Summer 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every year at the STAR-K Chanuka mesiba<\/em>, Rav Moshe Heinemann shlit\u201da<\/em>, STAR-K\u2019s Rabbinic Administrator, rises to address the assembled. His annual message consists of a brief Chanuka dvar Torah<\/em>, expressions of hakaras hatov<\/em> to the entire staff, and a reiteration of the uncompromising principles of emes<\/em> and shalom<\/em> by which STAR-K is governed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, he added the following to his divrei chizuk: \u201cGood kashrus requires a clear understanding of products, process, and all the source materials that go into a certified product. What are they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTake nuts, for example. Hazelnuts, also known as filberts, are classical tree nuts. The bracha for all nuts grown on a tree is Borei Pri Ha\u2019eitz<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeanuts, unlike their other shelled counterparts, grow in the ground. The bracha for peanuts is Borei Pri Ha\u2019adama<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoughnuts,\u201d he quipped, \u201care Borei Minei Mezonos<\/em>. And what bracha do you make on a gallnut? None!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is a gallnut? A gallnut is produced by an oak tree that has become a home to wasp eggs that have been laid on its branches. To protect itself from these unwelcome parasites, the oak tree excretes a liquid that traps the wasp eggs. The excretion hardens into a hardened sphere known as a gallnut<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rav\u2019s mention of gallnuts was both amusing and fascinating. It is worth exploring a bit further the gift and wonder of gallnuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallnuts, also known as oak galls, are abnormal outgrowths on plant tissues, often caused by infestations from parasites. The galls are similar in appearance to warts on animals. Galls, so named from the Latin galla<\/em> or \u201coak apple,\u201d can vary in size, shape and color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In most cases, insect infestation in produce creates serious kashrus issues. Fruits and vegetables that are known to be heavily infested \u2013 raspberries and Brussel sprouts for example (though there are others) \u2013 may not be eaten at all, since checking such produce and eliminating the pests is virtually impossible. But when certain insects infest trees and other plants, they can create the conditions to allow for the formation of gallnuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallnuts are not edible but have value as a significant source of tannic acid. Tannic acid accumulates in the galls as a defensive mechanism and has a plethora of uses in both food and non-food applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tannins are incredibly versatile. The Gemara mentions mei afatzim<\/em> \u2013 gallnut juice \u2013 as the base raw material used to manufacture iron gall ink. The \u201cjuice,\u201d or gallnut extract (gallo-tannin) is the tannic acid extracted from the gallnuts. The tannic acid reacts with iron salts to create a dark, permanent ink and can be used as a bonding agent for dyes. The technical term for this dye fixative is a mordant<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from its use as a key component in developing mordants, tannic acid is also used as an insecticide, as well as in the vegetable tanning of leather and the production of red wines. It plays an important role in alcohol production as a colorant. It is the tannin in the oak cask staves that color aging whiskey from clear to amber. Tannic acid is also used to clarify beverages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The versatility of tannic acid in the food and health industries is quite remarkable. My first tannic acid experience was when Mallinckrodt, a global manufacturer of specialty food additives and pharmaceutical products, requested \u2013 at Pepsi Cola\u2019s behest \u2013 kosher certification for tannic acid to be used as an additive to Pepsi beverages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, the study of tannic acid has led to the development of many new pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. It has multiple uses in medicine and medical research due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It has also displayed antiviral and antifungal activity and been found to impart anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anticancer activity to materials.[1]<\/a> All told, tannic acid is proving to be an increasingly valuable industrial workhorse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1904, Dr. Edward G. Acheson, the inventor of silicon carbide (an abrasive used in grindstone), prepared an interesting treatise on the production of bricks in Mitzrayim and hypothesized what it was about the straw and stubble mixture that made them so durable. He noted that the only known historical reference to the use of organic material added to clay is the use of straw mixed with clay described in the Torah[2]<\/a> in Sefer Shmos.[3]<\/a> According to his hypothesis, the presence of gall atonic acid in the stubble that was added to the clay<\/em> contributed to the clay\u2019s elasticity. The extracted tannins in the stubble made all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He theorized, \u201cThis explains why the straw was used and why the children of Israel were successful in substituting stubble for straw, a course that would hardly be possible were the fibre of the straw depended upon as a bond feasible for the clay, but quite reasonable where the extract of the plant was used.\u201d[4]<\/a> Dr. Acheson\u2019s fascinating statement furthers our understanding of the remarkable utility of gallnuts and provides us with a new appreciation of events in the Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The halachic irony of gallnuts is that in most circumstances of insect interaction with its host, it is the insect<\/em> that secretes various liquids on its host. Examples include aphids and cicadas that secrete honeydew<\/em> \u2013 a sugary liquid waste \u2013 as they feed on plant sap, and lac insects (Kerria lacca<\/em>) that secrete lac<\/em> \u2013 a natural resin \u2013 used to produce resinous glaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in the case of gallnuts, it is the tree<\/em> that secretes a protective excretion to protect itself from insect predators, which \u2013 through the niflaos Haboreh<\/em> \u2013 creates the nut that isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/a> A. Baldwin, B.W. Booth, \u201cBiomedical Applications of Tannic Acid,\u201d abstract, Journal of Biomaterials Applications<\/em>, 2022;36(8):1503-1523, https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/08853282211058099.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> Edward G. Acheson (1904) “Egyptianized Clay” in Transactions of the American Ceramic Society<\/em>. pp. 31\u201365, excerpted in Wikipedia article, \u201cTannic Acid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Gift of Gallnuts: Insects Doing Good<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tannins: The Hidden Miracle in Gallnuts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When in Egypt\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A Halachic Irony<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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