A lot of people are always asking us "what is Kosher Pizza?" The truth is, it's the SAME thing! When all of the ingredients inside a food are "kosher", the food is then labeled as "kosher." Pizza consists of 3 main ingredients: Dough, Sauce, and Cheese.
The ingredients used to make the dough (flour, sugar, salt, water, etc.) must be (and typically are) kosher. The ingredients used to make the sauce (tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt, sugar, etc.) must be (and typically are) kosher. The final ingredient, cheese, must also be kosher. Kosher cheese is made the same way as non-kosher cheese, except they don't add any ingredients that may be labeled as non-kosher.
There are several factors that determine if an ingredient is NOT kosher:
- If the ingredient is derived from a non-kosher animal (such as pig) the ingredient is then deemed non-kosher. (There is a list of animals that are not kosher.)
- If an animal is kosher, however is injured or slaughtered in a way that brings it pain, any ingredient derived from that animal is non-kosher. (There are strict guidelines on how animals should be slaughtered.)
Because of how easy it is for anyone to just claim a food (or ingredient) is kosher, many people don't eat kosher foods that are not certified by a Kosher Supervision. Kosher Supervisions, such as "RCC" and "O.K" require an orthodox Jew (who is well versed in the laws of kosher) to supervise the facility making the ingredient/food to ensure all food is in fact kosher.
Since most ingredients that go into dough, sauce, and cheese can be kosher, kosher pizza usually tastes the same as non-kosher pizza. One final (and big) difference about kosher pizza, is that meat and dairy products are not allowed to be mixed (or eaten) together. Therefore, kosher pizza restaurants are not allowed to use real Pepperoni, Chicken, etc. as a topping, and typically go with a soy/tofu alternative.
