The Torah forbids eating meat and dairy products together as well as cooking or preparing them together so a kosher pizza can never contain meat. And there are very strict laws governing the type of cheese that can be used to make a kosher pizza. Understanding the guidelines for kosher food production will be helpful in understanding what can and can’t be included in a kosher pizza.
The Cheese
Only kosher cheese can be used on a pizza that is to be considered kosher. This entails a special production process which follows kosher law and it must be supervised by a qualified Jew to ensure the law is strictly followed. This includes the addition of the enzyme rennet, which is animal based but must be obtained in a very specific manner. And because a kosher pizza never contains any meat, there are often several types of kosher cheese used to add interest and a variety of flavors to the pizza.
Grain Is Important Too
The pizza crust must also be made with kosher flour which contains special grain. The grain must have taken root prior to Passover of the current year to be considered kosher. And the dough must not be prepared on the Sabbath Day.
Other Toppings
Due to kosher law, most Jews do not consider the following items to meet with kosher standards and are therefore not found on a kosher pizza:
- Fish products
- Seafood
- Salami
- Sausage
- Peperoni
- Ground beef
- Shrimp
- Ham
- Pineapple- however some Jews feel that because bugs and dirt can be removed from a pineapple that this is a suitable topping.