Kosher and halal lifestyles often get lumped together. But while they do have some similarities, they’re very different diets.
Here’s the 411 on all things kosher and halal.
| Kosher | Halal | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | a set of food preparation and consumption guidelines established under Jewish dietary law | anything allowed under Islamic law (This doesn’t just cover food rules — it pertains to all aspects of life.) |
| Roots | the Torah | the Quran |
| Etymology | “Kosher” comes from the Hebrew word “Kashrut,” which means “fit” or “proper.” | “Halal” means “allowed” or “lawful” in Arabic. |
| Guidelines | follows Jewish dietary law | follows Islamic dietary law |
| Animal slaughter guidelines | single, deep cut to throat; blood must be completely drained | what kosher said: single, deep cut to throat; blood must be completely drained |
| Butcher | has to be a Jew who understands Jewish law | has to be Muslim |
| Prayer | doesn’t require prayer before slaughter | requires prayer to Allah before every slaughter |
| Fruits and veggies | fine if there are no bugs | totes OK |
| Meat and dairy | can’t be eaten together | fine to mix |
| Booze | allowed if the ingredients are kosher | nope! |
Kosher and halal lifestyles are rooted in religious traditions that go back thousands of years. Both regulate what foods to eat along with how meat should be killed and prepped.
Kosher
Kosher is a way of eating that follows Jewish dietary law. The word itself comes from the Hebrew word “Kashrut,” meaning “proper” or “fit.”
Halal
“Halal” means “permissible” or “lawful” in Arabic. Halal food follows the Islamic dietary law as described by the Quran. Foods that aren’t halal are haram (meaning “prohibited” or “unlawful”).
Kosher
To be kosher, a mammal has to have split hooves and chew its cud (semi-digested food that’s regurgitated and chewed a second time).
Kosher mammals:
- cows
- sheep
- goats
- deer
Other approved animals:
- domestic birds (e.g., chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and pigeons)
- scaly fish with fins (like tuna, pike, carp, flounder, or salmon)
Meat vs. dairy
Kosher peeps don’t mix meat with dairy. The amount of time between eating meat after dairy (or vice versa) varies from person to person. But the standard is to wait 6 hours after eating meat before you eat dairy.
To eat meat after eating dairy, you have to:
- Cleanse your mouth.
- Rinse your mouth.
- Wash your hands.
Halal
Only certain types of meat are halal. It’s OK to eat:
- domestic birds (e.g., chickens, turkeys, and ducks)
- all types of buck (sorry, Bambi)
- all types of cattle
- locusts
- rabbits
- camels
- sheep
- goats
- fish
FYI: Mixing meat and dairy is allowed 🥛🥩.
Each diet has a list of off-limits meats.
Kosher
Eating any of these animals (or their byproducts) isn’t kosher:
- predatory or scavenger birds
- shellfish 🦐 🦞
- squirrels
- rabbits
- camels
- horses
- bears
- pigs
- dogs
- cats
Halal
Haram (nonapproved) meats include:
- carnivorous animals (e.g., bears, dogs, cats, etc.)
- predatory or scavenger birds
- bugs (excluding locusts)
- pests (like rats and mice)
- amphibians 🐸
- donkeys
- reptiles
- mules
- pigs
Certain parts of a halal animal are also a no-go, including the animal’s:
- pancreas
- gall bladder
- flowing blood
- reproductive organs (like testicl*s)
Side note: According to kosher and halal rules, you can’t eat an animal if it died of natural causes. (Bummer… we were really craving roadkill cuisine.)
The way an animal is butchered is uber-important in kosher and halal households.
Kosher
For meat to be 100 percent kosher, it needs to be slaughtered and cleaned under this set of rules:
- The slaughterer (aka shochet) has to be a Jew with an understanding of Jewish laws.
- The kill must be quick, using a single deep cut across the throat.
- The animal’s lungs must be looked at to make sure there aren’t any defects.
- All the blood must be drained before the animal can be eaten.
Halal
For meat to be considered halal, it has to be slaughtered and cleaned within these guidelines:
- The butcher must be Muslim.
- The animal must be prayed over before it’s killed.
- The blade has to be super sharp to minimize the animal’s pain.
- The animal’s throat must be sliced clean from one side to the other — the knife can’t be lifted until the cut is complete.
- The esophagus, trachea, and both jugular veins have to be severed.
- All the blood must be drained before the animal can be eaten.
The packaging of kosher and halal foods is labeled to let you know the foods have met all the necessary requirements. There are various certification agencies that give kosher or halal products the stamp of approval.
In the United States, the largest halal certification agency is the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA).
Kosher foods are certified by lots of different agencies across the country. The main five are Star-K, OK, OU, KOF-K, and CRC.
It isn’t just about meat. Kosher and halal diets also offer guidelines for other types of food and how they should be prepared.
Kosher
Since meat and dairy can’t be eaten at the same time, you need to invest in two separate sets of utensils. That way there’s no chance of cross contamination. Some Jewish households also have two separate kitchens, one for meat and one for dairy.
Fruits and veggies are cool for kosher folks as long as the produce doesn’t contain any bugs.
PSA: Grape products have to be made by observant Jews. Otherwise, they’re not kosher 🍇 🍷.
Halal
Islamic dietary law states that dairy, yogurt, and cheese should be produced from halal-certified animals only.
You also have to ditch products that contain:
- L-cysteine (animal hair)
- rennet (stomach enzyme)
- calcium phosphates (bone)
- gelatin (connective tissue)
Halal folks also avoid alcohol and other intoxicants (sorry, fam — this includes weed).
Different rules for holidays
More rules apply to kosher and halal lifestyles during certain times of the year.
For example, Jews can’t eat chametz — foods that contain leavened grains — during Passover.
In Islam, Ramadan is a holy month of fasting. Observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking (even water) from dawn till dusk.
Both kosher and halal can be hella healthy lifestyles. Just make sure you maintain a balanced diet full of vitamins, proteins, and other key nutrients.
There’s little to no research that proves a kosher or halal diet is better for you than a nonreligious diet — but these styles of eating do have a few perks.
Kosher
One of the best benefits of keeping kosher is that you know exactly how your meat has been processed, which might ensure better quality. In fact, lots of non-Jewish folks opt for kosher meat because of the way the animals are killed and processed.
It’s also nice knowing there aren’t any unwelcome worms in your morning apple, since kosher produce is inspected for insects 🐛 .
Halal
As with a kosher diet, sticking to halal means you know where your meat comes from. Some folks claim that animals suffer less under halal slaughter guidelines, but there’s little proof of this.
Also, an alcohol-free lifestyle might be better for you in the long run. But more research is needed to find out whether occasional or moderate drinking leads to major health issues as compared to no drinking at all.
