Editing Kashrut (section)

===Kosher slaughter===
{{Main|Shechita}}
[[File:Schect.jpg|thumb|A 15th-century depiction of {{transliteration|he|[[shechita]]}}]]
Mammals and fowl must be slaughtered by a trained individual (a {{transliteration|he|[[shochet]]}}) using a special method of slaughter, {{transliteration|he|[[shechita]]}}.<ref>{{Tanakhverse|Deuteronomy|12:21}}</ref> {{transliteration|he|Shechita}} slaughter severs the [[jugular vein]], [[carotid artery]], [[esophagus]], and [[Vertebrate trachea|trachea]] in a single continuous cutting movement with an [[shechita#The knife|unserrated, sharp knife]]. Failure to meet any of these criteria renders the meat of the animal non-kosher.

The body of the slaughtered animal must be checked after slaughter to confirm that the animal had no medical condition or defect that would have caused it to die of its own accord within a year, which would make the meat unsuitable.<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 1–65</ref>

These conditions ({{transliteration|he|[[Terefah|treifot]]}}) include 70 different categories of injuries, diseases, and abnormalities whose presence renders the animal non-kosher.

It is forbidden to consume certain parts of the animal, such as certain fats ({{transliteration|he|[[chelev]]}}) and the [[sciatic nerve]]s from the legs, the process of [[Nikkur|excision]] being done by experts before the meat is sold.

As much blood as possible must be removed<ref>{{Tanakhverse|Leviticus|17:10}}</ref> through the {{transliteration|he|kashering}} process; this is usually done through soaking and salting the meat, but the [[liver (food)|liver]], as it is rich in blood, is grilled over an open flame.<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 66–78</ref>

Fish (and kosher locusts, for those who follow the traditions permitting them) must be killed before being eaten, but no particular method has been specified in Jewish law.<ref>{{cite web|title=ABCs of Kosher|date=9 May 2009 |url=http://www.aish.com/jl/m/mm/48958906.html|publisher=[[Aish HaTorah]]|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Locusts Go Biblical – But Are They Kosher?|url=http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/172409/locusts-go-biblical-but-are-they-kosher/|work=[[The Jewish Daily Forward]]|access-date=March 15, 2013|archive-date=March 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314233426/http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/172409/locusts-go-biblical-but-are-they-kosher/}}</ref> [[Legal aspects of ritual slaughter]] are governed not only by Jewish law but civil law as well.

Some believe that this ensures the animal dies instantly without [[Tza'ar ba'alei hayyim|unnecessary suffering]], but many [[animal rights]] activists view the process as cruel, claiming that the animal may not lose consciousness immediately, and activists have called for it to be banned.<ref name="theAgeArticle">{{cite web|date=2007-08-03|title=Sheep killing branded cruel|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/sheep-killing-branded-cruel/2007/08/02/1185648061374.html?page=2|access-date=2011-12-03|publisher=The Age}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2003-06-10|title=Halal and Kosher slaughter 'must end'|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2977086.stm|access-date=2010-05-07}}</ref>

====Preparation of meats====
When an animal is ritually slaughtered ({{transliteration|he|shechted}}) the raw meat is traditionally cut, salted, and rinsed, prior to cooking. Salting of raw meat draws out the blood that lodges on the inner surface of the meat. The salting is done with coarse grain salt, commonly referred to as [[kosher salt]], after which the meat is laid over a grating or [[colander]] to allow for drainage, remaining so for the duration of time that it takes to walk one [[biblical mile]]<ref>[[Shulhan Arukh]], ''Yoreh De'ah'' 69:6, 69:16–19</ref> (approximately 18–24 minutes). Afterwards, the residue of salt is rinsed away with water, and the meat cooked.

Meat that is roasted requires no prior salting, as fire causes a natural purging  of blood.

{{transliteration|he|Turei Zahav}} ("Taz"), a 17th-century commentary on the ''[[Shulchan Arukh]]'', ruled that the pieces of meat can be "very thick" when salting.<ref>Shulhan Arukh, ''Yoreh De'ah'', § 69:5; ''Turei Zahav'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 69:5:16</ref> The [[Yemenite Jewish]] practice, however, follows [[Saadiah Gaon]], who required that the meat not be larger than half a "rotal" (i.e. roughly {{convert|216|g}}) when salting.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alfasi|first=Y. |author-link=Isaac Alfasi |title=R. Yitzhak al-Fasi's Commentary on Tractate Hullin (Chapter Kol ha-Basar)|editor=[[Yosef Qafih]] |date=1960 |publisher=ha-Agudah le-Hatzalat Ginzei Teiman|page=98 |language=he |oclc=745065428 |title-link=Hullin }}</ref> This allows the effects of the salt to penetrate.

Some Orthodox Jewish communities require the additional stricture of submersing raw meat in boiling water prior to cooking it, a practice known as {{transliteration|he|ḥaliṭah}} ({{Langx|he|חליטה}}), "blanching."<ref>[[Maimonides]], ''[[Mishne Torah]]'' (''Hil. Ma'achaloth Asuroth'' 6:10); cf. Babylonian Talmud, ''Hullin'' 111a.</ref> This was believed to constrict the blood lodged within the meat, to prevent it from oozing out when the meat was eaten. The raw meat is left in the pot of boiling water for as long as it takes for the meat to whiten on its outer layer.

If someone wanted to use the water for soup after making {{transliteration|he|ḥaliṭah}} in the same pot, they could simply scoop out the film, froth and scum that surface in the boiling water.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

{{transliteration|he|Ḥaliṭah}} is not required when roasting meat over a fire, as the fire constricts the blood.