It is commonly known that the Poskim debated whether animal bone gelatin is kosher a few generations ago, and the prevailing conclusion in the US was that it is not. This essay will concentrate on the latest advancements in kosher gelatin.
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Porcine Gelatin
Manufacturers have discovered that compared to using animal bones to make gelatin, using the hide or skin of young pigs would need far less bating (see sidebar). Because of this, the majority of gelatin in America is porcine, or derived from pigs, and the better gelatin, which is derived from bones, is saved for use in photography. The following are the halachic implications of this:
Even if they originate from an unkosher or non-slaughtered animal (see Rambam, Hil. Ma’acholos Asuros 4:18), animal bones and hides are deemed inedible and “kosher” and are only prohibited during the mid-rabannan period. But after just two halachos, the Rambam quotes the Mishnah, which lists several exceptions to the previously established norm. The skins of domesticated pigs are one exception; they are regarded as edible, have the halachic status of flesh, and are unquestionably not kosher. Therefore, it would be more difficult for those who claimed that gelatin derived from cow hides or from bones is kosher to maintain that claim in the case of gelatin derived from pig hides.
Fish Gelatin Kosher
For many years, there was no completely kosher gelatin accessible, despite the fact that kosher meat gelatin was created in limited quantities many decades ago. However, some entrepreneurial businesspeople decided to test the market with some kosher gelatin—made from fish skins—after enough customers demanded kosher marshmallows.
The first task was to gather a sizable stockpile of kosher fish skins. There were plenty of fish to be acquired, but how could the Rabbis who were certifying fish know that the skins they were using came from kosher species? It is quite obvious that the only fish skins accessible are those of kosher fish, hence some Rabbis were pleased if the fish skins came from a firm that exclusively produces kosher fish. Some, however, have a stricter stance on fish, believing that a Jew must check every fish (or fish skin) to ensure that it comes from a kosher fish mid’rabannan. This was nearly difficult because of the manner the fish skins were handled during transportation and storage, and it was unclear if there was any leeway.
In response to a query about the possibility that someone would bite into non-kosher fish, Chazal turned to Poskim in the USA, who determined that the previously mentioned Rabbinic mandate to check all fish only pertains to fish that will be ingested whole (such as canned tuna fish). The halacha does not, however, apply in situations such as the production of gelatin, where the fish will be fully combined with the vast majority of kosher fish and processed to the point of becoming a liquid. This viewpoint was presented to Gedolei HaPoskim in Eretz Yisroel, who endorsed this methodology.
It was rapidly combined with additional components, much to the pleasure of Jewish youngsters of all shapes and sizes, so that they could finally taste real marshmallows. However, not just kids consumed the marshmallows. Aside from the occasional nibble, some inventive chefs perused popular cookbooks and discovered meat recipes including marshmallows, which raised the following query.
It is noted in the Gemara, Pesachim 76b, that eating fish and beef together is harmful. It is customary to separate the gefilte fish from the chicken soup since Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 116:2 codifies this. Is it possible to roast meat using marshmallows made from fish? As it happens, the following dispute, which is mentioned in Pischei Teshuvah 116:3, determines how this question should be answered: It is well knowledge that if a little bit of non-kosher food is combined with kosher food, the non-kosher food is considered b’dieved kosher if it is batel b’shishim, or neutralized in 60 times its volume. The question of whether meat and fish are subject to the bitul b’shishim principle is addressed in Darchei Teshuvah. Some contend that the halachos of sakanah, or danger, are more stringent than those of issur, or banned foods, and therefore bitul b’shishim does not apply. The key question about whether or not one may consume fish-based marshmallows with meat is this (as well as other relevant ones). Some Rabbis adopt a more permissive stance, stating that bitul b’shishim does not apply to certain halachos and that one may mix or cook fish gelatin with meat as it is batel b’shishim in marshmallows. [Of course, everyone would agree that the marshmallow cannot be eaten with meat if the fish gelatin isn’t batel b’shishim.
