Faqs

Q. My married daughter is going to be visiting and told me that she wants me to make sure all our food is "yoshon". I keep a kosher home but have never heard of that and was hoping you could give me a crash-course.

A. A minority of people who eat kosher hold a higher standard called "yoshon", which essentially means that they will not eat any wheat, oats, or barley until it has been "in existence" for at least one occurrence of the Pesach holiday.

For example, barley harvested in 2022 is yoshon by the fall of 2023, because it was "in existence" during Passover of 2023, but barley harvested in 2023 will not be yoshon until after Pesach 2024. The aforementioned grains are harvested during the summer; therefore, each year, from approximately August until Pesach, the yoshon consumers will have to be more particular about the pasta, flour, bread, soup, oatmeal, breakfast cereal, cake, and many other foods that they eat.

[Technically, the same rules apply to rye and spelt, but in the United States those grains are always planted in the winter and harvested after Pesach, such that they are always yoshon. Similarly, "winter wheat" is planted before Pesach and harvested afterwards, such that it is always yoshon, so only "spring wheat" (used for bread, rolls, pasta, and certain other foods) is a concern.]

Most kosher-certified products do not claim to meet the yoshon standard, and, therefore, consumers who want to eat yoshon must find products that are either (a) yoshon-certified, (b) have no wheat, oats, or barley, or (c) are known to use winter wheat. Alternatively, some people buy large quantities of specific items (e.g., barley) towards the end of the summer and use those items until Pesach. In the Chicago area fresh-baked yoshon goods are available from several bakeries, and you can find more details on the cRc website. Another great resource for this topic is www.yoshon.com.