Baking Kosher Products

The Bagel Co. is a family business, using traditional recipes and techniques learned and perfected over generations. As well as our commitment to baking delicious products, we adhere to kosher food laws, as laid out in the ancient Jewish holy text, the Torah. The Bagel Co. is a KA certified business. This means the Kashrut Authority of Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific Region has identified our products as kosher, so they can be safely enjoyed by all those practicing the Jewish faith.

All our food is kosher and we specialise in classic Jewish baked goods. Bagels originated in Jewish communities of Poland and can be traced back over 400 years to Kraków in 1610 where the bread was initially gifted to women in childbirth. Popularity spread around the world and bagels can now be found across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

The Bagel Co. does more than bagels, however, and our challah loaves are one of our most popular products. Challah is a braided bread which is often eaten on ceremonial occasions throughout the Jewish calendar. They are also usually eaten on Sabbath, the weekly Jewish day of rest, where blessings are said over two loaves at the start of all three festive meals.

The laws of kosher require food to be prepared in a specific way. In Hebrew, ‘kashrus’ (the root word) means suitable or pure for consumption. Those practicing the Jewish faith abide by the kosher rules found in the Torah including:

• Animals
  • Kosher animals are those which both have cloven hooves and chew cud eg. cattle, sheep, goats
  • Pigs have cloven hooves but do not chew cud so they are not kosher animals
  • Camels chew cud but do not have cloven hooves so they are not kosher animals
• Preparing meat
  • Specific processes must be used in the slaughter and processing of meats
• Fowl/Poultry and derivatives (e.g. eggs)
  • Traditionally kosher birds are goose, duck, chicken and turkey
• Dairy products
  • Milk can come from kosher animals only (see above requirements)
• Milk and meat
  • These may not be prepared or cooked together nor served and eaten at the same time
    • This includes the utensils used in preparation
  • One must wait one, three or six hours, after eating meat before eating dairy
  • There is no need to wait after eating dairy to eat meat
• Fish
  • Must have fins and scales
  • Shellfish is forbidden
• Vegetables, fruits and cereals
  • Any product grown in soil or on trees, bushes or plants can be eaten if carefully examined
  • Any insect or animal infestation must be removed
    • Insects and animals with many legs (e.g. caterpillar) are not kosher
  • Hybridization is forbidden
    • Two kinds of seeds or plants cannot be grown in the same field of vineyard
• Wine
  • Wine-making process cannot include gelatine, casein and bull blood
  • Bacteria and kosher enzymes should be used for fermentation
  • Devices and utensils must be cleansed under supervision
  • Bottles must be used only once
  • Vineyards cannot cross-breed grapes

All products served at The Bagel Co. follow traditional kosher rules so you can enjoy them while following the rules of the Jewish faith.