Is It Kosher? Pop-Tarts are kosher when the carton carries a reliable hechsher, and most boxes sold in the United States do carry one. The complication is not whether a symbol exists. It is the small letter printed next to it, because a dairy designation changes when and with what you can eat the pastry.
Is It Kosher? Coca-Cola is kosher in most major markets, and in the United States the classic formula is certified pareve. The catch is that certification follows the bottling plant and the formula, not the red logo, so the same drink can be certified in one country and uncertified in another.
Is It Kosher? Standard Jell-O gelatin dessert is not kosher certified in United States stores, because it is made with gelatin that is usually animal-derived and carries no reliable symbol. A box is kosher only when it clearly shows a trusted hechsher. If you keep kosher, a certified gelatin dessert is the safer choice.
Is It Kosher? Wine holds a unique place in kosher law. Even when it is pressed from nothing but grapes, wine is kosher only if observant Jews handle it from the crush through the bottling, under a trusted hechsher. That single rule explains almost everything on a kosher wine label.
Is It Kosher? Cheese is kosher when it is made with kosher rennet and produced under rabbinic supervision, which is why the symbol on the label matters more than the ingredient list. Milk is kosher, but the rennet that sets the curd is where the real question lives. Here is how I check a cheese before it goes in my cart.
Guides Treif is any food that is not kosher. The word covers pork and shellfish, a cheeseburger that mixes meat and dairy, and even a candy that hides pork gelatin in the fine print. Here is what makes a food treif, and how to catch it on a label.