BESTOWING THE KOSHER SEAL : BAKERY WHIPS UP PASSOVER TREATS.Byline: Sara Catania Daily News Staff Writer The mood was festive at Schwartz Bakery on Tuesday as customers snapped up fragrant Passover cakes and cookies as fast as they came out of the kitchen, whisking them home for the holiday, which will begin at sundown today. But in the back room, an air of concern prevailed as Rabbi Aharon Simkin pondered a rack of Passover bagels. Simkin, a Northridge resident who certifies and monitors kosher food for the Orthodox Union, had focused his furrowed brow on a tray of bagels slightly different from the rest. While most were unadorned, the baked rounds on this sheet were coated with toasted onion. ``Have you cleared this with'' the head rabbi? Simkin asked his assistant. A few flecks of onion may not seem like a matter for concern, but for thousands of Jews celebrating Passover, impeccable observance of dietary laws is an essential part of the holiday. ``I know many people who do not keep kosher at all during the rest of the year,'' Simkin said. ``But when Passover rolls around, they take it very seriously.'' Simkin is one of hundreds of rabbis deployed by the New York-based Orthodox Union to factories, bakeries and butcher shops across the country to monitor the preparation of kosher products and bestow the coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. stamp of approval - a ``U'' encircled en·cir·cle tr.v. en·cir·cled, en·cir·cling, en·cir·cles 1. To form a circle around; surround. See Synonyms at surround. 2. To move or go around completely; make a circuit of. by an ``O.'' Products that meet the stricter Passover standards are marked with a ``P'' as well. The onion-covered bagels, it turned out, would merit the ``P'' designation. In addition to adorning every cake, bagel and box of cookies at Schwartz, the unobtrusive kosher mark is found on many common supermarket products. Passover, during which Jews commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, is an especially busy time of year for Simkin. He wears a beeper beeper - pager and fields hundreds of calls a week from residents, businesses and rabbis with questions. Recently he was asked whether kosher laws apply to pets. The answer, he said, is yes. ``In the Torah it says leavened leav·en n. 1. An agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation. 2. An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole. tr.v. bread may not be found or seen in your possession'' during Passover, Simkin said. ``You may not eat it or benefit from it. Feeding the dog a leavened product would be benefiting from it.'' At Schwartz, the rules are taken to heart. The Passover bakery is one of just a few in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , providing cakes, cookies, bagels and rolls to markets throughout Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Located two doors down from the regular Schwartz Bakery on Fairfax Avenue, the special Passover bakery remains shuttered 11 months of the year. Then, in March, the entire store is stripped and scrubbed, the ovens blow-torched to remove any impurities before the Passover baking begins. The extreme measures are designed to ensure compliance with strict Passover mandates, which heap extra restrictions on top of normal kosher law. Asher Morvay, an assistant to Simkin, has been working at the bakery full time since early March to ensure that Passover kosher laws are followed. ``I'm the kosher police,'' he joked. Fermented wheat, barley, oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other , spelt spelt Subspecies (Triticum aestivum spelta) of wheat that has lax spikes and spikelets containing two light-red kernels. Triticum dicoccon was cultivated by the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Swiss lake dwellers; it is now grown for livestock forage and used in baked and rye are forbidden. Instead of flour, Passover goods are baked with matzo, which is a flat bread made with flour, but completed in less than 18 minutes, before it can ferment ferment /fer·ment/ (fer-ment´) to undergo fermentation; used for the decomposition of carbohydrates. fer·ment n. 1. . Some strictly observant Jews prefer potato starch. Legumes Legumes A family of plants that bear edible seeds in pods, including beans and peas. Mentioned in: Cholesterol, High legumes (l like soy, rice and kidney beans also are forbidden, and corn syrup is banned as well. Normal kosher law mandates no mixing of meat and dairy. Separate plates are used for each. During Passover, two entirely different sets of plates, as well as a separate set of cooking utensils, must be used. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Rabbi Aharon Simkin, left, and his assistant, Asher M orvay, check Schwartz Bakery for compliance with dietary law. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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