The Jewish law definition of kosher meat finds its roots in the Jewish Torah in a passage located in the book of Exodus. The passage actually says "Do not eat meat from an animal torn in the field”. There are other books such as the Talmud that goes into depth in explaining what exactly to look for. That passage uses a term that is currently used to define all defiled or kosher food the term being “treif”.
The term Glatt is a Yiddish word used in conjunction with kosher meat when describing the highest standards in kosher. The Hebrew version of the same word is chalak. The term glatt should not be used in conjunction with dairy products, and fish although the word does get used a lot to describe the level of “kosherness” of food.
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| Beit Yoseph |
The exact steps taken to ensure glatt kosher are based off a manuscript written by a 1600's Spanish born sage name Rabbi Yoseph (Joseph) Karo called Beit Yoseph. The sage Rabbi Karo believed with the expulsion of Jews from the Pyrenean Peninsula and with the advances of printed books should allow all Jews not just the very learned to understand the laws. The Bet Yoseph was re-written in a more simplistic format and named the Shulchan Aruch.
Making sure an animal is glatt kosher involves an examination of the animal for defects including broken limbs, lesions, cuts or lacerations and more. An examination of the lungs inside the actual animal and once is is removed from the animal that it does not have punctures.
The Sephardic communities require only glatt or chalak kosher meat to be consumed. The combination of an intense examination, ruling out any blemishes, and or stuff attached to the lungs of any sort, and slaughter make up this designation.
Ashkenazi (European descendant) following of kosher law allow removable “stuff” attached to the lungs so long as it is no more than two small ones (adhesions), and allow this meat to be considered kosher, just non glatt. Non glatt meat is still accepted as one hundred percent kosher.
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