Why are pickles kosher?

Answer 1

Kosher foods are those that do not violate Jewish dietary law. The law is complicated, and not all authorities agree on exactly what is kosher and what isn't. A kosher food will generally have on it somewhere a trademarked symbol belonging to a rabbinical supervising organization. This means the product has been investigated by someone belonging to that organization who is very familiar with Jewish dietary law, and has found that not only the ingredients but the process used does not violate any of the principles of that law as interpreted by that particular organization. Some organizations are stricter than others, but most of them make their guidelines for specific foods available so people know exactly what a kosher certification from that organization really means.

The question might arise: what might there be in a dill pickle that could possibly violate the dietary law to make some dills "Kosher Dills" and others just "Dill pickles"? The answer is that so-called "Kosher Dills" are not necessarily actually kosher in the sense of being made under rabbinical supervision, but that they're the traditional style (with lots of garlic and dill) that would typically be served in a New York kosher deli. The label usually actually reads "Kosher style Dill" with the word style written very small.

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There is no dispute as to what is or isn't kosher. The only potential issue is that some people follow more strict standards. For example, cow milk in North America is considered kosher, however, some people will only drink milk that is 'chalav yisrael'. Chalav yisrael is a certification given to milk where the whole process of production is supervised by a 'mashgiach' (an orthodox observant Jew who is an expert on the laws of kashrut). A mashgiach can be a rabbi but that is not required. One of the only ingredients that could render a pickle not kosher is the type of vinegar used if a vinegar brine is used.

Answer 2

There are two possible meanings if a jar of pickles has kosher on the label. The first is that the pickles are in fact kosher, meaning that they were processed in a plant that is kosher certified and all the ingredients used are kosher.

The second is the use of the phrase "kosher style" which is actually meaningless as kosher refers to rules for food preparation and consumption, it's not a style of cooking. However, when people use this phrase, they are normally referring to the style of cooking associated with Eastern European Jews.

Answer 3

The term "kosher pickles" refers to the style of pickling that occurs (i.e. how the cucumber is turned into a pickle). It does not indicate that the pickling process is itself kosher. This is similar to how "kosher salt" refers to the size of the granules and not that the salt is itself kosher.

Kosher pickles certainly can be made kosherly provided that kosher vinegar and only other kosher agents are used alongside cucumbers obtained withour mixed in insect parts. Neither cucumbers nor vinegar are inherently unkosher items, so using them together is not a problem.

Answer 4

They don't contain any ingredient that is not Kosher