The body of Jewish law that explains which foods are acceptable and how to prepare them is called kashrut.Storage and preparation items for meat and dairy products are separate in the kitchen.You can live according to Jewish tradition if you clean and kasher your kitchen systematically from large appliances and surfaces to small utensils and cookware.
Step 1: Purchase disposable plates and utensils.
While you separate and clean your kitchen, use plastic and paper.Paper plates and plastic silverware can be used for meat and dairy products.
Step 2: The meat and dairy dish is set.
Use cabinets and fridge areas as separate storage areas for meat and dairy items.You will need to use separate cookware, utensils, salt and pepper shakers, bread trays, draining rack, dish towels, and tablecloths for meat and dairy items, as these items cannot be prepared together or eaten at the same meal.Color-coding is used to distinguish between meat and dairy items.If you want cookware for meat and dairy, buy a blue set and a red one.If you can't buy new sets, use a kosher paint pen to specify which food category the utensil should be used for.It is assumed that kosher food will be stored securely in kosher containers.To hold onto the true spirit of kashrut, feel free to deep clean the cabinets.
Step 3: Meat and dairy products can be found in the fridge door.
If you need to keep both meat and dairy on the shelves, place them on separate shelves with a layer of foil underneath.Place a new layer of foil underneath your items if there is a leak.
Step 4: For now, set aside cookware and utensils.
You will want to scrutinize your kitchen from top to bottom.There are un-kashered locations in the kitchen.
Step 5: Only after your kitchen is kashered can you buy kosher-certified food.
There are limits on what can be considered kosher.Several organizations have begun labeling certified items.Look for Star-K certification labels.Some communities have their own certification labels.Throw out items that are questionable and non-kosher.Animals that chew the cud and have split hooves are kosher.It is not possible to eat predatory fowl, slaughter must be painless for the animal, blood cannot be removed from meat, and dairy cannot come from kosher animals.
Step 6: Different tables and countertops can be used for meat and dairy.
If the same surface must be used for both, use different coverings.Meat and dairy foods should not be placed on the same table.Between uses, wash cloth in hot water.
Step 7: There is a divider in your sink.
There would be two sinks, one for each food type.If you only have one, set up a kashered divider in the middle of your sink so that no food or water splashes onto the other side or use two bins inside the sink.If cross-contamination occurs, pour boiling water over the whole sink.
Step 8: All appliances should be disassembled and cleaned.
Break down small appliances into their parts.The interiors of the oven and microwave should be cleaned with a strong kosher cleaner.You should reassemble your appliances.
Step 9: The stove burners need to be turned on.
Remove the coil burners and boil the gas stove grate in the water.A portable burner can be used for dairy.Do not prepare meat and dairy foods at the same time if you can't use a separate stove.If you must prepare meat and dairy at the same time on the stove, make sure the pots and pans are sealed and only open one at a time to prevent the mixing of steam and liquid.
Step 10: You can buy a portable oven.
Meat and dairy foods can't be cooked in the oven at the same time, even in separate bakeware, so dedicating a separate appliance to one food type can save time.For exclusive meat use, run the oven at 450 degrees for several hours.The bottom of your bakeware should be covered with foil.If you follow the manufacturer's instructions, self-cleaning ovens can be used to cook meat and dairy.Wait 24 hours after you run the self-cleaning cycle to use the oven for the other food type.
Step 11: Attachments for each food type can be purchased.
You will need to clean all the external surfaces of the motor between uses if you want to use a different motor.
Step 12: It's a good idea to steam the microwave.
Take a bowl of water and put it in a kashered vessel.Between uses for meat and dairy items will need to be done.You can place your container of food inside a locked container to avoid the microwave between uses.
Step 13: Only use the dishwasher for food that is small.
Cross-contamination will occur if meat and dairy cookware are washed together, so wash them by hand.
Step 14: Divide your cookware and utensils into two categories.
All items purchased from or used by a non-Jew need to be kashered.Porcelain and earthenware cannot be kashered because they absorb food particles permanently.Unless they were sold by a Gentile, plastic utensils don't need to be koshered.Wood, paper, bone, unglazed earthenware, and any other materials that will be damaged by exposure to boiling water cannot be fully kashered.Throw out items that aren't kosher.Follow the rules for the dominant material if your item is made from more than one material.If your spoon is made of metal and has a wooden joint, you should purify it with a blessing.If a cutting board has metal on it, immerse it.It's a good idea to consult a rabbi for the rules on blessing your kitchen.
Step 15: Clean the items thoroughly.
Kosher-certified sponges, soaps, and scouring pads are required to remove food, rust and grime from utensils.Paint can be used to distinguish between meat and dairy sets if you choose to do so.The glue left behind by stickers must be removed using orange or eucalyptus oil.
Step 16: It is possible to locate or make a mikvah.
A mikvah is a special pool that is connected to a natural source of rain and is used for many rituals.If you don't have regular access to a mikvah, you can make one at home by boiling water in a pot, throwing the water away, and using the pot as a shiva.
Step 17: The utensils should be placed in the mikvah.
Leave clean utensils in the mikvah for at least 15 seconds.After removing utensils from the mikvah, rinse them in cold water.Remove the first item and add another before water returns to a boil.If a utensil is too large to fit in your mikvah, you can use tongs to flip it one side at a time.
Step 18: The pots and pans are the same as utensils.
If a pot is too large to immerse, you can either use a larger vessel or find a body of standing water.
Step 19: aprons, oven mitt, napkins, and tablecloths can be washed in the washing machine.
Don't leave food particles on the cloth surface if you use the "hot" setting.Between preparing meat and dairy items, wash fabric items.