What are facts on the Jewish diet?

Answer 1

"Kashrut" refers to the Jewish dietary laws. There are many kosher laws. Here are a few highlights:

• mammals must have a split hoof and chew their cud; e.g. cow, goat, sheep. Jews may not eat pork, rabbits, camels, horses etc.
• birds must not be a scavenger or predator. There must be a Jewish tradition as to the specific species being permitted; e.g. chicken, turkey, duck, goose. Meat and poultry must be slaughtered according to Jewish law, by a religious Jew
• Milk and eggs: only those from kosher animals/ fowl.
• fish must have fins and scales (no shellfish). Many species such as tuna, carp, and herring are kosher, but only if they are prepared with kosher cutting implements and machines.
• meat and dairy cannot be cooked or eaten together or at the same meal
• blood may not be eaten and must be removed from the meat of mammals and birds
• no reptiles or amphibians
• no insects (there are kosher types of locusts, but the names of the species have been lost)

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.)

Answer 2

In order to be kosher, food has to be prepared according to the kosher-laws (see Deuteronomy ch.14). These are explained in detail in the Talmud-volume of Chullin.
* 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 then 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.

Additionally, food must be prepared and handled following kashrut-laws and with kosher ingredients only. Processed foods should be labeled as having had kosher supervision during their processing. Any food that does not meet these requirements cannot be eaten by those who are religiously observant Jews.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Could you give me a list of kosher and non-kosher types of fish?

Link: Why do some Jews not keep kosher?

Link: The use of rennet