Two Big Companies Go Kosher For Passover
There are many companies worldwide that have Kosher products throughout the entire year. But during Passover, Kosher laws are a little more strict and some companies have found that creating Kosher-for-Passover product lines can easily make them an industry favorite. This year, Coco-Cola and Ben & Jerry’s have gone to great length to honor Pesach food laws and traditions.
First, Ben & Jerry’s set out to create a completely Kosher-for-Passover ice cream flavor. The result was the Charoset flavored ice cream. Charoset is a spread that comes in two styles, Ashkenazi, and Sephardic. B&J’s chose to go with the Ashkenazi style which is made up of apples and walnuts. This spread is often used to make Matzo sandwiches or is simply spread on top of the matzo for eating during a Passover Sedar.
The Ben & Jerry’s Passover Charoset ice cream is only sold in Israel so far, but a recent outcry from the large Jewish population in the United States may change that. Recently, after discovering that the Charoset ice cream existed in the world, many Jewish Americans took to social media to ask B&J’s to share the product with the world.
@benandjerrys Please, please please bring #Charoset #IceCream to the United States. pic.twitter.com/OgS8OXDXM2
— Amy Jacobs (@i_am_cookielady) March 22, 2015
Coco-Cola took their Kosher-for-Passover product little bit further. The company spent a lot of money creating an identifiable Kosher drink which can be recognized most definitely by the yellow cap.
Unlike, Ben & Jerry’s, Coco-Cola did not come up with the Passover product on their own. According to Time magazine, it was a local Atlanta, GA Rabbi who brought the notion to the company.
Orthodox Rabbi Tuvia Geffen reportedly noticed that of all the non-Kosher products that fellow Jews had to give up, Coke was one of the hardest. In a recent rabbinical ruling, Geffen explained how his journey to find a way to keep Jews from consuming Coca-Cola during Passover led to an amazing idea.
“Because it has become an insurmountable problem to induce the great majority of Jews to refrain from partaking of this drink. I have tried earnestly to find a method of permitting its usage. With the help of God, I have been able to uncover a pragmatic solution.”
The solution that Rabbi Geffen found was much simpler that anyone thought it would be. The simple difference between Kosher-for-Passover and non-Kosher Coke is pure cane sugar. Yes, it was that easy. Coca-Cola replaced the high fructose corn syrup they typically use in Coke and replaced it with cane sugar. Because of this slight alteration, Jewish people were able to drink Coca-Cola during Passover for the first time.
[Images via Paste Magazine/JewishExponent/JewishJournal]
