Those grasshoppers

[magid]

Some Jews are said to have a mesorah (tradition) about the particular kind of grasshoppers that are kosher (thank goodness, I don't have the option). Question: are kosher grasshoppers fleishig or pareve?

Comments

[gothtique.livejournal.com]

I would have said fleishig... but I always thought bugs were out all together.
hmmm... off my menu, regardless!

[geekosaur]

Insects are out except for four particular species of locust/grasshopper, per the Torah. Most communities no longer know precisely which four species (and the Torah doesn't specify in detail), but some (in particular the Yemenite Jews) still preserve a tradition of which species are permitted.

This article says:

Locusts share many features with fish: They are pareve, there is no requirement to ritually slaughter them and their brachah is she’hakol. They are also an excellent protein source.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I knew about not needing to be shechted*; I should've guessed from that that they're like fish.


* I remember learning something about that, and being horribly distracted by the thought of if they did need shechting, what little itsy bitsy knives the shochtim would have to carry around :-).

[(Anonymous)]

I learned differently. I was told of a special pin-like implement used by shochets to ritually slaughter locusts.

[magid.livejournal.com]

No wonder they fell out of regular menus, then; the time involved would be enormous.

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

I would have assumed that the reason locusts were Kosher is that when they are swarming, they may be the only food source in plentiful supply, and you don't want people to wait until they are dying of starvation to eat them.

(I was taught that most Halachot evolved from practical(*) necessities of one sort or another, not that they were arbitrarily set by G-d. Your traditions may vary.)

Practical == necessary for physical, mental, spiritual, or moral well-being of people and communities.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

Parev. Keep in mind that, doreitah, only domesticated animals (behaimah) are prohibitted from being mixed with milk. Wild animals such as deer (chayah) and fowl are only prohibitted by Rabbinic tradition, lest, seeing animal flesh consumed with milk, we draw the wrong conclusion and commit error.

Bugs, like fish, are sufficient different from domestic beast flesh that no one is likely to draw an improper conclusion. Hence there is no need for a Rabbinic prohibition.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

I have sooooo lost my appetite for the day.

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

But remember, like all humans, you have specialized digestive enzymes for breaking down chitin (the protein in insect shells.)

[magid.livejournal.com]

There's also chitin in mushrooms, especially the stems.

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

Cool, I learned something new today!

[magid.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't tell you about the chocolate-covered ants I saw at Cardullo's, then, or the other insect lollipops?