The Kosher Overseers Association of America (KOAOA, or Half-Moon-K) recently announced that they’ve completed their full and thorough review of “virtually all of the companies and products” under their purview, and brought their practices up to “all of the standards that the Kosher-consuming public has the right to demand.” It’s instructive to note that one of the signatures on the press release is that of Senior Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Zushe Blech of Monsey, a major figure in the kashrut industry with ties to the Orthodox Union and Montreal Kosher. I guess there’s no better way to get a foundering heksher up on its feet than to pull in a nationally-respected authority: the Seattle Va’ad HaRabanim has already updated its rather strict list of recommend hekshers to include the Half-Moon K. (Hat tip to readers Elanit and Zorach for the details.)

This one’s for the gipper: Also shaping up is the Jelly Belly Candy Company, whose jelly beans are now under Orthodox Union supervision. Left behind in the wake of the kashrut switch is Ko Kosher Service of Pennsylvania, Jelly Belly’s former certifier, which is probably best known for allowing carmine in its certified products and the silly music and dancing rabbis on its aging website. (Hat tip to NonMevushalMarc for this one.)

Alex writes in to report a new online retailer selling fresh glatt meats — GlattOnDemand.com. All products have at least one well-known heksher — OU, CRC, MK, etc. G.O.D. charges a flat shipping rate throughout the continental US — $29.99 per insulated case, which holds 24 trays of meat. So long as you buy in multiples of 24 trays, the prices aren’t that terrible: 24 bone-in rib eye steaks comes out to $13.50/lb., 24 trays of chicken legs are $2.72/lb. (Update: GlattOnDemand’s prices are actually better than the prices at Brookline’s Butcherie for the same pre-packaged Meal Mart beef.)

In terms of quality, the MK heksher on the poultry means it’s Canadian, so no feathers. The beef is labeled “Angus,” though the poor marbling on the rib steak pictured isn’t so impressive.

In any case, new customers who use coupon code “newcustomer” get 10% off their first purchase. Please come back and share your experiences if you try them out.

When I learned a few years ago that Sassafras (the original flavoring for root beer) grew in abundance in Brooklyn, I was determined to brew some of my own root beer. After all, I have a thing for kitchen-chemistry. When I found myself cycling through Prospect Park (where sassafras can be found in abundance) with my daughter the other week, I decided it was time to try.

It was an easy matter for us to locate sassafras-saplings, and we collected several roots. They went into the refrigerator at home until I could get the other ingredients. I had purchased Stephen Cresswell’s Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop a while back, and I was going to make his Three Root Beer. The other roots I needed were burdock (purchased at the local Whole Foods Market) and licorice (purchased at Kalustyan’s). I was going to use regular instant-yeast (instead of the recommended ale-yeast) which I had at home.

The basic recipe goes like this:
1) Boil the roots in water for about a half an hour.
2) Add sugar and boil until disolved.
3) Remove from heat, strain out the solids and cool to a temperature that won’t kill the yeast. I waited for 100°F.
4) Add yeast and stir until dissolved. Since I was using instant yeast, this was fairly quick.
5) Put mix in bottles. I used 1.5 liter soda bottles, cleaned very well. Leave an inch or two of head-space.
6) Leave bottles for 2 days at room temperature.

After 2 days, the bottles were hard, from the buildup of gas. Time to refrigerate them, which stops the yeast. When they were cold, it was time to try it. It worked - I had made my own soda! There was a definite root-beer flavor, but the other roots added their own flavors. It was a very refreshing result.

Here’s a recipe I came across for a parmesan cheese substitute that’s kosher, pareve and even vegan (I’m told). I’ve looked far and wide for a product that I could use in my meatloaf or meatballs. This one fits the bill - and it gave my dishes amazing flavor. Parmesan cheese is very umami-rich, so it makes sense to use miso & yeast, which are both umami-rich foods.

1/2 cup almond flour or well ground, blanched almonds
2 tablespoons Red Star nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons chickpea miso (Miso Master brand is certified by the Atlanta Kashruth Commission)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients well in a food processor.

A friend of mine likes to buy produce at Haymarket, mainly, she says, for the “experience.” I’ve lived in the Boston area for close to a decade, but until this past Friday, I never got around to going to Haymarket. It’s open Fridays and Saturdays only, which doesn’t quite fit my routine (usually involving shopping and cooking for Shabbat Thursday night and then eating leftovers for several days).

Classes are over, though, and the weather has been nice, so I decided to make the trek. But first, of course, I had to Google “Haymarket Boston” to find out what to expect. The general consensus seemed to be that the market is characterized by crowds, rude vendors, and lousy produce, but with prices low enough to make it worthwhile.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the produce. Most of it was as good or better than what I usually find at the supermarket, and the crowds and vendors weren’t too bad, either. I attribute this mainly to my having gone Friday morning. The prices were, as advertised, ridiculously low. (This is apparently due to the low overhead cost of running a booth at an outdoor market as opposed to a store.)

I spent exactly $20. Here’s what I got:

• 3 lbs. rhubarb
• 2 lbs. strawberries
• 1 lb blueberries
• 1 lb raspberries
• 1/2 lb blackberries
• 2 heads Boston lettuce
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 bunch radishes
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 bunch parsley
• 4 red peppers
• 6 large lemons
• 7 tomatoes on the vine
• 1 Vidalia onion
• 1 ginger root

Two of the peppers turned out to be rotten inside, some of the berries were sour, and the tomatoes got smooshed on the T, but for what I paid, it hardly mattered. We’ve had many salads since then, and there are mixed berry sorbet and Moroccan preserved lemons in the works.

In conclusion, I highly recommend not having a real job if you live in the Boston area and want good quality, dirt-cheap produce. If that’s not an option, consider taking a Friday off at some point, for the experience.

(Cross-posted to Apikorsus)