Los Angeles Kosher Restaurants

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial), which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular-based, very variable in size from about 2-30 cm long and 1-15 cm broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, 3-4 mm diameter, maturing into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster 5-10 mm across containing several seeds.

The English word spinach dates to 1530 and is from M.Fr. espinache (Fr. épinard), from O.Prov. espinarc, which perhaps is via Catalan espinac, from Andalusian Arabic isbinakh, from Arabic isbanakh, from Persian aspanakh, meaning roughly “green hand”. Spinach is thought to have originated in ancient Persia (modern Iran). Arab traders carried spinach into India, and then the plant was introduced to China. The earliest record of spinach is in Chinese, stating that it was introduced into China from Nepal (probably in 647 AD).

Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source of vitamin A (and especially high in lutein), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids.

Spinach is sold loose, bunched, in prepackaged bags, canned, or frozen. Fresh spinach loses much of its nutritional value with storage of more than a few days. While refrigeration slows this effect to about eight days, spinach will lose most of its folate and carotenoid content, so for longer storage it is frozen, cooked and frozen, or canned.

You can find authentic Kosher Spinach on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

The beetroot (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. vulgaris), also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet, is one of the many cultivated varieties of beets and arguably the most commonly encountered variety in North America and Britain.

The usually deep-red roots of beetroot are eaten boiled either as a cooked vegetable, or cold as a salad after cooking and adding oil and vinegar, or raw and shredded, either alone or combined with any salad vegetable. A large proportion of the commercial production is processed into boiled and sterilised beets or into pickles. In Eastern Europe beet soup, such as cold borscht, is a popular dish. The green leafy portion of the beet is also edible. It is most commonly served boiled or steamed in which case it has a taste and texture similar that of spinach.

Beetroots are rich in the nutrient betaine, which is important for cardiovascular health. It functions by acting with other nutrients to reduce the concentration of homocysteine, a homologue of the naturally occurring amino acid cysteine, which can be harmful to blood vessels and thus contribute to the development of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Betaine functions in conjunction with S-adenosylmethionine, folic acid, and vitamins B6 and B2 in order to carry out this function.

You can find authentic Kosher Beetroot on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), also known by the common names Swiss Chard, Silverbeet, Perpetual Spinach, Spinach Beet, Crab Beet, Seakale Beet and Mangold, is a leafy vegetable, and is one of the cultivated descendants of the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima. Although the leaves are eaten, it is in the same species as beetroot (garden beet) which is usually grown primarily for its edible roots.

The word Swiss was used to distinguish chard from French spinach varieties by 19th century seed catalog publishers. The chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks. The first varieties have been traced back to Sicily.

Chard is used in a variety of cultures around the world. All parts of the chard plant contain oxalic acid.

Chard has shiny green ribbed leaves, with stems that range from white to yellow and red depending on the cultivar. It has a slightly bitter taste. Fresh young chard can be used raw in salads. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked (like in pizzoccheri) or sauteed; their bitterness fades with cooking, leaving a refined flavor which is more delicate than that of cooked spinach.

You can find authentic Kosher Chard on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), a member of the Chenopodiaceae family, is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. The sugar comes from the bulb of the beetroot plant, chard and fodder beet, all descended by cultivation from the sea beet.

The European Union, the United States, and Russia are the world’s three largest sugar beet producers, although only the European Union and Ukraine are significant exporters of sugar from beets.

In a number of countries, most notably the Czech Republic, sugar from sugar beet is used to make a type of “rum” which is now known as tuzemak. On the Åland Islands, a similar drink is made under the brand name Kobba Libre. In some European countries, especially in the Czech Republic and Germany, sugar beet is also used to make rectified spirit and vodka.

An unrefined sugary syrup can be produced directly from sugar beet. In Germany, particularly the Rhineland area, this sugar beet syrup (called Zuckerrüben-Sirup in German) is used as a spread for sandwiches, as well as for sweetening sauces, cakes and desserts.

You can find authentic Kosher Sugar Beet on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Sugarcane, is any of six to thirty-seven species (depending on taxonomic system) of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae). Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters (six to nineteen feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed, and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. Brazil produces about one-third of the world’s sugarcane.

Sugar cane is grown in over 110 countries. Sugar cane products include table sugar, Falernum, molasses, rum, cachaça (the national spirit of Brazil), and ethanol.

Sugarcane is indigenous to tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. Different species likely originated in different locations with S. barberi originating in India and S. edule and S. officinarum coming from New Guinea. Crystallized sugar was reported 5,000 years ago in India.

Apart from being the source of sugar, sugarcanes are also consumed in the raw form, especially in India. The juice from sugarcane is also very healthy and is loaded with a range of essential nutrients. Cane juice is a natural high-energy drink, which makes it a healthy alternative to refined sugar added drinks.

Sugarcane, being low on glycemic index, helps keep the body fit and healthy. It has been found to be very beneficial for preventing as well as treating sore throat, cold and flu. Since sugarcane has no simple sugar, it can be enjoyed by diabetics without any fear. However, they intake should still be limited for people suffering from type-2 diabetes. Being alkaline in nature, sugarcane juice helps the body in fighting against cancer, especially prostate and breast cancer. Sugarcane provides glucose to the body, which is stored as glycogen and burned by the muscles, whenever they require energy. Therefore, it is considered to be one of the best sources of energy.

You can find authentic Kosher Sugarcane Juice on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Shoepeg corn is a cultivar of white sweetcorn valued for its sweetness. It is characterized by small, narrow kernels tightly and unevenly packed on the cob. The corn has a sweet, mild flavor. The only variety of Shoepeg corn available today is Country Gentleman.

Shoepeg corn is popular in some regions of the United States, particularly in the South. An early promoter of canned shoepeg corn was Malcolm Mitchell of Maryland — his Mitchell’s Shoepeg Sweet Corn is a brand still available today.

The name “shoepeg corn” derives from a shoemaking term used during the 1800s. Shoepeg corn kernels resemble the wooden pegs used to attach soles to the upper part of shoes. The corn was named for its peg-like shape. Shoepeg has smaller kernels and is sweeter than yellow corn.

Shoepeg corn is a common ingredient in salads and corn dishes throughout the Southern United States, but is relatively unknown in other areas of the country. It is on rare occasions available fresh in some areas, but it is most often canned.

You can find authentic Kosher Shoepeg Corn on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Sweet corn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa) (indian corn, sweetcorn, sugar corn, pole corn,corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and prepared as a vegetable. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally-occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel. Unlike field corn varieties, which are harvested when the kernels are dry and mature (dent stage), sweet corn is picked when immature (milk stage) and eaten as a vegetable, rather than a grain. Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar into starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten fresh, canned, or frozen before the kernels become tough and starchy.

Sweet corn occurs as a spontaneous mutation in field corn and was grown by several Native American tribes. The Iroquois gave the first recorded sweet corn (called Papoon) to European settlers in 1779. It soon became a popular vegetable in southern and central regions of the United States.

Cooked sweet corn has significant antioxidant activity, which has been suggested to reduce the chance of heart disease and cancer, although this has not been definitively proven in practice. “There is a notion that processed fruits and vegetables have a lower nutritional value than fresh produce. Those original notions seem to be false, as cooked sweet corn retains its antioxidant activity, despite the loss of vitamin C,” says Rui Hai Liu assistant professor of food science at Cornell University. Cooked sweet corn also releases increased levels of ferulic acid, which provides health benefits, such as battling cancer. When it is cooked it, it releases ferulic acid and what it looses is vitamin C, but it gives ferulic acid and total antioxidant activity.

You can find authentic Kosher Sweet Corn on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /ˈmeɪz/; also known in many English-speaking countries as corn), is a grass domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The Aztecs and Mayans cultivated it in numerous varieties throughout central and southern Mexico, to cook or grind in a process called Nixtamalization. Later the crop spread through much of the Americas. Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas.

The term maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taino word maiz for the plant. This was the term used in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it is now usually called “sweet corn”, the most common form of the plant known to people there.

Maize and cornmeal (ground dried maize) constitutes a staple food in many regions of the world. Maize meal is made into a thick porridge in many cultures: from the polenta of Italy, the angu of Brazil, the mămăligă of Romania, to mush in the U.S. or the food called sadza, nshima, ugali, and mealie pap in Africa. Maize meal is also used as a replacement for wheat flour, to make cornbread and other baked products.

Maize is a major source of starch. Cornstarch. Maize is also a major source of cooking oil (corn oil) and of maize gluten. Maize starch can be hydrolyzed and enzymatically treated to produce syrups, particularly high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener; and also fermented and distilled to produce grain alcohol.

You can find authentic Kosher Maize on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Rice is the seed of a monocot plant Oryza sativa. As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in East, South, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the West Indies. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize (“corn”).

Since a large portion of maize crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is probably the most important grain with regards to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.

Rice is cooked by boiling or steaming, and absorbs water during cooking. It can be cooked in just as much water as it absorbs (the absorption method), or in a large quantity of water which is drained before serving (the rapid-boil method).

Rice is a good source of protein and a staple food in many parts of the world, but it is not a complete protein: it does not contain all of the essential amino acids in sufficient amounts for good health, and should be combined with other sources of protein, such as nuts, seeds, beans, fish, or meat.

You can find authentic Kosher Rice Dishes on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Rice noodles are noodles that are made from rice. Their principal ingredients are rice flour and water. However, sometimes other ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are also added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and chewy texture of the noodles.

Rice noodles are most commonly used in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia, and are available fresh, frozen, or dried, in various shapes and thicknesses. In Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Idiappam, a type of rice noodle, is usually freshly made at home and tends to be far more tender with distinctive texture, as opposed to the dried form of Chinese noodles.

The other ingredients which can be added to the rice noodles are shiitake mushrooms, red pepper, bean sprouts, and any choice of chicken or tofu for vegetarian diet. Rice noodles are very healthy, low-fat, and gluten-free.

You can find authentic Kosher Rice Noodles on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.