[MarkL]

Jewish law also forbids cheeseburgers based on an incredibly over-zealous interpretation of a law about not cooking a calf in its mother's milk. This requires the kosher kitchen to have two complete sets cooking utensils. If you ask me, that is taking things just a bit far.

The regulation has been "simplified" into not being able to mix meat and dairy, and that there's a class of foods being "parve," meaning that they can be eaten with either meat or dairy.

Here's something that's always baffled me though...Given the above statement of not "cooking a calf in its mother's milk," why is it that you CAN fry chicken using eggs in the batter, yet you can't add milk to the batter, even though chickens do not give milk, since chicken is classified as "meat."

Just something that I wondered since childhood.

Mark

[Jewbacca]

“Given the above statement of not “cooking a calf in its mother’s milk,” why is it that you CAN fry chicken using eggs in the batter, yet you can’t add milk to the batter, even though chickens do not give milk, since chicken is classified as “meat.”

A fair amount of Jewish people won’t do that, just for the reason you suggest.

[Little Ray]

I have to say, being Gentile, I have never given it a thought. As I said, its is great that St. Paul got us a dispensation on it...

[Cronos]

I personally think the dietary laws have sensible logical reasoning for a desert climate with heavy population and low sanitary etc. — pork can get easily corrupted, more than other meats, and presumably the cooking a calf has another logical reasoning.