Being kosher goes a lot farther than eating kosher pickles with a pretty label. These religious dietary guidelines are necessary for those of the Jewish faith.
Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) are generally kosher when produced by XMRE and Labriute meals. These suppliers specifically produce Kosher MREs, filling an important need for religious requirements. Outside of these suppliers, most MREs are not kosher.
There is a long history behind kosher MREs and there are only specific meals produced by suppliers that are kosher.
Are MRE Meals Considered Kosher?
Certain MREs are actually considered kosher, but MREs, in general, are not kosher. Kosher MREs are available for civilians and for service members who are Jewish.
It is great that there are options and it is great that those options are provided to those who need them the most, especially since it is not the easiest to keep kosher.
To be considered kosher there are a lot of specific requirements that must be followed to a tee. With that being said, it doesn’t surprise me that most MREs are not kosher. Further down we discuss all of those specific requirements.
A specific supplier that makes kosher MREs is Labriute meals. According to their website,
“Labriute Meals is a supplier of kosher individual ration and the only approved supplier of kosher ration the Department of Defense (DOD) worldwide. All of our meals are manufactured under stringent quality standards.”
Source
Another supplier of kosher MREs is a brand called XMRE. While they don’t specifically make kosher MREs they are known as a safe supplier of kosher meals.
If you stick to kosher dietary guidelines these two suppliers are probably your best bet. There is never a guarantee but these two seem to be the safest and most reputable.
What Is Kosher?
There are many different aspects to being kosher. First, we need to know what it is, then we need to talk about the actual requirements of being Kosher.
Background
The term ‘Kashrut’ comes from the Old Testament in the Bible. It refers to food being ‘clean.’
A food being kosher means that it “meets the standards of kashrut.” Source
Simply put, being kosher means living by a set of dietary restrictions that have been deemed clean or proper by God in the Bible. These restrictions have been set for centuries.
The people in the Old Testament started following these rules and that has continued into today’s world.
For a food to be considered Kosher it needs to meet several different requirements which will be discussed in the next section.
Requirements
The requirements are very specific as to the preparation of the animals that are to be eaten.
- Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs, and milk of the forbidden animals.
- Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed by Jewish law.
- All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
- Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
- Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
- Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
- Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
Essentially a person eating kosher cannot eat certain animals, cannot eat certain meats with dairy, and must prepare their food a certain way.
Most of these rules are known by most, especially how Jewish people can not eat certain animals. The biggest guidelines being that there are major restrictions on what land animals are clean to eat.
“A land animal is kosher if it both a) has split hooves and b) chews its cud. Examples of kosher animals include cows, sheep, goats and deer.” Source
This explains for example why Jewish people can not eat pig products. This is because pigs don’t have split hooves.
In the end, the background and requirements of eating kosher make my respect for the Jewish faith increase significantly. It certainly must not be easy to abide by these guidelines in Western society.
History Of Kosher MREs
A reputable website called “Kosher Certified” explains the history of kosher MRE’s in the U.S. military. Below I will give a brief synopsis, but I recommend you go check out that website. Source
There was a man in the U.S military named Jacob Goldstein. He started as a rabbi but was called to be in the military in 1967. At this time there were few kosher options provided to those in the military.
After struggling with this throughout the years, the U.S. military entered the Gulf war in 1991. The U.S. military relied on thousands of Jewish troops so this time Goldstein saw his chance to make a change.
He brought the problem to people higher than him, and they started looking for kosher MRE’s. Goldstein was bumped up to be named ‘Kosher food advisor.’
It really is amazing how recently these changes have been made. The bottom line is that in today’s world, Kosher food is provided to those who want it, even in the military.
Specific Kosher MREs
Below is a list of MREs produced by the military which are kosher.
- Tuscany Beef w/Cannellini Beans
- Hickory Smoked Beef in Brown Rice with Lentils & Vegetables
- Jalapeno Curry Beef w/Potatoes
- Chicken & Rice
- Spicy Southwest Chicken in Rice w/Vegetables
- Pasta Marinara
- Chicken Noodle
- Spicy Vegetarian Chili
- Chicken Royale w/Brown Rice
- Classic Chicken Curry w/Basmati Rice, Lentils & Vegetables
- New Orleans Gumbo w/Chicken
- Smoked Beef Paprikash Noodles & Vegetables
In the end, there are almost always options provided to those who stick to a kosher diet. This is also the case in the military, where steps have been taken so that people who serve can feel safe eating.