Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Kosher Paper Towels?

I received an email from a friend of mine last week. She was on the phone with a friend of hers talking about how her grandmother makes chicken soup. Apparently her grandmother makes chicken soup with the skin, which is considered gross (dunno why, we do that, but we drain it twice before we eat it). Anyway, so my friend was telling her friend how gross that was, since its so fattening. She said the great thing to do to rid the fat, is to sift the soup through Bounty and there is no fat left (well, it is the quilted quicker picker upper!). So her friend ignored all the comments about health and fat, and says "Use Brawny, not Bounty"

So my friend says "Why?" thinking maybe its because Bounty is overpriced or something like that.

But no, her friend says that Bounty is not-kosher.

Yup, you heard that, Bounty is not-kosher. -A piece of paper is not kosher-

My friend was like "are you serious?"

and her friend replied "Yup."

My friend said "Well that has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard, a piece of paper being non-kosher and so I will davka use Bounty now just because I think its so stupid that this stuff spreads."

And her friend responded "well then Hashem will davka punish you if you do that."

***

I heard that Bounty had kitniyos on it, so they don't recommend using it for pesach. But ok, people go nuts on pesach, but dude...seriously, a frikkin paper towel, during the year? when its not pesach?! wth is wrong with people?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always strain the soup through paper towels and I never considered the brand, happily. Even in terms of the kitniyos, I think it's only the glue that attaches the first piece to the cardboard roll, that contains the kitniyos. I was told that even on Pesach you only have to avoid the first sheet, but people are careful not to use the whole roll.

I think this kind of focusing on details is a sign of a mental illness that pervades the whole community.

EsPes said...

ditto- i heard u shouldnt use the 1st and last sheet on pesach- cuz of the glue

Anonymous said...

My dish detergent and zip-lock bags all of OUs on them... Good to know if I'm ever hungry I can eat them guilt-free!

Ookamikun said...

I think it's first 3 and last 3 because the glue attaches the first to the second and just in case, 3rd.
R' Belsky says it's fine to use bounty on pesach.

Mikeinmidwood said...

It seems that everything needs a hechsher (in some peoples eyes) so coming out next is hechsher on music... wait they already have that,ahhhhhhhhhhh!! its going too far?

frumskeptic said...

Jessica- dish detergent in its own way makes sense if it has an OU. Like crazy chumra. But an OU on laundry detergent, that I cannot get over. If the laundry detergent even comes near your food, DON'T EAT IT!

Anonymous said...

skin in soup is gross cause its just gross.

yonan vfa. -):

Anonymous said...

FS - I just noticed it on my laundry detergent, lol. That's one that I wish it wasn't on... it really smells good enough to eat! And did you say "makes sense" and "chumra" in the same sentence? Uh oh, maybe Moshe was right about you. You're goin' soft. :-P

frumskeptic said...

Jessica - :-p

I didn't mean it made sense, I meant in their twisted way, you can explain it as super strict. You cant explain how having kosher detergent is a way of being super strict, you just cant.

I hope I'm not going soft... lol, my chosson likes that I have a big mouth :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, my GOD! My wife's paper-towel casserole is traif! I'm going straight to Gehennom!

Anonymous said...

Actually, the soap thing makes sense. Here's the logic--
Soap is fat-based. The hechsher on soap basically means that it did not come from a non-kosher source and that the user isn't washing their milchig dishes in pig fat.
Laundry soap though, makes no sense. If you're going to get weird about that, then you can't use enzyme cleaner on your contacts because the enzymes come from pork.

Akiva said...

CALL the O-U and ASK THEM. They are very good about answering such questions - why something would need or not, or what is being supervised or what's a concern.

Ookamikun said...

CRC is. OU is very good about saying that whatever's not/is in their list, so go away. Both I and FS had interesting encounters with them.

Anonymous said...

OU/Star-K/OK etc are about making money. Many of the things that they supervise do not need it at all, such as water, cane sugar, paper towels, foil, etc etc., but have you ever hear of them saying to a company "it doesn't need a hechsher, save your money"?

And by the way, you can use the first and last paper towel on Pesach. There is no halachic basis for prohibiting it, even for those who don't use kitnios.

Narishkeit.

Anonymous said...

There are now kosher flowers its on amazon, not even for eating, and kosher silver coins with a badatz

Anonymous said...

I don't think Moshe would have approved of paper towels or soap made with the unclean swine. it is only because we let the gentiles make our products that we have to worry about stuff like this. As far as laundry soap, I use dish towels on my dishes and I don't appreciate them wahed with swine. When Mashiach comes do you think he will use soap made with swine???hg sahve pa SOAP aoAPh