World

And It's Kosher?

The annual Kosherfest in New York highlights some great new products.

Lynne Meredith Schreiber
Special to the Jewish News

New York

T

housands this month jostled
and tasted at the Jacob K. Javits
Convention Center for Kosherfest
2007, the 19th annual food show display-
ing all the latest kosher products as well as
a handful of how-to booklets on the art of
keeping kosher.
Kosherfest was started by Menachem
Lubinsky, president and CEO of LUBICOM
Marketing Consulting in Brooklyn. The
annual show presents new kosher items
among the 400,000 certified kosher foods
available today to U.S. consumers.
This year, Kosherfest was part of the
Cultural Food Show, which combined 700
exhibits of Asian, Hispanic and kosher
products. Lubinsky says 11 million
Americans buy a collective $10.5 billion
worth of kosher products, with 2,000 new
items certified kosher in 2007.
Here's a roundup of some of the quirky,
interesting or downright strange new
products unveiled at Kosherfest 2007:

• With the kosher wine market soaring,
kosher cheese is next in line to tempt taste
buds. While the usual suspects like Miller
and Haolam were there, newcomers like
Les Petites Fermieres, Natural & Kosher,
Royal George and Pastures of Eden stole
the show.
In particular, Les Petites Fermieres'
Mediterranean Jack, with a tangy taste of
olive and garlic mixed into the creaminess,
was delicious. Natural & Kosher has rede-
signed its logos with a red ribbon resem-
bling wine labels; packages offer recom-

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November 29 2007

mendations for wines to pair with. Royal
George cheeses are hand-crafted with milk
from grass-fed cows. Royal George cheeses
are sold at Plum Market in Bloomfield
Township.

meats available. Neshama Gourmet Kosher
Foods displayed several sausages, some
organic; its cervelat, or summer sausage,
is the first kosher of its kind. The Abeles
& Heymann display boasted of its Angus
beef while Solomon's Finest Glatt Kosher
Meats offered a full display of kosher beef,
bison, goat and lamb, with veal to come in
2008. Neshama products are available at
One Stop in Southfield.
• Until Kosherfest, I didn't know that
Stonyfield Farm's Oikos organic Greek
yogurt was kosher. I'm glad it is — its
creamy smoothness is delicious and
unique among kosher products. Thus far,
it's the only kosher-certified Greek yogurt
I've found.

• Convenience drove the design of many
new kosher products, not the least of
which was frozen food, cakes and candy.
Tumbador Chocolate, featuring organic
raw ingredients harvested under fair trade
practices, stood out. Flavors include exotic
fruits like passion fruit (delicious!), spices,
herbs and regional flavors like Provencal
pastis, Canadian whisky, Vermont maple
syrup and Georgia peanuts. The company
was created by former information tech-
nology specialist Michael Altman and pas-
• Reuven Friedman and his sister came
try chef Jean-Francois Bonnet (formerly of from Los Angeles to teach kosher-keepers
New York's popular restaurant Daniel).
about the world of R.J. Kosher Beef Jerky.
• The nation is crazy about eating local,
Offering nine flavors (including hickory
and kosher-keepers
are jumping on the
bandwagon. Organic
and natural were
familiar words at
Kosherfest, for prod-
ucts like Elite Naturel
organic juice (its
pomegranate is popu-
2007.
lar but the honeydew
melon flavor was even
better), available at
Whole Foods.
smoked, sesame and teriyaki, among oth-
• One of the special things about eat-
ers), he explained that the dehydrated
ing kosher is the traditional Jewish fla-
meat also comes in sausage sticks. "We're
vors found in kosher foods. Aunt Berta's
the kosher take on non-kosher;' he said.
Marmalades come in a variety of flavors,
• In the United States this year, honey
but etrog stood out for me, reminiscent
bees have been dying. Thankfully there
as it was of the festive harvest-holiday
are rich, creamy options from overseas,
Sukkot.
like avocado blossom honey from Gideon
• While there are fewer kosher butcher
Spring, made at the Ein Harod Apiary in
shops, there's more and more kosher
Israel. Established in 1933 on Kibbutz Ein

million Americans buy a
collective $10.5 billion worth of
kosher products, with 2,000 new
items certified kosher in

Harod, the apiary produces a variety of
raw honeys as well as spreads like honey
and carob, date sillan and honey and
sesame seed.

• Got a kid at college or living in a
different city? Send a kosher care pack-
age. Karen Chazan, a former advertising
executive, was inspired to create Kosher
Care Packages a year ago. Check out the
Cramming for Finals package, with Israeli
coffee and make-your-own pizza kit. www.
koshercarepackages.com .
• If you run a business, consider install-
ing a kosher vending machine. Available
with dairy and meat menus, you can have
grilled cheese, paninis, falafel or roast beef
in minutes without messing up the micro-
wave. www.fkfvendingusa.com

• Surprise your dog with kosher treats
from Wagatha's. Created with organic
ingredients and certified kosher (really!),
these biscuits are the brainchild of two
Northeastern guys, one a chef, one a
businessman fleeing the stress of the city.
www.wagathas.corn
• No kosher show would be complete
without kitsch. This time, it came in the
form of Jewcy gift wrap and Shabbat
Shalom tea. Founded by Daphne and Don
Yousem, JewcyWrap can be found at www.
jewcywrap.com.

