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 2 of 2)

3-10-2009 @7:11PM Rob said... As a Christian I would prefer to buy non-kosher kosher salt. And don't tell me kosher salt isn't kosher approved. Morton Salt sells Kosher Salt which also happens to be approved for passover.

See for your self:
http://www.slate.com/id/2117445/

Now I can be sure that my money will support Christian charities and institutions. Sorry Rabbi, the game is over.

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3-10-2009 @7:15PM Rob said... Gary says "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."

Well Gary, you don't have to buy any of the soon-to-be-popular Christian salt.
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3-11-2009 @12:01PM Gobo said... "As a Christian I would prefer to buy non-kosher kosher salt."

As a Slashfood reader, I'd prefer not to see bigoted comments here.
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3-13-2009 @5:05PM Colin said... Sorry Rob, ALL salt is kosher, regardless of type. The "passover approved" symbol likely just means it's guaranteed to be free of grain particles.

The reason kosher salt is called "kosher salt" is that it is used in the process of making meat kosher- it's large surface area makes it ideal for absorbing blood, as kosher foods must be blood-free. It is neither blessed nor sold by jewish organizations, merely checked to ensure the granules are the right size to work for the koshering process. In Britain, it's called "Koshering Salt," and there is far less confusion about the topic.

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