Christian-izing Salt is Just Not Kosher

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Mar 4th 2009 @ 5:01PM

Sit down and prepare yourself for one of the most ridiculous stories to hit the wire in a while.

According to Examiner.com , a retired barber Joe Godlewski was getting sick of seeing so many television chefs gravitate towards kosher salt that he said: "What the heck's the matter with Christian salt?" and has created his own Blessed Christians Salt to compete. What makes his salt so wonderfully Christian? It's sea salt blessed by an Episcopalian priest. Godlewski (inspired by his name?) wants to "keep Christianity on the table, in the household, however I can do it," and claims that it has at least as much flavor and beneficial minerals as kosher salt.

The ignorance in all of this just makes my head hurt. Let's back up to the world of kosher salt. It's not a branded label to sell a religion. It's a type of salt with increased surface area on the crystals, which absorbs blood more efficiently (to stay in line with Jewish dietary law). It is not blessed, but rather examined to make sure that the food and its process are, well, kosher. Television chefs aren't using it to advertise Judaism, but because it's easy to pinch and distribute.

But it gets "better": If the guy succeeds with this project, he'll begin an entire line of Christian-branded foods including rye bread, bagels, and pickles.The kosher salt thing just reeks of ignorance, but this... I never thought Anti-Semitism and money paranoia would extend to any food a Jewish person (along with the rest of the world!) eats. Will this guy go so far as to include unleavened bread as well?

But maybe it's just me. Do you folks watch the use of kosher salt and feel a sudden urge to convert?

Filed Under: New Products
Tags: Blessed Christians Salt, BlessedChristiansSalt, Christian foods, ChristianFoods, kosher salt, KosherSalt

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)

3-04-2009 @5:14PM christopher Furniss said... overzealous x-tians are retarded. But so are overzealous anybodys.
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3-04-2009 @5:25PM Gary said... Before there were Christians, there was Salt. This poor guy needs to have a long talk with a very wise Reverend about how foolish his idea is and how it reduces Christianity to utter nonsense. As a very devote Christian, I am embarrassed by such ignorance among other Christians.
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3-04-2009 @5:31PM Alex said... I'm not entirely sure how anti-Semitism comes in to it ...

I've always wondered what this mysterious 'kosher' salt is that's referenced in American recipes and was pretty disappointed when I found out it was bog standard flaky crystals. On another site I read a rabbi comment that all salt is inherently kosher, in which case using 'kosher' to describe a particular type of salt is not helpful at all.

The guy is clearly a bit ... eccentric, but he's come up with an idea which he thinks is going to be his USP. I'd be more worried about the type of people who'll buy into & embrace his line of Christian household goodies!
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3-04-2009 @5:35PM vale526 said... The salt also can behave differently. When we added it to tempra paint in the nursery school I worked at it would leave a surface glitter when dry. We tried this with other salts and it didn't work. Why I don't know.It's just a different sort of salt.
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3-04-2009 @5:49PM Sarah said... All salt is kosher. Kosher salt would be more accurately called Koshering salt - it is used in the process of kashering meat, that is, salting meat to draw out the blood. (Blood is forbidden under the laws of kashrut)
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3-04-2009 @5:40PM Dr. Electro said... Religion is the leading cause of war. Religious dispute over the dinner table is utterly fractious nonsense.

Salt though? It doesn't matter what religious or dietary significance a particular type of salt has, I can't eat it anyway. It's against my doctor's orders. I'm not the only oldster with heart trouble who can't have it, either.

Simply boycott his product and leave it on the shelf for the Bush neocons to grab up by the handful. It will eventually go away due to market collapse.
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3-04-2009 @5:52PM Gobo said... Alex: Kosher salt is not "bog standard flaky crystals". As was pointed out here by others, it's called Kosher salt not because it's extra-Jewish, but because it's the kind of salt made for "koshering" meat (the process of removing the blood). It's not the same as saltshaker salt or Morton's crystals.
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3-04-2009 @5:57PM Dr. Electro said... I worked in a slaughterhouse in my youth. We used kashering salt and had our kosher beef inspected by rabbis. It was just an extra step in curing meat.
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3-04-2009 @5:59PM Sarah said... Kosher salt is my favorite salt for the little salt I use. I love the bigger crystals and how they taste on your tongue. Sea salts can be nice but they don't always work in the same way.

As for the whole name thing....what an IDIOT. And worse is that it is just mean spirited! Sadly one would think at this point in the US that bashing Jews was thickly buried...but not so it would seem.
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3-04-2009 @6:52PM Neal said... Remember...
Jesus was Jewish!
/That is all.
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3-04-2009 @7:03PM doodoolemonque said... What priest , asking why he has been asked to bless some salt and told it was to make it not kosher (???), says "oh, sure. That makes sense. Where's the salt?" I guess even stupid people can get the calling. "What's the matter with Christian salt?" Now that's funny!!
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3-04-2009 @8:07PM David Millar said... I wasn't aware you couldn't be Christian and also keep kosher at the same time...
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3-04-2009 @11:15PM Peter Kovacs said... In the Catholic tradition at least, you cannot even sell blessed items. That is to say, the act of selling it removes the blessing. So really, you're just buying salt in a fancy container.
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3-04-2009 @10:40PM Uly said... "I'm not entirely sure how anti-Semitism comes in to it ... "

He's taking culturally Jewish foods and re-branding them as "Christian". Aside from the implication that foods made by/eaten by Jews are somehow in need of blessing, can we say cultural appropriation?

(Mind, in the realm of bagels, appropriation was done and over the day the first cinnamon raisin bagel rolled off the machine at the factory. Now THAT is an unholy concoction if I ever saw one...!)
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3-05-2009 @11:00AM Barry said... Ahh religion, is there anything you can't retard?
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3-05-2009 @11:24AM jonathankavner said... Can't wait for Christian Gefilte Fish.

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3-05-2009 @12:40PM MikeB said... This is the sort of thing that makes Jesus want to go all Chuck Norris in the temple.

By the way, this is actually what is meant in the 3rd commandment by using the Lord's name in vain (not saying "God damn it!" or whatever. It is simply about misusing the Lord's name or using it deceptively by branding a commercial product with God or by getting on TV and saying "Send in $100 and God will bless you tonight!" As a Christian, I find this product extremely misguided and offensive (much like 99% of the stuff in LifeWay, Family Christian Bookstore, etc).
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3-05-2009 @9:50PM Uly said... I thought the third commandment had to do with using the name of God (which isn't "God", btw) to make evil spells.
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3-05-2009 @3:18PM lage said... "…he'll begin an entire line of Christian-branded foods including rye bread, bagels, and pickles."

Who would you rather buy bagels from Godlewski or a guy names Manny Kaufman?

I think I stick to Manny's bagels ;D
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