Naomi Ross, Jewish Action’s food writer who has worked in the kosher industry as a cooking instructor, personal chef and recipe developer, participating in the conference. Photo: Rachelly Eisenberger
A large wooden cutting board with a deep, grooved channel around the perimeter was a staple in my grandmother’s kosher kitchen. Before the days when salting and soaking meats or poultry were handled at kosher slaughtering facilities, a kashering board was essential—an indispensable tool in the kosher homemaker’s kitchen of that era. How much the world of kashrus has changed! In our modern, technologically advanced society, the mitzvah of keeping kosher has grown more complex—and more distant from the rhythms of the home kitchen—than anyone could have imagined. So when an ad for the ASK OU Summer 2025 Women’s Kashruth Experience caught my eye, I was intrigued and applied to join the program. Having worked in the kosher industry as a cooking instructor, personal chef and recipe developer for kosher brands, it seemed like a timely bit of continuing education. But I had no idea what to expect—or who else would be attending the four-day symposium.
On a bright July morning, I joined approximately fifty observant women, from Chassidic to Modern Orthodox, gathered in a conference room at the OU headquarters in downtown Manhattan. These women had come from communities around the country—including Boca Raton, Florida; Silver Spring, Maryland; Williamsburg, New York; and Lakewood, New Jersey—women from all walks of life who had taken time off work, traveled and convened for a single purpose: to deepen their knowledge and commitment to kashrus.
“The real strength of kashrus in the home comes from women,” said Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO and rabbinic administrator of OU Kosher, in his opening remarks. Indeed, women have long served as the primary gatekeepers—and the unofficial mashgichos—of our home kitchens.
The conference offered a broad range of sessions on topics such as maintaining a kosher kitchen, pas Yisrael and hafrashas challah, potential halachic issues with eating out, and the use of Shabbos mode on modern appliances.
In an age when so much of our food is manufactured or processed under others’ supervision, what is our role in ensuring kashrus? Understanding how the kosher industry functions today—how food is produced, inspected, and certified—was a central focus of the conference.
How Modern Kashrus Has Changed
Walk into any Stop & Shop or Walmart and you’re bound to pick up an OU-certified product. With more than 1.3 million certified items worldwide, OU Kosher today bears little resemblance to the small group of mashgichim who, about a century ago, certified just a handful of products.
How does the OU manage to certify such an enormous number of products and ingredients? The answer lies in a sophisticated infrastructure: some 1,000 Rabbinic Field Representatives (RFRs) stationed across the globe; cutting-edge technology that tracks every approved product and its globally sourced ingredients; and a meticulous system for kashering factories and machinery.
With more than 100 years of experience certifying kosher food, the OU has streamlined an extraordinarily complex process. But it wasn’t simple.
“What did Rabbi Genack do?” asked Rabbi Avraham Stone, senior RFR, explaining how Rabbi Genack, who joined OU Kosher in the 1980s, spent decades revolutionizing the kosher certification industry. “He turned [kosher supervision] into a profession, and he professionalized it.” Instituting policies, implementing checks and balances, and establishing an online database were all part of transforming the OU into the most widely recognized kosher certification agency in the world. “An RFR today doesn’t just turn on the fire; he must understand the inner workings of the equipment well enough to know how to kasher each piece safely—without damaging the machinery,” said Rabbi Stone, who was on his way to visit a plant in Wahoo, Nebraska, to examine its machinery. “He must know what the company does, how and why, in order to avoid problematic issues. If a rav hamachshir (a rabbi who certifies food as kosher) inspects a line of milk products without knowing the same plant produces chicken stock at night, the supervision is obviously failing.”
In an age when so much of our food is manufactured or processed under others’ supervision, what is our role in ensuring kashrus?
The leap from theory to practice became real when our group toured the production plant of David’s Cookies, a nationwide manufacturer of cookies and baked goods, at its Fairfield, New Jersey, factory. A home cook might buy a two-gallon jug of “bulk” oil for baking, but the demands of large-scale production require massive totes—unmarked containers holding up to 550 gallons—to be transported and verified kosher upon arrival. A dedicated line of pareve cookie dough operates in its own production area, minimizing the risk of kashrus or allergen mix-ups with dairy product lines. And with such large volumes of dough, the RFR must also ensure that challah is taken.
Kosherization Close Up
Have you ever attended a wedding, a dinner event, a Pesach program or a kosher cruise? Most of us assume the food is “all kosher,” rarely pausing to consider the sheer amount of work that goes into kashering an event space—or the complexities of dealing with non-Jewish venue owners. Rabbi Moshe Perlmutter, the OU’s kosherization expert, has been overseeing the kashering of large events for over thirty years. A tour of the Rockleigh Country Club’s commercial kitchens in Rockleigh, New Jersey, gave us a rare behind-the-scenes look at what’s involved. When is libun (method of kashering using dry heat) required versus hagalah (method of kashering using boiling water)? How do you kasher properly with irui klei rishon (pouring hot liquid directly from a vessel that had been on the fire or other heat source)? Most of us had never even heard of a tilt skillet or steam-jacketed kettle, let alone seen one. What unique kashrus challenges do these industrial appliances present?
Rabbi Perlmutter also spoke about how evolving industry standards have simplified the kashering process and helped prevent potential problems—and damage. “I used to show up the night before, prepared to work through the night, kashering not just appliances but thousands of pieces of silverware and chafing dishes,” he said. “Nowadays, kosher caterers generally own and supply that equipment.” Learning about these commercial practices may not apply directly to home kitchens, but it equips us to ask more sophisticated questions when evaluating kashrus standards at events and venues.
Bugging Out
“Is that an aphid or a thrip?”
“Is that a bug or just a strawberry seed?”
These were the most common questions heard throughout the hands-on bedikas tolayim (bug-checking) practicum led by Rabbi Daniel Sharratt, rabbinic coordinator and tolayim (insect) expert at the OU. Equipped with light boxes, thrip cloths and jeweler’s loupes, we paired up and got to work, becoming more familiar with our six-legged friends. For many kosher home cooks, checking vegetables is not only time-consuming but often a stressful test of confidence. Education makes all the difference. Knowing what to look for—and the most efficient methods of inspection—means you can be your own mashgiach without fear.
“The real strength of kashrus in the home comes from women.” Indeed, women have long served as the primary gatekeepers—and the unofficial mashgichos—of our home kitchens.
This was exactly what drew Ronit from Passaic, New Jersey. “I have a lot of family with different backgrounds and kashrus standards,” she said. “I want to feel confident in my abilities to provide in a way that everyone feels comfortable at my table.” Like so many others in the group, she came to the conference with a passion to learn more—and to understand halachah better.
The Experts Behind the Labels
In the vast, layered landscape of halachah, it’s easy to get lost in the dizzying range of opinions and rulings on any given topic. To navigate this complexity, Rabbi Eli Eleff, managing director, OU Kosher Community Relations Department, brought in an expert for each specialty area of halachah to address the group.
Rabbi Chaim Loike, rabbinic coordinator and specialist in the mesorah of poultry, eggs and spices, discussed kosher species while displaying live chickens and quails. Rabbi Moshe Klarberg, senior rabbinic coordinator, tackled the modern-day realities of shechitah—why new policies are adopted in large slaughterhouses (ever wonder why giblets no longer come inside whole chickens?) and how to recognize she’eilos in your own kitchen. Rabbi Chaim Goldberg, the OU’s resident fish expert, demystified the process of identifying and purchasing kosher fish and fish products. Interested in observing yoshon? Rabbi Dovid Gorelik explained the mitzvah and offered insights into sourcing grain and flour from mills across the country.
By the end of the conference, it was clear that to become an expert in halachah, you also have to be an expert in the science and industry behind it.
Michal, a halachah teacher from Boca Raton, Florida, who had flown in for the program, marveled at “the range and depth of knowledge among the rabbis.” She also developed a new respect for the “expertise and mesirus nefesh it takes to do the job of a mashgiach well.”
A Continuing Education
At the end of four days—twenty-four sessions, a tour of a local vaad-certified supermarket, a cookie factory, and a commercial kitchen—what did we walk away with? “I thought it would be a lot of review,” Ronit admitted. “But it was incredibly eye-opening to hear about contemporary kashrus issues alongside old-fashioned practices that still shape current standards. The intersection of industry and home kitchens is a living, dynamic reality we encounter every day. This whetted my appetite to keep learning more.” I felt the same way—like we had only scratched the surface.
When so much of what we consume is produced beyond our home kitchens and beyond our direct control, being informed—understanding key halachic concepts and modern challenges—becomes an essential tool. It helps us ask the right questions and steer clear of problematic situations.
Echoing this sentiment when closing the program, Rabbi Moshe Elefant, executive rabbinic coordinator and COO of OU Kosher, referenced a familiar slogan from the now-shuttered Syms department store, which once stood just down the block from OU headquarters: “An educated consumer is our best customer.”
Naomi Ross is a cooking instructor and food writer based in Woodmere, New York. She teaches classes throughout the country and writes articles connecting good cooking and Jewish inspiration. She is the author of The Giving Table (New York, 2022).