The Cellar - Giraffe is Kosher?

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Giraffe is Kosher?

Ok, you can definitely find some odd things on the Internet. I was following the link to the pastry definition, found ghee mentioned, which I've seen in Indian grocery stores, went looking at a cooking site for recipes using ghee, and found a link to this.

Quote:

According to a report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, vets were asked to treat an adult, female giraffe at Israel's largest zoo, the Safari Park in Ramat Gan.
The team, led by Professor Zohar Amar, took a routine sample of milk and found that it clotted in the way required by Jewish law for kosher certification.
They submitted more milk for verification by the rabbinical authorities and the paper reported that a ruling was made that giraffe meat and milk are acceptable for observant Jews.

I have been through years of Hebrew school and never heard anything about clotting. I do know that cloven hoofs and cud-chewing are requirements. Wiki has a nice article on Kosher Foods.

Quote:

"But this is what you shall not eat from among those that bring up their cud or that have split hooves; the camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you; and the hyrax, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you;and the hare, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you; and the pig, for its hoof is split and its hoof is completely separated, yet it does not chew its cud— it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh nor shall you touch their carcass— they are unclean to you."

—Leviticus 11:4-8

I also found to my surprise that one insect, a single debated species of locust (scholars do not agree on which one) is kosher. This may have been a form of pragmatism since if locusts destroy crops, all that is left to eat would be the locusts.

Still, I doubt we'll be seeing Hebrew National Giraffe Dogs anytime soon.;)

BTW, I found a ghee recipe.

Ghee is used extensively in Indian cooking.
Horribly unhealthy, but it does give a distinctive flavour.
Especially used for Puri - Indian pastry. Prawn on Puri is a favourite starter here.

I've found I can tell if Tarka Dhal is made with ghee.
I prefer it with, but feel better in myself if I know it's not.

Oh - thought you might like the recipe:
from here

Quote:

Tarka or Masoor Dal.
Alternative spellings dal, daal, dhal, or dahl.

Preparation time 10 minutes. Cooking time 30 minutes.

lentils 8 oz / 250 g washed and drained
water 1 ½ pints / 850 ml
onion 8 oz / 250 g ½ coarsely chopped ½ finely chopped
chilli powder 1 teaspoonful
salt 1 teaspoonful

butter, ghee, olive oil or other oil to taste 2 oz / 60 g
garlic 2 cloves, crushed and chopped finely or ½ teaspoonful dried
ginger 1 tablespoonful, bruised and chopped finely or ½ teaspoonful dried
green chilli 1 or 2 sliced or teaspoonful of dried green chilli

Placed the washed and drained lentils in a large cooking pot with the water, the chilli powder, salt, and the coarsely chopped onion. Bring to the boil then simmer.
Fry the finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli in the oil until the onion is golden brown. Add this mixture to the simmering lentils, stir through, and continue to simmer until the lentils are soft.
Cook gently and slowly. Add more water if needed, simmer longer if too thin. Avoid letting the lentils stick to the pot.
Other spices that can be used include whole cumin seeds, ground coriander seeds,chopped coriander leaves, cayenne pepper, ground turmeric and almost any other that may take your fancy. Work from the basic recipe and vary one or two of the spices. I have been served dal as the basis of an excellent vegetable chilli with cauliflower and other vegetables added for variety.

Inspired from various sources and my own experimentation.

By W N Dyer

Quote:

"But this is what you shall not eat from among those that bring up their cud or that have split hooves; the camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you; and the hyrax, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you;and the hare, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split— it is unclean to you; and the pig, for its hoof is split and its hoof is completely separated, yet it does not chew its cud— it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh nor shall you touch their carcass, neither shall you look upon pictures of them sitting in policeman's caps— they are unclean to you."

Fixed

Whatever. I can't get rid of that second quote box