| | Please see a competent rabbi or talk to any guests you are having before trying to cook in a non-kosher kitchen for someone that keeps kosher. How to cook Kosher at Home If you do NOT have a Kosher kitchen, yet you would like to be able to serve food to a guest that keeps kosher : following a few simple rules: Make sure all your ingredients are kosher. See “Most common kosher symbols” for a list of kashrut certifications. All ingredients that are kosher to start with and have not been exposed to heat are still kosher . Items that are double wrapped in aluminum foil can be cooked but the double wrapping makes most food hard to bake. An oven can also be made kosher. This can be done by not using the oven for 24 hours, then simply running your oven through a self-cleaning cycle. Make sure the racks are left in, as they should be kashered as well. To make a microwave kosher, clean it thoroughly, then put a glass of water in the microwave and run the microwave until the water has boiled, usually about 3 –5 minutes. Making a stove-top kosher is beyond the scope of this article. ANY UTENSIL MAY BE USED IF THE ITEMS ARE COLD, but don’t let non-kosher utensils touch boiling or spicy (foods with garlic, onions, etc) foods. For example, you can mix a kosher cake mix in a non-kosher bowl with a non-kosher spoon, since no heat is applied. (Knives are a special case, so it is best to use a new knife (plastic is fine) to do any cutting you need). Or, just to be safe, buy a cheap set of the utensils that you need. Put them aside when you’re done and you’ve started on the path to your own kosher kitchen! Use new (disposable, if you like) pans for your baking. The 99-cent tin foil pans you can find at Stop & Shop will do just fine for this purchase. Let the item cool completely before removing it from the pan, or put it on unused paper or plastic plates. Use clean pot holders when cooking - simply putting them through the wash and dryer is all it takes. For more information on having a Kosher Kitchen
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