Kosher crackers and kosher Ice Cream? What is kosher ice cream? With Pork Or Without Pork? Where do you get it? Who cares about it? UK, USA.

Baskin Robbins, Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex, UK, sells kosher ice creams. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Next door is Tesco Express which sells kosher food and kosher wine.

Tesco Express branches, and larger branches of Tesco, as well as other supermarkets in the UK, sell items with kosher labels such as these crackers (matzos) by Rakusens. Photo by Angela Lansbury

Here is the kosher symbol from rakusens crackers. You can buy kosher goods in Tesco in Hatch End, for friends or family or yourself, or a gift. But many people don't realise that next door to Tesco in Baskin Robbins you can buy kosher ice cream.

 I was in Baskin Robbins when I saw a sign about kosher ice cream. Afterwards I went online and discovered that Tesco online also sold kosher ice cream.

Tesco online sells several brands, Haagen Dazs, Ben and Jerry's, and Swedish (soy sorbet).

What could be non kosher in ice cream? Surely nobody uses pork in ice cream?

Yes, they do. In the USA. 

USA Ham Ice Cream

For example, Windy Brow Farms in New Jersey, USA makes a ham and French toast ice cream, salt with honey for sweetness, as well as vegan and other ice cream.

Pork in Ice Cream

Less obvious pork products can be ice cream. Stabilizers can contain gelatin from pigs or non-kosher cows.

Kosher & Halal

I looked up the differences between kosher and halal products. On both sides, kosher and halal, the strictly orthodox have different rules from more liberal groups. Among the differences, which were new to me, camel and rabbit appear to be halal but not kosher. The blood is removed from meat by Jews using water and salt, by Moslems by using vinegar.  

Shellfish & Alergies

Some people would be happy enough to buy a product which was not obviously containing shellfish. (Orthodox Jews and those with allergies.  I have allergies). 

Other might be concerned that the premises and production process should be check to ensure no cross-contamination of work surfaces and machinery. Or even handling by non Jews who might be idolators. 

Quite a few ideas which were totally new to me.

In addition to this there are the covid-19 regulations about how many in the shop, eating cones in the doorway.

We bought our ice creams, I chose pistachio, and we trotted home happily.

Useful Websites

KOSHER (& others not Kosher)

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/frozen-food/ice-cream-ice-lollies-and-frozen-desserts/ice-cream-tubs/all?dietary=Kosher

https://www.graeters.com/kosher-ice-cream (USA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Islamic_and_Jewish_dietary_laws

https://www.kashrut.com/consumer/ice_cream/

Ham, or vegan, or other ice cream from 

windybrowfarms.com

About the author of this travel blog

Angela Lansbury is British born and bred but has also lived in the USA, Spain and Spingapore and visited countries around the worl

She is a semi-retired teacher of English language and literature and a member of Toastmasters International and five clubs, Harrovians in the UK, three in Singapore (BHA and TCA and Senja-Cashew), a club coach for Nee Soon South, and a member of online only club, Singapore Online Dynamic. To find a club go to Toastmasters International Find a club or look on Facebook. BHA meets the first Wednesday evening each month, login 6.45 for 7 pm start Singapore time (SGT), which is noon in London UK, during British summer time, until clocks go back the last Sunday in October when the UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).