Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, כַּשְׁרוּת) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher (/ˈkoʊʃər/ in English, Yiddish: כּשר), from the Ashkenazic pronunciation (KUHsher) of the Hebrew kashér (כָּשֵׁר), meaning "fit" (in this context: "fit for consumption").
Although the details of the laws of kashrut are numerous and complex, they rest on a few basic principles:
Only certain types of mammals, birds and fish meeting specific criteria are kosher; the consumption of the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria, such as pork, frogs, and shellfish, is forbidden.Kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita; blood may never be consumed and must be removed from meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use.Meat and meat derivatives may never be mixed with milk and milk derivatives: separate equipment for the storage and preparation of meat-based and dairy-based foods must be used.Every food that is considered kosher is also categorized as follows:
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