisushi.ca
HI Andrew,
Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate and welcome your comments.
On the disagreement over whether or not it is kosher to eat raw fish, it has been my experience that this is not usually a problem. At least not in large cities or in Memphis where I live. I placed a link to that article where it mentioned a slight concern. I just wanted to make that information available for those interested. (Of course this article does mention chefs dipping hands in oil to keep rice off and I’ve never heard of that. Have you?)
On pricing, perhaps this is an American marketing issue? Many, but certainly not all, places that sell approved fish for sushi have higher prices. But it’s mostly the end product, not necessarily the seafood, that drives up the prices. The expenses add up especially when considering ingredients and mashgichim that have to be on hand to supervise. This is what I refer to when I say that prices can be twice as much as conventional sushi.
Thanks very much for making this information available! I’m new to sushi making and, while my church doesn’t adhere to the kosher diet, we do strictly abstain from Biblically unclean foods, and about half our members are vegetarian. Your site is going to be a huge help to me in introducing my friends and family to sushi!