What does Kosher mean?

When a food product is considered Kosher, it must be either an animal deemed kosher in the Bible or be a food product that comes from an animal byproduct deemed kosher in the Bible. Additionally, it must be prepared as outlined by the Rabbis in the Talmud. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is one organization that have rabbis trained to certify that a particular food has been prepared according to Jewish dietary laws and can be considered kosher. Their copyrighted symbol, a U inside an O can only be placed by them on labels for products that they have certified as kosher. There are a multitude of such organization around the world that each have their on copyrighted symbols. If you only see a K on the label - which cannot be copyrighted as it is a letter of the alphabet - then the company that manufactured the food says it is kosher, but it has not necessarily been checked by a certified organization to determine it kosher status. Kosher food requires, among other things, the separation of meat and milk and specific procedures for slaughtering and preparing meat.

More input from WikiAnswers Contributors:

* Kosher means confrming to dietary laws--ritually pure--selling or serving food prepared in accordance with dietary laws....usually associated with jewish cooking...

* Kosher when talking about salt just means that the salt grains are a certain shape, the shape used to "kosher" meat. These are excellent for using to salt things during cooking because they don't contain iodine, which can have an odd flavour and they are shaped to stick and dissolve rather than table salt which rolls off and doesn't dissolve quickly.

Beyond animals

Look up Kosher on wikipedia. They explain better than any one here could.

You can also move beyond the basic laws of kashrut and consider that the purpose of "keeping kosher" is thoughtful consumption and spiritual purpose. Yes, on the one hand, the laws are there because God said that we may or we may not eat certain foods, or foods prepared in certain ways. By giving us these rules, God ensures that what we do in life is powered by a divinely-approved energy source. You could try to look beyond the basic black-and-white of the laws and wonder WHY the laws are there in the first place. Keeping kosher -- particularly in modern times, when most Jews don't live in small, closely-knit, self-supporting Jewish communities -- requires a fair bit of effort and planning. Because of that effort and planning, you tend to be more mindful of what you're putting into your mouth. Beyond that, because you ARE mindful, you're more aware that what you're doing is for spiritual reasons. You're not just an animal, mindlessly eating to fuel your body, or following your basic instincts to assuage your hunger. Keeping kosher can bring God into your present, into your consciousness. It's a way to be more aware, more in the moment -- to be godly, WITH God. Keeping kosher is about spiritual purpose, not just about whether or not you're eating the right type of fish or whether or not you're eating milk too soon after eating meat. If you get bogged down in the mechanics of the rules, you miss the "aha!" moment that makes sense of those rules.

You have this BS in both the Jewish religion and the religion of Islam also.

Kosher means Ok for jews to eat its been through the religious BS in the way it was killled or prepared likewise the Muslims like to call theirs Halal if its Halal its been through the Muslim BS and is fit for them to eat