If you are considering turning your kitchen kosher, there are a few things to keep in mind. One of the elements of a kosher kitchen is the separation of all meat and dairy. Another thing to keep in mind is to review the current food items that you own and see if some of them need to be given away. Yet another essential for a kosher kitchen is more than separating the meat and dairy, all of the utensils and prep for the food also needs to be specific to meat for some and dairy for others. Here are some essentials for a kosher kitchen.
Sinks
As stated above, the prep areas must be separate for meat and dairy. This means a need for two sinks in your kitchen. One sink dedicated to meat and one sink dedicated to dairy. These two sinks can be placed in separate areas of the kitchen. You can either have the sinks at opposite ends of the counter, or you could have one sink on the counter and another sink on a kitchen island. If you simply cannot have two sinks, then there are practices and preps that must be put into place to be able to utilize the sink and remain kosher.
Appliances
Because the items must remain separate, having two of each appliance is also a great idea. This would be two dishwashers and ovens along with the two sinks mentioned above. You can sketch out plans for your kitchen to see where everything would fit. There are certain methods that can be used if two sets of appliances are not feasible. Additionally, there are procedures in place if a non-kosher appliance must be used. The point is to make sure that items used for meat are not mixed with items used for dairy. This also includes all the utensils and plating that will be used for the meals as well.
Storage
Having two sets of everything in the kitchen means that there will be a great need for storage. With two sets of utensils and dishes, you need separate storage for each as well. One way to make storage easier can be to set up zones in your kitchen. You could have prep and cook zones and go one step further and have milk prep/milk cook zones and meat prep/meat cook zones. Each one of these zones can have its storage area, and this way there is more separation in your kitchen to keep it kosher.
