Kosher USA; How Coke Became Kosher and Other Tales of Modern Food

Horowitz’s investigation of the processes by which modern industrialized foods produced for the general market began to be certified kosher and even kosher for Passover, tracks many themes in 20th-century American history, among them the establishment of national brands, the arrival and growing affluence and influence of Jews, who like other immigrants were encountering and interested in new foods, and rapid expansion of food science. As well, he traces the conflicts over changes in just what was considered kosher and by whom and the competing interests in those discussions, including less than scrupulous manufacturers and rabbis whose rulings relied on entirely different sets of precedents. Along with examinations of the paths by which foods such as Coke and Jell-O were certified, the author covers some current issues where thinking continues to evolve, such as compassionate slaughter and winemaking. Horowitz often uses the stories of key individuals to make his history more personal and readable.
B-&w photographs throughout. Hardcover.