Animals that live in water can only be eaten if they have fins and scales. This means that shrimps, prawns and squid are not fish in the true sense, and so they are just as non-kosher as the eel which has lost its fins through evolution.
Kosher rules
Land animals must have cloven (split) hooves and must chew the cud, meaning that they must eat grass. Seafood must have fins and scales. Eating shellfish is not allowed. It is forbidden to eat birds of prey.
» Because the Torah allows eating only animals that both chew their cud and have cloven hooves, pork is prohibited. So are shellfish, lobsters, oysters, shrimp and clams, because the Old Testament says to eat only fish with fins and scales. Another rule prohibits mixing dairy with meat or poultry.
Deuteronomy 14:3-10.
These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.
Non-kosher fish include swordfish, shark, eel, octopus, and skate, as well as all shellfish, clams, crabs, lobster, oyster and shrimp. For a complete listing of kosher fish, see the Kosher Fish List. The definition of fins and scales must be as designated by Jewish law.
Fish is kosher if it has both fins and scales, like salmon, bass, or trout. Sea creatures that don't have fins and scales aren't kosher. This includes shellfish, crabs, shrimp, and lobster.
To be kosher, eggs must come from kosher fowl and be free of bloodspots in the white (albumin) and the yolk. Each egg must be checked individually after it is opened. If there is blood in an egg, it is forbidden. Eggs from a chicken that died are forbidden by rabbinic enactment.
Kashrut—Jewish dietary laws
Certain foods, notably pork, shellfish and almost all insects are forbidden; meat and dairy may not be combined and meat must be ritually slaughtered and salted to remove all traces of blood. Observant Jews will eat only meat or poultry that is certified kosher.
The Torah forbids the cooking and consumption of any milk with any meat to prevent one from cooking a kid in its mother's milk. According to Kabbalah, meat represents gevurah (the Divine attribute of Judgment) and milk represents chesed (the Divine attribute of Kindness).
According to the fatwa, prawn is an arthropod (to which insects also belong) and it does not fall under the category of fish. The chief mufti labelled prawn under the category 'makruh tahrim' (strictly abominable) and advised Muslims against eating it.
Shrimp have one pair of legs that include claws at the end, but prawns have three pairs with claws. Prawns also tend to have legs that are a bit longer in relation to the size of the body than shrimp of similar size.
Like all other highly processed foods, ice cream can contain many dozens of ingredients. So in order for ice cream to be accepted as kosher, it needs to be marked kosher by a reliable certifying agency. Note that dairy ice cream may not be served after a meat meal.
Lobster is not kosher: Jewish Scriptures prohibit eating all shellfish. Nevertheless, Maine's Jews have developed a pronounced fondness for one of this state's signature dishes. Many Jewish Mainers eat lobster even though they would never eat pork, another forbidden food.
In Jewish tradition, the prohibition on mixing dairy and meat products has been interpreted in several different ways. Some see it as an implementation of the same principle of separating animals authorised for consumption from those that are forbidden.
"`Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water--you are to detest.
In order to make chocolate, the cocoa liquor (or butter or powder) is blended with sugar and lethicin. Starch can also be introduced into the mix, which can be an issue for Pesach since the starch is either chometz or kitniyos.
Along with all seafood other than fish with fins and scales, scallops are not kosher (see Leviticus 11:9).
Many observant Jews would love to eat ice cream for dessert after Shabbat and holiday meals, yet the rules of keeping kosher meant that ice cream couldn't be served after a meal that contained meat.
The mixture of milk with meat instills in it the undesirable characteristics of blood. If meat and milk together were not forbidden, then the Jews would be unknowingly transgressing the prohibition of consumption of blood and exposing themselves to the damaging effects of blood.
The Torah prohibits eating chometz, or five specific grains during Passover: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye. There is a second class of foods, called kitenyot which includes corn, rice, peas, lentils, and peanuts. Over time, Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Europe began to refrain from eating kitenyot during Passover.
Although many Kosher fish are completely covered with scales, Halacha requires only a minimum number of scales to accord a fish Kosher status (see Y.D. 83:1). Tuna, for example, have very few scales, yet are nevertheless considered a Kosher fish.
The cheese is not kosher unless a jew oversaw the addition of the rennet. Even if one knows the cheese maker buys only microbial rennet, or one has a contractual agreement with the cheese maker, by decree, it is not kosher unless someone actually watches the making of the cheese via the addition of the rennet.
The presence of starter distillate is yet another reason why butter cannot be considered automatically kosher. Many butters on the market contain starter distillate, which is a lactic fermentation of milk produced by steam distillation. Starter distillate adds flavor to butter, which would otherwise taste bland.
Although it is more costly, some yogurt companies opt for special OU-certified gelatin, which comes from fully kosher-processed animals. This has been a terrific solution for some companies. Greek yogurt has been a boon both for the dairy industry as well as for kosher certification.