{"id":615,"date":"2013-08-15T20:15:52","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T20:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?p=615"},"modified":"2016-05-17T14:40:48","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T14:40:48","slug":"good-things-come-in-small-packages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Things Come in Small Packages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published Winter 2010<\/em><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Torah<\/em> extols <\/span>Eretz Yisroel<\/em> as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives and dates (<\/span>D\u2019varim <\/em>8:8).\u00a0 Most types of fruit are harvested once a year.\u00a0 Since fresh fruit spoils quickly, the challenge has been to find a way to enjoy them year round.\u00a0 Modern processing methods, such as canning and freezing, allow for \u00a0a form of preservation similar to that of fresh fruit.\u00a0 Older methods, however, involved processing the fruit into a new product markedly different from the original, but with equally tasty and desirable traits.\u00a0 Dried grapes \u2013 raisins \u2013 are a case in point. Grapes are harvested in the fall within a span of about six weeks.\u00a0 Some of the crop is eaten as fresh fruit, and much is squeezed to make wine.\u00a0 From the times of <\/span>Tanach<\/em>, however, grapes were preserved by drying them in the sun to form raisins, which could be stored for long periods of time.\u00a0 Raisins were a concentrated source of nutrition and tasted great. They have been consumed by Jews for thousands of years.\u00a0 In fact, one of the rations used by <\/span>Dovid haMelech<\/em>\u2019s army was raisins.\u00a0 While the lowly raisin has enjoyed a long history, it has also been the source of much <\/span>halachic <\/em>discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Traditionally, grapes were dried by spreading them out on mats and placing them in the sun; today, this remains the most common method of drying them. Since the raisins lie in an unprotected environment, there is a concern of insect contamination.\u00a0 Indeed, the question of insects in raisins became a major point of discussion about six months ago, with some Poskim<\/em> recommending that raisins not be eaten at all. This halachic <\/em>issue, however, is not new.\u00a0\u00a0 The TaZ <\/em>(Y.D. <\/em>84 s.k. <\/em>12) specifically discusses the halachic <\/em>status of raisins and concludes that they are permitted, based on a S\u2019fek S\u2019feka<\/em>: (1) It is not clear that the raisins contain insects, and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(2) Even if they did, perhaps the insects hatched after<\/em> the grapes had been harvested (which would classify them as lo pirshu <\/em>\u2013 they had not traveled on ground \u2013 and would thus be permitted).\u00a0 Although the Mishkenos Yaakov<\/em> may have disagreed with the TaZ<\/em>, there seem to be additional reasons to be lenient in our case.\u00a0\u00a0 Most importantly, the insect that is most often found in raisins is called drosophila<\/em>.\u00a0 It typically appears only after<\/em> the grape has been harvested, thus strengthening the argument that raisins containing this insect would be permitted.\u00a0 As such, most hashgacha <\/em>agencies have concluded that raisins handled in accordance with acceptable manufacturing standards pose no halachic <\/em>concern of insect infestation.<\/p>\n

However, kashrus <\/em>concerns regarding raisins do not end with possible insect infestation.\u00a0 We all know how sticky raisins can be, and usually consider this one of its endearing characteristics.\u00a0 In mass production, however, clumped raisins pose a major handling problem.\u00a0 Trying to get just the right number of raisins into a box of Raisin Bran would be almost impossible if they all stuck together.\u00a0 Manufacturers have resolved this issue by coating raisins with oils and\/or glycerin, allowing them to be mixed and handled like any other particulate matter.\u00a0 From a kashrus<\/em> perspective, however, these two ingredients can adversely affect the inherently kosher status of the raisin.\u00a0 Glycerin is derived from fat, and even vegetable oil can pose major kashrus <\/em>concerns. While raisins sold for retail use are not coated with oils or other chemicals, often those used in the baking industry and other food processing applications are treated and would require a reliable kosher certification.<\/p>\n

The use of oils in the production of raisins, however, is much more ancient than the production of Raisin Bran.\u00a0 As grapes grow on the vine, they resist losing moisture by producing a waxy coating on their skin, known as the \u201ccuticle.\u201d\u00a0 While this defense against desiccation (drying out) may be useful to the fresh grape, it inhibits the drying process necessary for raisin production. Eventually, people realized that if they could modify this waxy layer, grapes would dry more quickly. One way of solving this problem is to dip grapes in a hot caustic soda solution before dehydration. This causes fine cracks to form on the skin of the grape, allowing moisture to escape more quickly. While this process poses no kashrus<\/em> concerns, the raisins become sticky because the sugary juices escape through the cracked skin.\u00a0 Another solution is to modify the cuticle to increase its permeability.\u00a0 For thousands of years, farmers would dip grapes into a mixture of olive oil, wood ashes (caustic soda), and water \u2013 essentially a form of soap! The mixture would weaken the wax in the cuticle and allow moisture to pass through it more easily, thus hastening the drying process.<\/p>\n

More recently, however, scientists have developed treatments called \u201cgrape dipping oil,\u201d which involves water, fatty esters, and a caustic agent.\u00a0 These products not only hasten the drying process, but also tend to prevent the browning of light colored grapes.\u00a0 This produces a \u201cgolden raisin\u201d without the use of bleaching compounds, such as sulfur dioxide.\u00a0 Since golden raisins are more prone to this process, some authorities are worried that these raisins treated with fatty esters pose a kashrus <\/em>concern. \u00a0As such, many hashgach<\/em>a agencies now require a reliable kosher certification for golden raisins, as well as imported raisins of all types.\u00a0 Others, however, feel this is unnecessary since the fatty esters in question are invariably derived from vegetable sources, and the caustic agent used in the production of the dipping would render the product inedible.<\/p>\n

Raisins play a role in the life of the Jew on a weekly basis, in the form of Friday night Kiddush<\/em>.\u00a0 The production of kosher wine poses many difficulties, given the seasonal availability of grapes and the halachic <\/em>stringencies involved in their processing.\u00a0 Nowadays, we do have ready access to an abundance of kosher wine.\u00a0 This was not always the case in past generations, especially in colder climates where grapes did not grow and kosher wine was expensive and hard to find. \u00a0The common solution to this problem was \u201craisin wine.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0This was made by grinding dried raisins, mixing them with water (allowing the grapes to rehydrate), and fermenting the reconstituted grape juice.\u00a0 The Shulchan Aruch <\/em>(O.C. <\/em>272:6) rules that raisin wine has the same halachic <\/em>status as wine made from fresh grapes.\u00a0 Indeed, raisin wine was often the only option available to Jews in Europe. [Much halachic<\/em> discussion takes place, however, regarding the exact qualifications of raisin wine.\u00a0 For example, the Tur<\/em> rules that if the raisins are completely dried out, then the process of rehydration would still disqualify them.\u00a0 Also, the ratio of water to the raisins cannot exceed one to six.\u00a0 Given these and other halachic<\/em> complexities, the Be\u2019ur Halacha <\/em>recommends that one use regular wine if at all possible.]<\/p>\n

The ability to consider raisin wine the equivalent of regular wine, however, has its halachic <\/em>downside.\u00a0 Raisin \u201cjuice\u201d is often used as an ingredient in baked products, especially bread.\u00a0 This is because it is an all natural source of color and sweetness, aids in maintaining moisture, and is a mild natural preservative. Given the fact that juice derived from soaked raisins has the halachic <\/em>status of grape juice, however, it is subject to all of the rules of S\u2019tam Yaynam<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 As such, it cannot be produced or handled by non-Jews until it has been cooked (m\u2019vushal<\/em>), just as any other kosher wine or grape juice. Given the common use of raisin juice in the manufacture of food products, this issue has raised significant concern.\u00a0 One solution, adopted by Rav <\/em>Elyashiv shlit\u201da<\/em>, is to cook the raisins before processing them into juice; thus, any juice that is subsequently expressed from them maintains a status of m\u2019vushal<\/em>.\u00a0 Some kashrus<\/em> organizations do not agree with this approach and require that the juice itself be cooked before it can be considered m\u2019vushal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Given the concerns of raisin wine and raisin juice, one might think that the simplest way to halachically <\/em>enjoy a raisin is just to eat it without any processing whatsoever.\u00a0 Unfortunately, things are not so simple, especially if one is not very hungry. Indeed, it is preferable that one never eat a single raisin at all!\u00a0 The reason is as follows:\u00a0 When eating a single raisin, one must certainly pronounce a B\u2019racha Rishona<\/em> (Ha\u2019Etz<\/em>), but as far as the Bracha Acharona<\/em> after eating a single raisin is concerned, things are not so simple.\u00a0 Generally, one is not required (or even permitted) to make a B\u2019racha Acharona <\/em>until one consumes a k\u2019zayis<\/em> (the size of an olive) of any given food.\u00a0 While Poskim<\/em> dispute the exact size of an \u201colive,\u201d everyone will agree that a single raisin does not qualify; therefore, it would seem that one would not recite a B\u2019racha Acharona<\/em>.The problem is that a single raisin is considered a Berya <\/em>\u2013 a \u201ccomplete\u201d item \u2013 and there is a dispute amongst the Poskim <\/em>as to whether eating a Berya <\/em>is equivalent to eating a k\u2019zayis<\/em>. The Shulchan Aruch <\/em>(O.C. <\/em>210:1) rules that one should avoid eating a \u201cwhole\u201d fruit that is less than a k\u2019zayis <\/em>in order to avoid a B\u2019racha L\u2019Vatala <\/em>(wasted bracha<\/em>).\u00a0 When eating raisins, therefore, it is recommended that one eat several \u2013 or none at all \u2013 which gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, \u201cBet you can\u2019t eat just one.\u201d<\/p>\n

As previously mentioned, sun-dried raisins have been around for thousands of years, as have the kashrus <\/em>concerns they may pose. \u00a0Raisins are, therefore, uniquely positioned to exemplify Shlomo haMelech<\/em>\u2019s admonition, \u201cV\u2019Ayn kol chadash tachas ha\u2019shamesh<\/em>\u201d \u2013 \u201c\u2026And there is nothing new under the sun.\u201d (Koheles <\/em>1:9).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published Winter 2010<\/p>\n

The <\/span>Torah extols <\/span>Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives and dates (<\/span>D\u2019varim 8:8).\u00a0 Most types of fruit are harvested once a year.\u00a0 Since fresh fruit spoils quickly, the challenge has been to find a way to enjoy them year round.\u00a0 Modern processing methods, such as canning and freezing, allow for \u00a0a form of preservation similar to that of fresh fruit.\u00a0 Older methods, however, involved processing the fruit into a new product markedly different from the original, but with equally tasty and desirable traits.\u00a0 Dried grapes \u2013 raisins \u2013 are a case in point. Grapes are harvested in the fall within a span of about six weeks.\u00a0 Some of the crop is eaten as fresh fruit, and much is squeezed to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":1034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,27,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kashurs-kurrents-2010","category-kashrus-kurrents","category-winter-kashrus-kurrents-2010"],"yoast_head":"\nGood Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Good Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"STAR-K Kosher Certification\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"294\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"172\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1\"},\"headline\":\"Good Things Come in Small Packages\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1628,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/raisin.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2010\",\"Kashrus Kurrents\",\"Winter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/\",\"name\":\"Good Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/raisin.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1\"},\"description\":\"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/raisin.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/raisin.jpg\",\"width\":294,\"height\":172},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/615\\\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Good Things Come in Small Packages\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"STAR-K Kosher Certification\",\"description\":\"Providing Kosher certification worldwide\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/blech\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Good Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification","description":"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Good Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification","og_description":"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives","og_url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/","og_site_name":"STAR-K Kosher Certification","article_published_time":"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":294,"height":172,"url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/"},"author":{"name":"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1"},"headline":"Good Things Come in Small Packages","datePublished":"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/"},"wordCount":1628,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg","articleSection":["2010","Kashrus Kurrents","Winter"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/","url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/","name":"Good Things Come in Small Packages | STAR-K Kosher Certification","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg","datePublished":"2013-08-15T20:15:52+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-17T14:40:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1"},"description":"Published Winter 2010 The Torah extols Eretz Yisroel as the land blessed with seven types of produce:\u00a0 wheat, barley, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/raisin.jpg","width":294,"height":172},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/615\/good-things-come-in-small-packages\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Good Things Come in Small Packages"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/","name":"STAR-K Kosher Certification","description":"Providing Kosher certification worldwide","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/93138ad9f7cb01769738be556c4207b1","name":"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/084dc437c7736b602add765194a44a18ef88cd305dd88923bdd1ced476459bfe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech"},"url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/author\/blech\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3999,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615\/revisions\/3999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}