AboutRikki Spivak Expertise I can answer questions regarding Kosher, Laws of Milk and Meat, Cooking on Shabbos, Orthodox Jewish cooking and recipes, and Traditional Jewish foods and customs
Experience I am an Orthodox Jewish mother with years of traditional cooking experience. I keep a strictly Kosher kitchen and am familiar (although not an halachic expert) in the laws regarding same.
Education/Credentials I am a product of the Bais Yaakov (Orthodox girls' school) system as well as Occuapational Therapist.
Question What is the difference between Stamm and Glatt kosher? I worked at a kosher caterer who had two seperate kitchens and did not serve dairy at all.
Answer Hi Jim, great question. Glatt kosher refers to the quality of the lining of the lungs of the slaughtered animal. According to kosher law, certain types of abrasions on the surface of the lungs render an animal non-kosher, while other types of abrasions allow the animal to remain kosher. Regular (Stamm) Kosher meat refers to meat from an animal that may have had the non-problematic abrasions. Glatt kosher means that the animals were held to a higher standard of kosher because there were no abrasions at all so no judgement was needed to determine if it's kosher or not. It's considered a higher standard of kosher because it minimizes the element of human error in determining the kosher/non-kosher classification. As such, many people will only eat meat/chicken products that are glatt Kosher. I assume that your caterer offered both regular kosher (which is less expensive) and Glatt kosher meat at the facility. Being that people who eat only glatt kosher are more stringent, they would likely insist that their food not be prepared in the same pots etc. as the regular (stamm) kosher meat.
