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Table of Contents
Reaching the Kosher Nexus Return to Kosher Nexus Back Issues L'SHANA TOVA TIKITAVUWith this issue of the Kosher Nexus, we resume publication. Our first year saw tremendous growth. What started as a little newsletter sent to fifty families, is now read by over ten thousand people! We even have our own computerized mail-list via the Internet! We want to wish you and yours a Shana Tova U'Metukah as well as a Gmar Hatimah Tovah. As in the past, we pledge to bring you the most up to date information we can concerning Kashruth. We also ask you to please remember: The Kosher Nexus does not generally comment on the particulars of any given Kashruth agency. We simply tell you who is doing what. You should always feel free however to send us your comments. We realize that not every Jew accepts every commercial hashgacha. Our job is just to let you know which agency certifies. You should always check with competent rabbis (rebbetzins?) to ask about a particular item. Of course, the Kosher Nexus is always ready to answer your questions. As always, we pledge to be open and honest in our work. Finally, we promise to remember that you, dear reader, are our most important concern. We promise that we will never bore you! Here's to a new year filled with only the best of delicacies. May we, like Our Father Abraham, fill our tables with "kol ma'adnei olam". Return to Table of Contents The Chuck is in the MailSometimes, as the Rabbis well knew, a mitzvah can grow out of the most unusual circumstances. Jean and Barton Hill, of New York City, were visiting friends way out there in Yenemsville. Their host remarked on how hard it was to obtain kosher meat and poultry. The Hills were incredulous. "You mean, you can't just order meat from a catalogue?" they asked. Or as Barton put it so well, "Isn't there an 'Omaha Meats' kind of thing for the kosher world?" From that conversation, a seed was planted. Jean and Barton are New Yorkers through and through. Jean is an attorney and bond trader; Barton works as a private banker. Their visit troubled them. How could it be that there were no companies shipping kosher meat? To the two of them, it was incredible. And yet, as they found out, indeed it pretty much was so. There were a few companies willing to ship meat, but there was no real system "out there". Poof! Amara Meats was born! Amara ships meat all over (except over the border into Canada). Under the supervision of Rabbi Heineman, of the Star K, Amara Meats ships veal, poultry, beef, lamb, fish and deli to kosher consumers. Jean and Barton have one simple goal. They want Jews to be able to keep kosher. They want Jews to have access to affordable kosher meat. They developed a special shipping container and have established a wonderful rapport with those fun folks at FedEx whose goal is to get your meat to you still frozen, cut to order and in a most timely manner. Amara has shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and many Caribbean Islands. Some people take Amara packages on the plane with them; others have their packages meet them at their destination. For example, you could have your package meet you at your ski chalet in Vail, or , in a worst case scenario, meet it at the airport in, say, St. Martin! Amara has already shipped to a Club Med in Mexico (we're not asking!). For our friends in Canada, all we can suggest for the moment is that you can have Amara ship to the closest town on this side of the border, cross over, and take the packages back. We asked Amara what does the name mean? Frankly, we tried every root spelling we could think of in all of our Hebrew and Aramaic dictionaries. No, Amara is not a Hebrew word. It is an amalgam of Jean and Barton's two daughters' names! Barton tells a wonderful story of an elderly, shut-in, Jewish woman who called Amara and said, "I am old and I am single. I can't get out much. Will you ship to me?" Needless to say, Amara is proud to help this woman keep kosher. Jean tells stories of callers who have had to move to really out of the way places and who have become vegetarians because there was no way to get kosher meat. Amara has been able to help them too. Here at the Kosher Nexus, we are very proud of the Hills and their company. Their goal is the same as our goal. We all want to see Jews keep kosher. We both want to make it easier for Jews to keep kosher. We wish Amara Meats, "Hatzlacha Rabba - great success." To reach Amara please call; 1-800-64-AMARA (1-800-642-6272) or 1-212- 388-9444. [We are sorry to say that as of publication of this Web Page - 11/95, that Amara Meats is no longer in business. ] Return to Table of Contents Groceries Galore - Kosher Of Course!
Return to Table of Contents KOSHER SUPPLIERSGood news from Buffalo, New York: Glenn Candies, a Division of W&F Products, Inc., announced that they are "now a company for all seasons". How so? For starters, they make candy. For seconds they make "Big Thumb". For thirds, they make "nik-l-lip" (those little bottles with colored sweet "nectar" inside - come on you remember them!). They also make Fun Gum Sugar Lips, Slurpys, Supersips and (as a gesture to our kids) Space Worms. Gee, we are having an attack of serious nostalgia here! Call 1-800-365-0808 or (716) 874-5850 or fax them at (716) 874-5976. They are under the hashgacha of the Buffalo Vaad. For you lucky folks out in California, cakes and desserts for the Dessert of the Month Club of Carson are certified dairy by the KVH. Musicon Farms Glatt Kosher Venison is under O-U certification, but they can arrange other supervisions for you too. They now have a local number (914) 294-6378 and a fax number too: (516) 239-8915. As always, Kosher Cornucopia has a wonderful selection of foods appropriate for your holiday table. Call (800) S Kosher. You won't be sorry! Return to Table of Contents Thirst Quenching Good!From the "Gee that would taste good" file comes these thirst quenchers:
Under the heading of "You didn't ask, but we'll tell you anyway", comes the following information: Do you need a caffeine jolt? Forget the coffee, or Jolt Cola. For a real caffeine shot, just grab a Mountain Dew. It has more caffeine than just about any other drink we have found! Oh, and by the way, in the Boston/Greater New England area, Mountain Dew (and other Pepsi bottled drinks) are under the supervision of the KVH. And last but not least, here's something we bet you didn't know. Why do sparkling waters need Kosher Certification? Carbonation - including Perrier by the way, which adds the bubbles, contrary to the ads, can come from different sources. A major source of CO2 is the gas emitted during beer production. That CO2 would be kosher, but not kosher for Pesah. Most water companies want their water to be acceptable for Pesah-hence the need to determine whence the CO2. By the way, Perrier gets its gas from the ground at the same place where it gets its water. Return to Table of Contents CONSUMER ALERT!
Return to Table of Contents UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!Some time ago, the Kosher Nexus alerted you that some East Coast Rabbis are not allowing Absolut vodka at events under their hashgacha. At that time, that was all the information we had. Unfortunately, that is still all the information we have. We have not been able to communicate with the bottler or the importer. We do wish to point out, however, that not all Rabbis or rabbinical groups agree with this stance. In the latest catalogue from Kosher Cornucopia, for example, they offer two different caviar that are "spiked with Absolut Vodka". According to the catalogue, both products are produced under the supervision of the Chicago Rabbinical Council - the triangle cRc. The Kosher Nexus urges you to check with your own Rabbi. A number of months ago, the Kosher Nexus informed you that Mrs. Smith's Pies were no longer certified by the Vaad of Massachusetts. The pies still carry a K on the label. The certifying rabbi is Rabbi Joel Weintraub. The rabbi is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly. Return to Table of Contents MISCELLANEOUS STUFF!
Return to Table of Contents WEIGHT TO GO!!Start Fresh is a kosher weight loss program that produces glatt kosher dinners, as well as, other kosher pareve and dairy meals for the dieter. Their products are low in sodium, calories and fat. They offer five day, seven day and a la carte packages. Some of the food selections include muffins, pancakes, chicken and meat dishes and snacks. All of the food is fresh frozen and ready for you to just heat and eat. Included with the five and seven day packages is a complete menu planner that suggests what to eat when and even programs the snacks for you! Start Fresh's menu contains over seventy-five a la carte items, as well as, their complete meals. Call (800) 226-5000. Start Fresh cannot mail to Canada, so, once again, Canadians would have to arrange shipment to a US address and then pick it up. Or better yet, invite one of your "southern" brethren up for a visit and say, "Listen, as long as you are coming up ......" Return to Table of Contents CALLING ALL CANADIANSA special note to our Canadian friends: It is very difficult for us to obtain up to date Canadian Kosher information down here in the Lower 48. If some of our Canadian readers would like to become our Ace Cub Reporters way up there in the Land of the Frozen Tundra, we would love to hear from you. We don't pay, but we will credit you for the info! This is your chance to get your name in print! Go for it! Return to Table of Contents Copyright 1995-1999 Union for Traditional Judaism
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