Are Trout Kosher?

It is true that trout is a fish that is typically considered to be kosher. The literal translation of the word kosher is ‘fit’. The tern Kosher is primarily used when referencing to food that has been prepared and eaten according to ‘kashrut’ or Jewish dietary laws. In order for something to be considered kosher the basic rules have to be applied:

• Fish must have scales and fins and must come from a kosher species.
• If a packaging that the fish is in has the kosher certification it doesn’t necessarily have to have the skin on it, although it does make verification easier.
• Land animals must have split hooves and chew their cud.
• Birds cannot be amongst the foods that are listed forbidden in the Torah and cannot be hunters/scavengers.
• Animals are required to be killed in a specific manner and must be free of all disease
• Any type of meat and/or poultry must be certified kosher.
• Meat and dairy are not to be combined in any way. (poultry is considered meat as well in this case). Products that contain dairy byproducts cannot be combined with meat either.
• Fish and/or meat cannot be served on the same dish or at the same time.
• Some groups consider milk to be acceptable but some groups will still require a kosher certification for the milk.
• Some groups do not eat certain vegetables because they consider them to be too unsanitary and hard to clean bugs and debris off of.
• Any processed ingredient must have kosher certification
• Some groups require that a jew be involved in the food preparation when cooking food.

The following trouts and whitefish are considered to be kosher: Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon, coho salmon, silver salmon, sockeye salmon, blueback salmon, red salmon, Chinook, king salmon, spring salmon, pink salmon, humpback salmon, chum salmon, dog salmon, fall salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout (a.k.a. steelhead), cutthroat trout, golden trout, lake trout, brook trout, Chars, Arctic char, dolly varden, whitefish, ciscos, lake herring, chubs and graylings.

It is also highly recommended that individuals concerned with their trout being kosher to only purchase fish from a reliable kosher fish store, only fish with a skin still intact that can be properly identified. Especially since the FDA has even admitted that species substation is a series problem that commonly occurs.