<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

First I will apologize for the delay in posting this followup to my
previous posts. I had to ignore my email for about a week and a half
between getting ready for Passover & catching a bad cold which made me
very tired.

I had several different comments on my previous postings about items
that are kosher for passover.  The first involved my saying that the
items on the lists which are on the www were free of any gluten grains.
I read over the posting and realized that it was  not as clear as it
should have been in the original posting.

As I have indicated in another posting there are various forms of matzah
which of course are not gf HOWEVER they are used in FOOD that is Kosher
for Passover (KFP). These forms of matzah are as follows:

SO DO NOT EAT.
 Matzah is made as a whole piece, using a specific recipe.
 Tiny chunks of matzah are called matzah farfel or fahfal.
 Ground up matzah is matzah meal.
 Ground up even further it's cake meal.
 They all start out as wheat and water. Avoid them all!
 Plus Passover flour which is finely ground up matzah.

The lists I provided links to are mainly lists which indicate drugs,
cosmetics, etc that would not contain matzah (which is the only possible
source of gluten during passover and although nothing is 100 percent I
don't know why any drug company or cosmetic company or cleanser/soap
manufacturer would use this in their products since the cost would be
higher than using starches made from  corn, potato, etc.) What these
lists are is a compilation that is done annually where people request in
writing from the various companies what items are free of wheat, oats,
rye, spelt and barley (these are the 5 grains that are Biblically
forbidden on Passover, however the various forms of wheat such as kamut
are still considered wheat). The O-U list is of the items they certify
as kosher year round & so they can indicate which do not need a special
kosher for passover certification. They also indicate the items under
their certification that require a KFP certification (which may have
involved a special cleaning of the equipment and a special run of the
product with KFP substitutes for things like vinegar, starches, etc).
The Star-K list indicates items that don't need special passover
certification, plus some items that do require KFP certification. Just
remember that requiring KFP certification does NOT mean the item
contains gluten year round. These two kosher certifying organizations
require that the food items also be kitniyot free (ie no legumes,
millet, rice, mustard seed, peanuts, etc).


Another area I got comments about was the fact that I indicated these
foods do not contain kitniyot flour (legumes, corn, rice, millet,
mustard seed, etc) because some Sephardim (which I am also) can eat
kitniyot  and so there are some products that are made with kitniyot.
However I still stick to what I originally said. They do not contain the
FLOUR.

However most products that I have seen available are either obviously
containing these ingredients (ie rice cakes, hummos), or they do not
have ingredient lists that are in English so how could someone that does
not read Hebrew verify if these even contained matzah (ie gluten). Of
course I did not find dijon mustard from France, which is kosher for
passover when I bought some 5 years ago, which is in French however it
does not have matzah in the ingredients (I am away from home right now,
but when I get home if anyone is interested I can give them the brand
name, ingredients, etc). I even went to NYC to do some shopping and am
in Israel for Passover so checked out what is available in the stores
since I wanted to stock up on whatever I can safely eat. I did find
items that contained kitniyot but they were not FLOUR. I will be looking
more carefully next year to try to find a better selection to verify
what I have been seeing regarding the labeling of KFP products with
kitniyot.

The value of knowing which items contain kitniyot is for those of us
with allergies to these ingredients. If you are allergic to corn, etc
then it is safest to stick with the five major kosher certifying
companies (Kof-K, Circle-K, O-U, Star-K and KAJ--which I explained what
they look like in Part III of this post) because they do not use
kitniyot in any of their food products that they certify as KFP.


I was asked what items I buy for passover and this is a brief list
(which turned out to be even longer than I expected!!!) of the items I
personally buy that are Kosher for Passover(KFP). Please remember that I
also keep kosher and many items that are gf are not kosher. I also buy
some items because I try to keep down on my exposure to soy & corn (I am
mildly allergic to corn) which are not in the items I buy at Passover.

The kosher symbols in the US that would always be
soy/corn/mustard/peanut/etc free for Passover are Circle-k P (circle
with a K inside and a P next to the circle), Star-KP (a star with a K
inside and a P next to the star), KAJ P (the letters KAJ with the P next
to it--the letters KAJ can be alone, in a circle or rectangle, etc), O-
UP (this is a circle with the U inside and a P beside the circle) and
KOF-K P (this is hard for someone that doesn't read Hebrew, it basically
looks like a backwards C with a K inside the letter opening and a P to
the right of the letter. There is another kosher symbol that is similar
to this symbol however I don't think they certify much/any items that
are KFP). This symbol is on Tofutti products so you could check their
packaging to see what it looks like. These symbols can be small so look
around the entire label, plus there is usually a statement in English
"Kosher for Passover". If in doubt ask someone to help you, sometimes
the symbols are hidden or sometimes the nonKFP item is mixed with the
KFP products. This is a known problem and some companies do have
different packaging, but not all companies so be careful.

Some items I don't buy but they are available KFP and are gf:

--Lieber's makes a gf "matzah ball" mix. This has flavorings.

--Rokeach Passover croutons--the package even says gf. However I found
them too fatty tasting. I haven't tried them on a salad.

--Klein's makes a non dairy frozen dessert. I thought it was too sweet,
but it was creamy and is gf/df/soy, etc free. They also make a DF ice
cream cake (they call it a cake roll). This isn't certified kosher by
one of the 5 I listed before but it would also not contain soy, etc. for
those that have to avoid those foods. They also make regular ice cream.

--spaghetti sauce

--salsa

--frozen eggplant parmagiana (too expensive for me and easy enough for
me to make).

--Meal Mart chicken nuggets (easy enough for me to make, but the first
year it sure made life easier). They seem to be made from chopped
chicken which is shaped and fried.

--Meal Mart also makes 2 types of roasts, chicken cutlets (made like the
nuggets but bigger), stuffed cabbage. Frozen dinners such as chicken,
turkey, ribeye, salisbury, salmon. They are expensive. I keep some in
the frig in case I have to go into the hospital.

--Tapioca cakes--these are a substitute for rice cakes. They come in
various flavors. I have never liked them, but they do sell alot of them.

Some items I can buy year round and so do not stock up at Passover
(however I live where there is a grocery store that only carries kosher
products and a reasonably large population that keeps kosher):

--gefilta fish (I only use frozen and Schindler's has been making a gf
one year round). Some brands only make gf at passover, however I prefer
it without any starch (ie no potato starch to substitute for the matzah
meal).

--cold cuts/Poultry products from Empire with OU-P. Most of their
products are KFP, they have a gf list.

--pudding

--pickles

--salad dressing (fat free)--some of the flavors available are Italian,
Basil & Tomato, Balsamic/Red Wine/French Vinaigrette, Creamy Garlic.
However I do get my basics at passover and fill in during the year. I
suspect availability depends on how your local grocery operates. So do
not count on this being available year round.

--Potato Starch--I can get 1 1/2 pounds for $1.69 in a sealed container.
However this is usually the leftovers from last Passover so I have been
buying my years supply at Passover.

--Potato Latke mixes

--Cerus Juice from South Africa--the flavors are tropic fruits like
Litchi, Mango, various blends, Lingonberry, etc. VERY GOOD.

--Swiss chocolate bars from Maestrani/Schmerling. They have various
flavors, both dairy & pareve.

--Cheese--some that I can get locally are smoked mozzarella, marinated
mozzarella, edam, American Cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, feta, various
chevre cheese, swiss, muenster, low fat cheeses, etc. Most but not all
Kosher cheeses are KFP year round.

--Rokeach Mushroom soup--df & gf

--Rokeach Tomato soup--also df & gf

--Freeda vitamins

--Adwe products such as toothpaste, aspirin, mouthwash, etc.
718-788-6838 (I can only use their toothpaste, something in even the gf
toothpaste makes me nauseous).

Items I buy at Passover for later use:

--frozen dinners from Meal Mart (I buy about 5 annually in case I have
to go in the hospital). I have been saving the containers so I can also
make up my own dinners and have them later.

--Passover Crumbs from Paskez. I really like the "matzah balls" from
this mix. I tried freezing them but it didn't meet my standards.
Oberlander's (which makes cakes) also makes this. I bought 1 package to
try & will let you know before passover next year how it worked. The
ingredients are slightly different than Paskez.

--macaroons

--Potato sticks from Golden Fluff Inc, Lakewood NJ with flavors
like BBQ or garlic-onion.

--Potato & cheese blintz's (mainly to use for Shavuos so it is easier to
prepare for the holiday)

--cakes/cookies (I had previously provided information on various
companies that make these)

--Bazooka bubblegum

--Rokeach Passover noodles & Flaum noodles(these are from Potato starch.
Last year I got Osem brand which was AWFUL, this brand is much better
than Osem even if not as good as from semolina. 12 ounces is $2.59 for
Rokeah) Be careful there are Passover macaroni/noodles/sphaghetti that
is made from matzah. Both brands were good. I have a noodle kugle that I
want to see if it will work with the Flaum noodles.

--Spray oil that is butter flavor and DF (was made this year but could
not find in any of the stores I went to for shopping)

--pareve kiske (kiske for those that do not know was originally stuffed
intestines that was usually prepared for shabbos it can include meat
fat, chopped vegetables and starch, this is definitely a food that takes
getting use to, I do have a good recipe made without meat but do not
always have the time to make it plus I find it is one of those recipes
that I can never make a small portion)

--Jam/Jelly (some are available year round but the largest
selection/cheapest brands are only available at Passover)

--dairy products such as Light n'Lively cottage cheese from Kraft (boy
do I miss that the rest of the year). Kraft does a special run of some
of their products for Passover. Plus various companies make all the
normal items like butter , yogurt, ricotta cheese, farmers cheese, sour
cream, cream cheese, etc A good way to verify if you are lactose
intolerant or there is some hidden gluten in your dairy products.

--Pickled Herring

--Horseradish (I have seen postings that Gold's is gf year round, need
to check myself--Tulkoff brand is available locally and is ok through
Nov 2002)

--baking powder--this way I ensure I have fresh each year and have a
brand that is also aluminum free and gf and kosher

--Chocolate chips--these are df, gf, soy free. I can get df year round,
but don't want to bother checking if they are also gf.

--cranberry jelly--this is to avoid the corn syrup and it is mainly for
the kids

--soup mixes such as mushroom, chicken broth, vegetable, onion

--sardines in tomato sauce

--tomato paste

--Duck sauce

--BBQ sauces--lots of different flavors. I don't use alot of this so
buying at Passover means I don't need to check plus it doesn't have corn
syrup, etc.

--liquors--this I have to check every year. We don't get most of the
types available here in Maryland. I would have to go to NY to
get the full selection.

I did go to NYC to check out if there were more items that were gf that
I could not get in Baltimore. I did find a few items that I was
interested in buying again next year (such as the Flaum noodles, smoked
turkey breast, bbq turkey breast) so will probably go again next year. I
also talked to someone from Toronto and she informed me that Kosher for
Passover items there are about 4X what they were in NYC.

I hope this information helps someone even if it is a little late during
passover (which ends Israel this Saturday night and outside Israel
Sunday night). Some items will still be in the stores after the holidays
so it's still worth looking.

Betsey Carus
Baltimore, MD USA currently in Jerusalem Israel