Nov 24, 2011

Rabbi Metzger Encourages Import of Goose That Tastes Like Pork

For a long time Jews have been finding ways of serving and enjoying kosher foods that are made to taste like non-kosher foods. Mock shrimp and mock bacon come to mind at the moment, though there were probably others as well. I never really understood the need for such foods, except perhaps for baalei teshuva or converts who might miss, and have a desire for, such foods that they enjoyed previously, though at the same time I know there is nothing wrong with making such foods to taste similar to non-kosher foods.

I also seem to remember some statement from Chazal, though I don't remember the source, that every non-kosher animal has a kosher animal that tastes the same. When Hashem created something that is prohibited, He also created a way to have the same thing in a permissible manner.

Srugim is reporting that at a conference held in Kaplan Hospital (in Rehovot) discussing the future of food service in hospitals Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger announced that he has recently approved the import of a kosher goose from Spain that expert chefs testify taste exactly like pork. They are not similar. According to Rabbi Metzger based on what he was old by experts, they are 100% the same.
The Goose That Used To Be Our Pet.
She Did NOT Taste Like Pork, as far as I know

Rabbi Metzger explained that there is nothing wrong with eating foods that taste like non-kosher foods. The gemara talks about a case of Yalta, the wife of Rav Nachman, who had a craving for pork. Rav achman instructed her to eat the Shibota fish which is known to taste the same.

Mock foods are not the same as real foods. Fake liver is not the same as real liver, no matter how good it is, and mock shrimp is not the same as real shrimp, I don't believe, and mock bacon can't be as good as real bacon.

If this goose meat ever shows up on the shelves of my local supermarket, I am looking forward to trying bacon and eggs. I would never try mock bacon, but this is the real thing, supposedly, and not just something made to taste like something else.
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10 comments:

  1. ben waxmanNovember 24, 2011 2:19 PM

    i don't understand this question at all. why does the chief rabbi have to get involved in this matter? he had to certify that this is indeed a goose?

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  2. AnonymousNovember 24, 2011 2:41 PM

    רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר מנין שלא יאמר אדם נפשי קצה בבשר חזיר, אי אפשי ללבוש כלאים, אבל יאמר אפשי, ומה אעשה ואבי שבשמים גזר עלי, תלמוד לומר ואבדיל אתכם מן העמים להיות לי, שתהא הבדלתכם מהם לשמי, פורש מן העבירה ומקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים: ויקרא כ, כו. רש"י:

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  3. HolyRollerNovember 24, 2011 3:16 PM

    I lovingly remember that goose. You bird killer-eater.

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  4. Shlomo GorenNovember 24, 2011 3:37 PM

    just to clarify the sources:

    thanks to Daf Yomi, Ican tell you that the source about kosher foods tasting like non-kosher foods is from one of the last chapters of Hulin (which we just finished last week), Daf 109b (at the bottom). As a matter of fact, it's the story of Yalta and Rav Nahman mentioned in your post.

    In the story, Yalta asks not for something tasting like pork, which she already knows to be the brain of a Shibouta (which simply means "fish"in Aramaic and might mean that *any* fish brain tastes like pork), but for something tasting like meat-and-milk. Rav Nahman suggests an udder (roasted or boiled, depending on the different opinions in the Gemara).

    BTW, a belated Mazal Tov on the birth of your daughter! May you raise her to Torah and Ma'asim Tovim!

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  5. djNovember 24, 2011 3:53 PM

    I asked a couple of non-Jews at work and they said that goose and pork taste completely different.

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  6. Rafi G.November 24, 2011 4:20 PM

    dj - from the article I am under the impression that this is a very specific strain of goose that tastes like pork. not that all goose tastes like pork. if that were the case, goose is already sold and eaten here and rav metzger would not be saying anything new

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  7. shaya gNovember 24, 2011 4:38 PM

    how do you know that your goose didn't taste like pork? you don't know what pork tastes like. now if you would have shared your petr with your brothers, danny could have offered an opinion. but you chose to strictly kill an eat your pet all to yourselves and not share. :)

    Happy Turkey day - tastes like chicken.

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  8. Rafi G.November 24, 2011 4:46 PM

    I dont know, though Meier had some of our goose as well...so you can ask him if he remembers.

    as I said, it was my impression from the article. Again, if all goose tasted like pork, rabbi metzger would not be saying anything new. one could go to the butcher and buy goose that is already sold here. we wouldnt need a new import.

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  9. AnonymousNovember 27, 2011 1:14 PM

    The product is smoked goose breast. Apparantly it tastes exactly like bacon-the crspy kind. Tried some in a hotel a while back and it was tasty, but then again, I don't know what bacon tastes like. It has been around for a while-its what they call turkey bacon in the US.

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  10. Rafi G.November 27, 2011 1:49 PM

    so you mean it is not a specific type of goose, but a specific way of preparing the goose meat?

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