Why is corn on the cob not kosher???

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  • #597496
    quark2
    Member

    I went to two restaurants in Lakewood. Both under KCL. Both have corn on the cob on their menu, but don’t serve it because the mashgiach said its not kosher. Can someone please tell me what is the kashrus problem with corn on the cob?

    #1021263
    HaLeiVi
    Participant

    Small bugs that hide between kernels as soon as they are exposed. So far nobody has discovered a method to effectively get rid of them.

    #1021265
    amichai
    Participant

    because of the checking for little bugs. we do not buy it here in eretz yisroel.

    #1021267
    splenda
    Member

    ALL corn on the cob is now not allowed to be eaten??

    Is this the psak of specific kashrus agencies or all major poskim?

    #1021268
    ☕️coffee addict
    Participant

    What?!?!

    I’ve always eaten corn on the cob

    heres a link to the star-k website regarding corn on the cob

    http://star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=21

    #1021269
    tomim tihye
    Member

    Corn is not suitable for human consumption anyway. It’s animal fodder.

    #1021272
    smartcookie
    Member

    Not Kosher? Please phrase your sentences correctly. They’re very kosher, yet can be very highly infested so many people don’t eat them.

    #1021273
    ZachKessin
    Member

    My 2 year old loves corn on the cob. We made it once and my wife gave him some. He loved it!

    #1021274
    gavra_at_work
    Participant

    Lakewood must have a bug issue (I guess the area around Lakewood is infested with bugs), so they should watch for them. B’Derech Klal in the rest of the US, it is not a problem.

    #1021275

    It is not allowed in eretz yisroel. There is a major and ubiquitous infestation there. It is not a problem in the us. I dont know what the op was talking about.

    #1021277

    i have been informed by “smartcookie” that indeed there is a problem in the us as well

    #1021278
    apushatayid
    Participant

    http://www.star-k.org/cons-vegdetail.php?ID=21

    Corn on the Cob is kosher. The insects that may be infesting the cob are not. This hashgacha does not want to take the time to properly check (which is certainly their choice) the ears of corn for insects, or the store does not want to pay for someone to properly check. To state that the corn is not kosher is foolish, and false. They should have told you, we dont want to check for bugs (or, we’d rather not pay the mashgiach to do this because it isnt worth it) , so are not serving it at this time.

    #1021279

    starK and cRc both say there is no problem. you just have to take a look and make sure there is no obvious bugs present. you dont even have to wash it. i cant find anything on the OK site

    #1021280
    minyan gal
    Member

    tomim tihye – In the early 1950’s my parents took a motor trip from Canada to Mexico. While driving through Texas they saw countless field of corn growing, but could never find any on the menus of any restaurants they went to. Because it was the middle of winter, it would have been a real treat for them. Finally, they asked at one restaurant why nobody served corn on the cob. They were informed(with an extreme southern drawl): “Man, that is hog food. We never eat it.”

    #1021281

    on the other hand an alert from kashrut.com, dated 6/3/11:

    “Corn on the Cob: Recently, kashrus agencies have reported finding insects in corn on the cob. When the husk is removed, these insects scurry inside in between the niblets. Frozen corn on the cob and canned corn do not appear to have a problem.

    Guidelines to preparing corn on the cob:

    Do not cook with the husk on.

    Do not barbeque raw corn. Cook it first.

    Remove the husks, wash the corn, and inspect well. Do not cook what has holes or is rotting.

    After cooking, check the water, especially the top of the water. If insects or worms are found there, discard the corn.

    Ed. note (6/15/11): The cRc and Star-K have not found infestation in the corn that they examined.

    #1021282
    Avram in MD
    Participant

    Sweet corn (the type we boil or grill to eat as “corn on the cob”) I believe is a different variety than most of the stuff you see growing in the vast corn fields of the midwest (a big component of which is animal feed).

    #1021284
    HaLeiVi
    Participant

    The thread being open or closed has something to do with if corn is a problem in America or not!?

    #1021285
    A Heimishe Mom
    Participant

    The Kashrus orginization in Denver found a problem with bugs that burrow deep into the corn as soon as you remove the husks. The star-K and cRc have not found this problem.

    A) even Denver says canned is fine

    B) perhaps it is regional and the New York area isn’t infested with the same bugs

    #1021286

    it was closed because of all the anti-frum posts coming in (deleted) decrying the unnecessary chumros.

    it was re-opened because smartccokie understood that there IS a problem in america and that my post was mistaken and could cause some people to stumble. on the chance that he was correct i felt it important to modify my post and hear some more discussion

    #1021288
    apushatayid
    Participant

    Farmers grow three types of corn (I learned this on a trip to a pick your own farm a few summers ago). Flint, sweet and dent, also called field. As Avram said, sweet corn is what you buy at the local grocery to eat off the cob. Flint corn is quite hard and is sold as popping corn and is used as animal feed. Field corn is used to make masa dough (think tortillas) and is also animal feed.

    #1021289
    quark2
    Member

    Hog food LOL. did you ever eat corn on the cob? its very sweet and tasty. like someone else said there are many different kinds of corn. i think the aim magazine recently ran an article on this.

    BTW hogs also drink water

    #1021290
    quark2
    Member

    mod 80 – “I dont know what the op was talking about.”

    The op was talking about the opinion if the KCL, one of the most respected kashrus agencies in Lakewood and the entire frum world

    #1021291
    apushatayid
    Participant

    I have no idea what type of corn is used to make ethanol, but it is driving up the price of animal feed, resulting in higher costs for meat and poultry. what you save on the gas to the grocery store, you pay in the form of higher meat and poultry prices. 🙁

    #1021292
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    There was an interview conducted with R’ Moshe Vaye, in which it is indicated that he feels it’s a problem in the U.S. Although it doesn’t say it outright, the only thing he mentions which is problematic in E.Y. but not in the U.S. is flour.

    Mod 80, thanks for reopening. It did seem as if you were paskening the shaila and closing the thread for further discussion!

    http://www.lakewood246.com/news/15573/beware-the-bugs-an-interview-with-rav-moshe-vaye.html

    #1021293

    yes quark, until very recently there has been no problem with cotc in america according to all (or certainly the majority) of major kashrus agencies. although the interview with R’ Vaye was from a year ago and indicated there IS a problem, he lives in Yerushalayim.

    this apparently is a problem only a few weeks old, as far as i can tell so far, that is why i didnt know what the op was talking about in his anectodal reporting of an incident.

    #1021294
    blinky
    Participant

    This thread is corny

    #1021295
    ☕️coffee addict
    Participant

    This thread is corny

    wump wump

    #1021296

    The op was talking about the opinion if the KCL, one of the most respected kashrus agencies in Lakewood and the entire frum world

    I keep reading it as potassium.

    #1021297

    Make that potassium chloride.

    #1021298
    charliehall
    Participant

    “Corn is not suitable for human consumption anyway. It’s animal fodder.”

    Corn has been eaten by humans for thousands of years.

    #1021299
    Ralphie
    Member

    Corn on the cob is kosher. It’s just those little bugs that burrow their way under the kernels so you can’t see them that are the problem.

    #1021300

    some kinds of corn are eaten by humans

    some kinds are only suitable for animal fodder

    it also depends at what stage it is picked

    wikipedia has a nice description

    #1021301
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Corn on the cob is kosher. It’s just those little bugs that burrow their way under the kernels so you can’t see them that are the problem.

    I guess the waiter who said it’s not kosher is not such a big lamdan.

    #1021302
    apple
    Participant

    it’s kosher for me…..:)

    #1021303
    popa_bar_abba
    Participant

    Corn on the cob is not kosher. It is made from pigs feet.

    #1021304
    emlf
    Member

    Rabbi Blumenkrantz zt”l in his Pesach sefer from several years back indicated a problem with corn on the cob. This is not new, but maybe wasn’t discussed so much in the past. And over three years ago, I saw

    (I know. Ashkenazim don’t eat corn on Pesach – kitniyos. Rabbi Blumenkrantz’s sefer has a section on checking fruits and veggies; the section isn’t limited to Pesach.)

    The following information is found on the Union of Orthodox Synagogues – South Africa. I know many readers here are not from South Africa, but it’s still of interest:

    CORN (MIELIES)

    In this country, both white and yellow mielies on the cob have often been found to be infested. It is impossible to get rid of the infestation whilst still on the cob, as the thrip hides between the kernels.

    In order to eat mielies:

    Equipment required: detergent, bowl, sieve / colander

    1. Cut all the kernels off the cob,

    2. Soak them for 3 minutes in very soapy water, and

    3. Thoroughly rinse them through a sieve or colander.

    4. Cook and enjoy!

    Alternatively:

    Equipment required: sieve / colander

    1. Cook the corn whilst still on the cob

    2. Cut all the kernels off the cob,

    3. Thoroughly rinse them through a sieve or colander.

    4. Discard the water that the corn was cooked in.

    Frozen or Tinned Corn may be used as these have been extremely thoroughly rinsed in the factory.

    #1021305
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    80: Why are posts saying that a vegetable is kosher “anti-frum”? Or were people being rude about it?

    FWIW, I never heard of any problem with corn and I’ve never found a bug in it.

    #1021306
    Pac-Man
    Member

    Have you looked for them?

    #1021307
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    Joseph: Yes.

    I really hope this doesn’t turn into yet another “thing” in kashrus. We have enough worthwhile things to fight about like the porcine coffee of starbucks. 😛

    #1021308
    HaLeiVi
    Participant

    Thanks, 80. I can only imagine.

    #1021309
    cherrybim
    Participant

    It is unlikely that a commercial food establishment is going to cut fruit with a knife used for other foods since that knife even when clean, will impart a strange unpleasant flavor to the fruit.

    #1021310
    Jersey Jew
    Participant

    The mishigasim that come from the “holy” city of lakewood are amazing. Bugs in corn? I looked on a number of ears. THERE WAS NOTHING!

    #1021311
    mewho
    Participant

    i like corn on the cob

    #1021312
    cinderella
    Participant

    mark levin- maybe they arent visible to the naked eye like the bugs in strawberries and broccoli

    #1021313

    Rince and boil in water, add a little salt and if you are eating milchech, some butter and enjoy

    #1021314
    golden mom
    Member

    This is not a “new” problem I heard it a few years ago! And if u don’t know what the bugs look like u will not find them. I believe I was told it is the same color as the corn itself so it hides very well

    #1021315

    Cotc Is definitely kosher, and it doesn’t have the requirement of chewing it’s cud and having slit feet, the reason why it has been an issue to eat is because it is known to be infested with bugs, to the extent that it is impossible to check to ensure that everysingle one has been cleared out!

    #1021316
    Sam2
    Participant

    @Cinderella: If bugs aren’t visible to the naked eye then they have no Halachic status whatsoever and are perfectly fine to eat. I think you may have meant to say that they are camouflaged/blend into the vegetables.

    #1021317
    Ofcourse
    Member

    Can someone explain how all the heimish companies sell canned corn. How do they “debug” all the corn for thousands of cans a year? Do they all grow in greenhouses? Doubtful.

    #1021318
    Health
    Participant

    quark -“The op was talking about the opinion if the KCL, one of the most respected kashrus agencies in Lakewood and the entire frum world”

    Give it a break – enough with the propaganda.

    And the COOP has frozen corn on the cob, just not fresh.

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