ITEMS FROM HOME
Sharing meals are often part of our celebrations. If you wish to bring items from home, please note that items from home or made at home can ONLY be brought when specifically allowed by the Rabbi. Whether you are buying or making a dish, it is commendable to use hekshered products where possible. The innovation is that we are allowing non-hekshered vegetarian and dairy products, and allowing food made in private homes – regardless of their Kashrut level – to come to the buffet table.
When buying ingredients for such an event when food is allowed to be brought from home, check the packaging for a heksher. Please note that there are many kinds of hekshers, but K is NOT a heksher. It is the manufacturer’s opinion that the food is kosher. If there is no heksher, read the ingredients. All ingredients should be vegetarian or pareve/vegan. If there are unfamiliar words, you may wish to take a picture of the label and share it with the Rabbi for verification. It is preferrable to buy hekshered products when possible.
When preparing food at home: Begin with a freshly cleaned sink, workspace, and utensils. As you prepare the food, be careful to use freshly clean utensils.
If your recipe includes eggs, crack one at a time in a glass and check for blood spots. If it has blood spots you must discard it. Use only eggs that are blood free. Pour that egg into the bowl, then crack the next one in the glass, inspect, and (if no blood spots) add it to the bowl. Repeat until you have all your eggs in the batter.
If you are putting two items in your oven, one for FHC, and a different one you made for yourself, make sure that one is covered so there is no splatter from one to the other.
Delivery: You may bring your dish to the synagogue prior to or on Shabbat.
PLEASE LABEL YOUR OFFERING. PUT YOUR NAME, THE NAME OF THE DISH, and ‘HEKSHERED’ OR ‘NOT HEKSHERED’. This is for transparency purposes. All foods will be served on disposables. At the end of the meal, you are invited to take the remainder of your dish back home. (Consider a swap or gifting, if you like.)
Full Kashrut Guidelines can be found here
