When did kosher food begin?

Answer 1

Kosher food is codified in The Bible primarily in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 and is therefor as old as the Jewish religion. Jews have been eating only kosher food since 1312 BCE - about 3,300 years ago.

• Meat must be from those land animals which have split hooves and chew their cud (such as beef, venison and mutton).
  
• Fish have to have scales and fins. Shellfish are not kosher.
  
• Birds cannot be among those listed as forbidden in the Torah (Deuteronomy ch.14) and cannot be hunters/scavengers. In actual practice, today we eat only those species concerning which we have a tradition that they're permitted, such as domestic chicken, geese, pigeons and turkey.
  
• Animals must be slaughtered in the manner specified by Jewish law and must be free of all disease. In actual practice, those who keep kosher purchase meat which is certified as having been prepared in the kosher manner.
  
• As much blood as possible must be removed from meat before cooking, since consumption of blood is forbidden (Leviticus ch.17). This is done at home or by the kosher butcher, through salting, soaking and rinsing.
  
• Dairy and meat cannot be combined in the same meal and there's a waiting period between eating one and the other. After dairy: 1/2 hour. After meat: 6 hours for most Jewish communities.
  
• Fruits and vegetables should be checked to be sure they're free of bugs. Some Jews avoid cauliflower, asparagus, and the like, because of the difficulty in checking them.

In addition, there are rabbinic laws governing the production and consumption of all foods such as milk, bread, wine, cheese and other cooked and raw foods that they must be prepared/cooked or have their preparation/cooking supervised by a religious Jew.
Most prepared foods must carry certification that their production is supervised, so as to ensure that they comply with these rules. Kashrut certification is generally indicated by an identifiable symbol, in addition to the word dairy or pareve, which means the food is neither dairy nor meat, but rather neutral. (If a package has just the letter 'K' on it, this is not a valid kashrut symbol as the letter K cannot be trademarked.)
Although dairy and meat cannot be served together, fish may be eaten with dairy. This gives rise to the popular and kosher bagel, lox, and cream cheese combination. All fruits and vegetables are kosher.
Meat and dairy dishes and utensils can't be washed together. Kosher kitchens must maintain two sets of utensils, pots, pans, and dishes.
Contrary to popular misconception, rabbis or other religious officials do not "bless" food to make it kosher. There are blessings that observant Jews recite over food before and after eating, but these blessings have nothing to do with making the food kosher. Food can be kosher without a rabbi ever becoming involved with it: the vegetables from your garden are undoubtedly kosher (as long as they don't have any bugs, which are not kosher.)