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Hello All,
Taking a break from all the political conversations for something more lighthearted…..
I’m looking to brainstorm some ideas for serving a kosher lunch for parents & children at a child’s birthday party at an event venue. It’s too close to Pesach to have it catered. We do not have a lot of options for kosher food where I live. Those attending are on the laxer side of koshrut observance.
What can I buy at a regular grocery store with a hechsher (any will do) to serve for lunch, and what would be the considerations for fruit?
My thought was to get name brand bagels and cream cheese.
Individual bags of chips.
Maybe some clementines and blueberries?(Am I correct that as long as fruit is not cut or prepared it is okay to serve?
Can I wash it in advance? What about in a non-kosher kitchen sink? Do I kasher the sink first? How do I even do that? Maybe I’ll skip the blueberries and stick with clementines???)Any other suggestions?
Thank you in advance!Is anybody interested in a “lighthearted” convo?
If nobody is makpid on chalav yisroel or pas yisroel, bagels and cream cheese would be fine. Peanut butter also usually has a hechsher. Blueberries have an issue with bugs so check the websites of different kashrus agencies (crc, star-k, etc) on how to check them.
Regarding cut fruit, you should ask your local Rabbi as there are different opinions about it.@op for someone who claims to be not frum, you spend a awful lot of time with kashrus questions
Ideally, you would have an orthodox rabbi you’d be comfortable asking this question to, not only because he’d be better able to answer your questions, but also a spoken conversation is more conducive to the back-and-forth questions that can arise in this type of discussion.
I’m not a rabbi (far from it), but I can tell you what I look for when participating in or helping to organize an event where not all attendees reliably keep kosher:
1) Plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery: Disposable items only. Nothing that could have been used previously should be anywhere near the food.
2) Uncut fruits and veggies only. Also, no fruits or veggies that require careful checking for bugs.
3) All prepared foods must be in sealed packages and have a reliable hechsher. You shouldn’t use an unreliable hechsher any more than someone with a deadly allergy should risk an unreliable assurance that the food doesn’t contain an allergen. Don’t worry about having enough of a variety of foods – there’s plenty of bread, chips, dips, cakes, cookies, chocolate, spreads, soft drinks, and loads of other foods with an OU, Kof-K, Star-K and other reliable hashgachos so nobody need go hungry.
4) In the U.S. milk and bottled water are OK without a hechsher. Plain (unflavored) coffee from Dunkin Donuts is kosher. Plain coffee from other establishments without kosher certification may be problematic.
5) If any attendees eat only cholov yisroel dairy products they will be a lot more stringent, for example they won’t eat products from Hershey, Entenmanns, and any other non-CY items. You may want to ensure that there are non-dairy choices for those people (or, better yet, cholov yisroel items, if available).
6) Many orthodox people in New York City will not drink tap water unless it’s been filtered. If you’re serving ice water, lemonade or any other drink that’s made with NYC tap water, you may want to include bottled water as a choice, too.
7) This is not a comprehensive list and (once again) I am not a rabbi, just someone trying to be helpful. Good luck & happy birthday.Why are cut fruit and vegetables a problem?
SACT5, you’re very welcome.
Gedol Hador, in many (most) cases cut fruit and veggies are fine, in some cases they’re problematic. If you google ‘cut fruit and vegetables kosher’ you will find more information from reliable kashrus sites such as CRC and OU. My advice for omitting cut fruits and items that require careful bug checking is for practical reasons – this way there are no worries or concerns about the source or the level of checking.@Red Adair and SACT5, thank you.
Why don’t you make a quick trip to the pizza shop and order pies of Pizza with Fries etc… ready to go for the party and put out some soda and other drinks and your good to go very easy to put together.
Peelable fruits are easiest (i.e. oranges, bananas).
Candy, chips, etc. with a hechsher are easy.
Most canned tuna fish has a hechsher and mayo with a hechsher is easy to find. Tuna salad can easily be made with only disposable utensils.
If you are looking at bagels and cream cheese you may want to get lox which is readily available with a hechsher in many non-Kosher supermarkets.
Hummus (such as Sabra brand), guacamole, peanut butter and jelly are also widely available with a hechsher.Many bottled drinks have a hechsher: water, orange juice, apple juice, soda, etc.
If you can get (and toivel) a new electric pot that can boil water, then foods like hard boiled eggs, egg salad or macaroni and cheese become possible.
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