does quinoa need to be kosher for passover

A Jewish food blogger who maintains a strictly gluten-free kitchen because her daughter has Celiac disease, Becker said quinoa is one of the most important foods. Quinoa, like amaranth, is a seed, and there is widespread acceptance of quinoa as a Passover food except among some Ashkenazim who avoid kitniyot. Quinoa's popularity stems from its reputation as a "complete" food. Most Americans eat somekosher foodevery day, but chances are theyre not aware of it. By Jessie Molloy / March 14, 2023 5:33 pm EST Religious dietary rules can be a bit complicated, especially when it comes to major holidays. Peggy Wolff and Special to Tribune Newspapers. Rav Moshe Feinstein said we werent to add on to the rules of kitniyot, so I dont know why anyone would, said Rabbi Tzvi Rosen of Star-K, referring to the esteemed decisor of Jewish religious law who died in 1986. When he learned that Peruvian wool producers were having difficulty finding a market for their products, he invited Uruguayan wool experts to train the Peruvians in more sophisticated production methods. Quinoa Is Kosher For Passover, But Mom May Not Approve Quinoa, a grain-like crop grown in South America, is loved - and consumed - by many, because it is both high in protein and easy to prepare. Whether or not quinoa is certified kosher for Passover, hinges on how the quinoa is grown and processed. Cooked dishesmade from kitniyos appear similar to those from the five chometz grains. Medieval Ashkenazi rabbis ruled that kitniyot could not be eaten during Passover because they could be confused with chametz products, and even today many Jews of Ashkenazi descent do not kitniyot like corn, peas, beans, rice, and lentils on the holiday. In 2008, Oprah Winfrey embarked on a 21-day "cleanse" diet that included quinoa with mushrooms, herbs and garlic as comfort food. Does Quinoa Need To Be Marked Kosher For Passover? This year, for the first time, the company sent supervisors to South America to supervise the harvesting, sifting and packaging of the product. Is Quinoa Kosher For Passover? - Tasting Table Increasing demand here for quinoa which can be boiled or otherwise prepared in a variety of ricelike dishes has driven up the price, persuading many farmers who grew wheat, corn or barley in Bolivia and Peru to plant quinoa as well, said Rabbi Menachem Genack, director of the kosher department of the New York-based Orthodox Union, the worlds largest kashrut certification agency. The kosher-ness of amaranth is then a decision for each individual to make after consulting with his or her rabbi or spiritual advisor. Ghoori said he isnt discussing the episode, out of respect for Ostreichers wishes. See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs. Ghoori visited with farmers and villagers throughout the Andes, and his findings were encouraging. Or maybe not. In fact, quinoa is not a grain at all; its a member of the goosefoot family, related to spinach and beets. If that barley manages to make its way into a sifted batch of quinoa, and avoid detection during repackaging, it could wind up gracing your seder table on Passover night. Just imagine a family of seven [in] one house that measures about 12 feet by 67 feet, [with] no electricity, no running water, said Sandro Monteblanco, a Lima-based attorney who conducts business for foreign food exporters in Peru. Food from the New World You see, quinoa is not a grain. In the last decade, observant Jews have welcomed it with something like the thrill of seeing a new face at the Passover table after several thousand years of conversation with matzo and potatoes. Well, it seems that rests on a shakier foundation. Over the next two years, Ghoori would return to the Andean highlands on nearly 10 fact-finding missions. Traces of the five restricted Passover grains mentioned in the Talmud wheat, barley, oats, spelt and rye could be found in the quinoa if the machines weren't adequately cleaned between the processing of different products. Some inspectors have found traces of wheat, and other grains susceptible to leavening in the cooking process, mixed in with quinoa shipped by some farmers, he said. Though he set out to discover only the food's kosher status, he would become an unlikely champion of exploited Peruvian . This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. On theother hand, products madefrom of the cannabis leaves,stalks or flowers (like CBDoil, hemp extract, terpenes,or marijuana where legal, ofcourse) would technically notbe kitniyos. Quinoas Passover status is dependent on whether the popular health food is considered part of the category of foods known as kitniyot. Basic Poached Halibut and Quinoa by Barbara Kafka. Rabbi Fishbane of the Chicago Rabbinical Council voiced the more quinoa-friendly opinion, posted late last month on the councils Web site. Ghoori joined their effort, leveraging his contacts in the kosher food industry to find buyers for the farmers exports. Quinoa was unknown in the Middle East at the time of the Bibles account of the Jews escape from Egypt, when their hurried flight left them no time to wait for their bread to rise. "People are not producing quinoa and wheat and corn." Convinced by Ghoori's research, the O.U. Amaranth is actually a category of about 60 different plant species that grow between five and eight feet tall, produce vibrantly colorful ornamental flowers, sprout copious amounts of wildly colored edible leaves and contain tens of thousand of nutritious, edible seeds. "We sent a rabbi (to South America) who works for us, who lived in Chile, speaks the language, knows the culture, and he was able to determine quinoa fields that were not near any grain fields." But we should be worrying about other things, like all the cookies, pizzas and noodles that are Passover certified but appear to be chametz. Thank you for subscribing to emails from ReformJudaism.org! Eventually many South American communities served popped amaranth as a street food, and it is still commonly found there. 6 Kosher For Passover Quinoa | Epicurious "We are the largest certification company in the world and wanted to do our own research. Spray a thin layer of nonstick spray, or spread a thin layer of olive oil on the pan. Baking Soda. The O.U. Therefore, quinoa should only be used with reliable Kosher for Passover certification or agency approval. On Passover when wheat, oats, rye, spelt and barley are all prohibited quinoa has emerged as a popular substitute. Quinoa is also low in sugar and high in fiber. Heat for a few minutes, then flip to brown on the second side. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. Quinoa is grown, planted and harvested with nothing else next to it, he said. Before Ghoori undertook his quest, a competing kosher certification agency had ruled that the grain could be kosher for Passover. The farmers were making bubkes, and the exporters were making all the money on it, Ghoori said. Image by Courtesy of Shoshan Ghoori, By Hody Nemes Quinoa is Now Kosher for Passover with OU-P Certification Ohriner, who is also a baking blogger, says that although she agrees that in theory amaranth is fine for Passover, [she] wouldnt feel comfortable saying that it is permissible to use on Passover.. They wanted quinoa farmers to earn higher profits by exporting directly to international markets. I would see folks with bags of 100 pounds come back with $2.50, Monteblanco said. Quinoa "Hummus" by Naomi Nachman. The growers became aware that there was a market out there, Monteblanco said. A definitive answer is not likely to be reached until a rabbi can be dispatched to a remote mountain region of Bolivia to inspect certain quinoa operations, said Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, director of the kosher supervision service of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. It takes just a few seconds. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and is a member of Temple Sinai of Sharon, MA. The big Passover questions are the same every year, and easy enough to answer, starting with Why is this night different from all others?. Shoshan was the one who opened the floor to us to export to the U.S., said Julianna Lopez, founder of Dual Peru Exports, which also directly exports quinoa on behalf of local farmers. Is Amaranth the New Quinoa and Is It Kosher? - The Forward There they endure the threat of mine collapses and the toxic presence of mercury, which is used to extract the gold from rock. The OU will also continue certifying OU Kitniyot retail items as it did last year. I went to hear two rabbis discussing the quinoa situation at my synagogue last week, said Arlene J. Mathes-Scharf, a food scientist in Sharon, Mass., who specializes in kosher food and operates a popular consumer Web site, Kashrut.com. As quinoa ascended to fame, rabbis and kosher certifiers took a good look at its possible status as kosher for Passover. I saw how the natives were using the quinoa, and it wasnt to make bread, he said. Whenever theres a new age food, theres always a fight between kosher factions, Rosen said. Its a member of the goosefoot family, and closely related to spinach and beets. The Orthodox Union has not certified quinoa kosher for Passover, leaving the decision to consumers and their rabbis. But that whole thing about the grain-like product helping Jews get their carb fix during Passover? Ghoori has had many adventures, and he likes to tell them quickly and excitedly. Quinoa is also sold at health food stores. Please try again or choose an option below. I kind of felt for many years like an outsider because of my skin color, he said. While discussing kitniyosoils, the Rishonim (TrumasHadeshen, 205 and Maharil,25) list kanbus oil as kitniyos. Until then, its only eight days.. Raw, kosher meat, fish and chicken, fruit and vegetables and other such produce are essentially kosher for Passover and need not be labeled as such, provided that they did not come into close contact with chametz. At the time, the crop was grown mainly in Bolivia and was just beginning to gain popularity in the United States. PASSOVER 5783 I. Growing quinoa has not provided a way out of poverty. Due to conflicting reports regarding growing conditions and final usage of this new world, gluten-free pseudo-cereal plant, OU Kosher was hesitant to conclusively declare it Kosher for Passover and non-kitniyot. A kosher food that is processed or cooked together with a non-kosher food, or any derivative of non-kosher food, becomes non-kosher. III: 63) was asked if peanuts are consideredkitniyos since they are similar to peas (peanuts are actually legumes) and arecommonly ground into flour. Ostreicher escaped to the United States under mysterious circumstances last December. of the Kashrut Division of the Orthodox Union. Quinoa is essentially kosher, but some considerations exist. But the lack of air did not deter him from his peculiar mission: deciding whether quinoa should be kosher for Passover. Until we can get someone there, were going to have to make the best decisions we can with the information we have.. Finally, kitniyos are oftengrown in fields adjacent to those in which chometz is grown (andprocessed on the same equipmentor stored together) and the kitniyos and chometz can easily mixtogether. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Still, the amaranth seeds power is in its nutritional value, not just its global journey, fun though the history may be. So now we have a request. Tami Ganeles-Weiser is a food anthropologist, trained chef, recipe developer, writer and founder of TheWeiserKitchen. Quinoa is especially loved by many Jews during Passover because it is actually not a grain, but a seed, and therefore is not considered chametz . You could say quinoa has a lot going for it: The U.N.-designated "super crop" helps people with celiac eat gluten-free, vegetarians get their protein, and seniors stave off senility. You can use it on Passover," said Rabbi Michael Balinsky, executive vice president of the Chicago Board of Rabbis. for a kashrut just wont have quinoa on Passover.. The quinoa growers he encountered lived in deep poverty, far from the modern comforts of Lima, Perus capital. (The Web site suggests certain brands.) Food Items - Kosher for Passover In addition, OU Kosher has concluded that related new world items canihua, kiwicha and maca, if processed under supervised conditions, may also be approved for Passover (OU-P). At the opening of a new plant, one company asked Rabbi Ghoori to bless the children of the farmers. Theyre asking me 20 times a day, What is the ruling? Gabe Boxer, the stores general manager, said last week. Copyright 2023 The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Sign up today. Set asike. People are not producing quinoa and wheat and corn.. I put together this simple guide to help you better understand what foods are considered Kosher for Passover and to make sure your Passover seder runs as smoothly as possible! Alternatively, kitniyot foods were grown in close proximity to grains and therefore might have been cross-contaminated with chametz. Kosher for Passover Quinoa | STAR-K Kosher Certification Were happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. Over$150 billion of kosher certifiedproducts are consumed annually, and spending continues to rise dramatically. Pesach FAQ's | Kosher London Beth Din - KLBD 5 Things to Know About Quinoa - The New York Times The idea was to help these farmers, to open the market.. The Orthodox arbiters of kosher inspected quinoa fields in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia. Though he set out to discover only the foods kosher status, he would become an unlikely champion of exploited Peruvian farmers, helping them export their goods for a fair price. Case in point is the fact that potatoesare not considered kitniyos, although bread and cakes made from potatoes looksstrikingly similar to those of the five chometz grains, and that is because potatoeswere not yet present in Europe when the minhag was established. Though he set out to discover only the foods kosher status, he would become an unlikely champion of exploited Peruvian farmers, helping them export their goods for a fair price. If only more rabbis had his moral courage and will, Roman Abramovichs tangled Portuguese roots, Documents filed in his citizenship case show the validity of his claims and reveal the complexity of Sephardic heritage, Or how Israeli dance reminded me to try new things, from netball to yoga at sunrise and whatever comes next, Kim Kardashian cries over Kanyes antisemitism in upcoming Kardashians episode, What Matters Now to Brig. The question was taken up by the poskim (halachic decisors) of the Orthodox Unions kashrut division who reached a consensus that under appropriate conditions, the OU could certify quinoa for Passover, providing it has been processed with specific supervision for the holiday. Is it appropriate to visit a grave on Passover? You can live in the modern world and be religious and keep your customs.. Baking Powder. Quinoa is not one of these grains, nor is it related to any of these grains, and is therefore not considered chametz. To survive, some turn to illegally growing the valuable coca plant, which is used to make cocaine. often ground into a flour that caneasily be confused with chometzflour. Ilana S., a mother of two who lives on Manhattans Upper West Side, said she trusts the O.U. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Wed like to get someone up there to inspect the operations, but its a four-day trek into the wilderness, Rabbi Fishbane said. Is Quinoa Kosher for Passover? | Passover | americanisraelite.com Kirsten Luce for The New York Times By Paul Vitello April 17,. Moshe concludes that since peanuts were not present in Europe at the time of the Rishonim, they arenot considered kitniyos. They dispatched him to the highlands of Peru and Bolivia to study how the local population grew and cooked quinoa. Weekly email newsletter filled with articles, Divrei Torah, upcoming events and more! We recommend that quinoa is not used on Pesach unless it is specifically needed for health reasons, in which case it should preferably be purchased with a kosher l'Pesach hechsher. Today, Ghoori and Monteblanco believe that the direct export model is spreading. Is CannabisKitniyos? Quinoa may (or may not) be kosher for Passover Orthodox Union refuses to certify quinoa as ok for holiday for fear of barley contamination; Star-K says grain is fine 13 March 2013, 5:17 pm Edit Quinoa may (or may not) be kosher for Passover - The Times of Israel Only supervising the cultivation and processing of amaranth and demarcating it as untouched and unmixed with chametz would render it usable. Amaranth, alas, has not had the exposure and the consequent economic push to get the full-on review or the certifications. That could change, however, with the worlds major kosher certifier refusing to give quinoa its Passover seal of approval. consultant, agrees with Rosen that the category of kitniyot should not be expanded. The CRC recommends inspecting quinoa before Passover by spreading "one layer of quinoa at a time on a board or plate" and checking to be sure that there are no other grains or foreign matter mixed in with the quinoa"a time-consuming exercise that Jews rushing to prepare seders are unlikely to embrace. Typically any grains that . Quinoa,rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, wouldseem to be a perfect solution. Please click here for a map and photographs of quinoa production and here for an informative webinar filmed in 2013. Rav Moshe responded that when the Rishonimgave the two above mentioned reasons, they did not intend to automatically addto the list newly discovered foods that have similar characteristics of kitniyos. Just as Ghoori was becoming concerned about the quinoa growers, he met Julianna and Pablo Lopez, a socially conscious wife and husband working in Limas quinoa industry. As to the second reason, that chometz grains tend to mix with kitniyos, RavMoshe points out several types of seeds, such as anise, elainder (coriander) and kimmel (caraway, cumin, or fennel) that the Remaconsiders as non-kitniyos, although these seeds areprone to be contaminated with wheat. In a reassuring twist for Passover consumers, Lopezs company is the only one that has earned kosher for Passover certification so far, according to Ghoori. announced in December 2013 that it would begin certifying quinoa kosher for Passover. Another question was whether it was processed in the same facility as other grains, making it likely that small amounts of barley or oats could've cross-contaminated the quinoa crop. Back in 1997, the kashrut certification company Star-K deemed quinoa--a member of the goosefoot family, which also includes beets and spinachkosher for Passover, reasoning that it was not one of the five leavened grains (chametz) or other grains and legumes (kitniyot) prohibited on Passover.
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