The word Kosher is Hebrew and is the set of laws that govern the selection and preparation of food eaten by observant Jews. The laws of Kosher are based in the Torah, and are expounded upon further in the Talmud and many books set forth by Jewish scholars over the last several thousand years.

The Basics:

1. Certain animals are not kosher, and therefore not consumed ever by individuals that eat kosher. These include shellfish, pig, any fish that does not have both fins and scales (such as shark or catfish) and any animal that does not have split hooves and chew its cud (such as, um.., bears).  Birds are individually identified in the Torah as either kosher or non-kosher; I won’t go into the list here, but chicken and turkey made the grade.
2. In order to be considered kosher, animals (beast and fowl) must be ritually slaughtered, checked for the health of the animal (an animal with physical deformities or disease identified after slaughter is rendered non-kosher)  and the meat must be soaked and salted in a multi-stage process prior to being eaten. For this reason, ‘kosher meat’ , which is meat that comes from an acceptable animal, has been slaughtered per the laws of kosher, and has been soaked and salted, tends to be more expensive than non-kosher meat.
3. Milk (and milk derived products), and Meat (and meat derived products) are never combined in a kosher kitchen.  Due to some complex rules of interpretation, fowl are categorized with meat items.  Items that are not derived from meat or milk, such as vegetables, grains, legumes, and eggs, and fish, are considered Parve, and can be eaten with either meat or milk items.  As an example, a burger is never eaten with cheese, and milk is never served with a chicken dish.
4. In order to make sure that meat and milk are never combined, the laws of kosher state that separate pots, pans, and utensils must be used to prepare, cook, and serve meat and dairy foods.
5. In order to be sure that no unacceptable animal products, or unacceptable mixing of meat and dairy happens at any point in the food preparation or packaging of prepared foods, only foods with an acceptable Hechsher, or kosher symbol, on the packaging are used. The Hechsher indicates that kosher supervision was on-hand at the plant and during the preparation of the food item to make sure that all laws of kosher were observed.
6. There’s more, but these are the basics and will help you understand my recipe and ingredient choices!

Online References:

Some Reading Material: