[Sca-cooks] "Halal" and "Kosher"

[Susan Fox-Davis]

I just picked up a copy of "A Drizzle of Honey," about Sephardic cookery from
Spain before and after the Inquisition, which addresses some of those topics.
Vincente probably already has this.  I really just started reading it yesterday
and am tickled to find citations to works by our SCA bretheren and sisteren.
<smile>

FYI:  the opposite terms of Kosher and Halal are "trefah/treif" and "haram"
respectively.  Great way to sound like you know what you are talking about is to
know the jargon!

Searching online, I find one article posted in various places, "Is Kosher
Halal?" by M.M. Hussaini <http://www.islamzine.com/health/kosher.html>  It has
some big errors and I don't recommend it.  Evidently the author knew more about
Halal than Kosher.  For instance, he claims that all wine is considered Kosher
as well as all gelatin regardless of source.  Um, not quite.

"Kosher and Halal," mostly aimed to the meat processor but including other info
as well.  Bible and Quran verses applicable to dietary laws.
http://meat.tamu.edu/kosher.html

"Halal Foodways" Some comparison with Kosher.  Detailed table of what's
permissable and what isn't, and why.
http://www.unichef.com/halalfood.htm

"Details, Details: The Making of a Kosher/Halal Dining Facility" interesting
chronicle, shows us how difficult [but rewarding] it is to accomodate everyone's
needs.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/090701/dining.shtml

Yours in service and excuses to not work today...
Selene Colfox

Vincent Cuenca wrote:

> In playing around with Andalusian/Maghribi recipes earlier this year, I
> started getting curious about Muslim dietary laws as compared to Jewish
> ones.  On the surface, "halal" and "kosher" share some similarities: no pork
> or pork products, ritual slaughtering of animals, that sort of thing.
> However, there are some differences.  Halal does not prohibit the
> consumption of meat and dairy at the same meal, for example, although it
> does prohibit alcohol.  Can anyone on the list take the comparisons further?
>   Are shellfish prohibited under halal, for example?  Certain body parts
> (Ras' proclivities notwithstanding)?
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Vicente